THE MAYOR OF WIRRAL - CHERRY POVALL
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THE MAYOR OF WIRRAL - CHERRY POVALL
I am delighted to have been elected Mayor of Wirral and I hope to be able to represent Wirral as the dynamic and positive place that we are all proud to call home in the coming year . I am delighted also that my good friend Sheila has agreed to support me as my Mayoress and as the Merry Widows of Wirral we hope to give Thelma and Louise a run for their money !
This year we are looking forward to massive changes that will transform the way that Wirral looks . The future will be very different , out will go the flyovers to the tunnels in Birkenhead , a new linear park will be formed along the old railway line from Woodside , and Woodside itself will be transformed into a more leisure friendly space with an investment of £ 19,600,000 . New housing and a new school are planned for the Hind Street area which will transform a forgotten brownfield site . Liscard will benefit from a £ 10,000,000 facelift , and Wirral Waters will continue to develop eventually giving us a world-class marina .
These are all huge changes being made with help from the Governments Levelling Up Fund rather than from your Council taxes .
I firmly believe that we need to grab this once in a lifetime opportunity and put Wirral well and truly on the Tourist map . We have so much to offer as a holiday destination . We have so much hidden heritage we should be shouting from the rooftops about it . A battlefield so important it eclipses the Battle of Hastings ; that ’ s the Battle of Brunanburh hiding in and around Clatterbridge , a possible Viking Settlement , and the oldest standing building in the whole of Merseyside in the form of Birkenhead Priory . We also have the hidden secrets of both the Williamson Tunnels and the Tranmere Tunnels , both of which could make fantastic visitor attractions . In addition , we have Flaybrick Cemetery which holds most of the history of Birkenhead ’ s famous forefathers , Kings Gap in Hoylake where William of Orange was reputed to have sailed from to Northern Ireland to fight the Battle of the Boyne , and our famous Birkenhead Park which was copied in New York ’ s
Central Park . The first passenger trams started in Birkenhead , The Boys Scouts Movement was founded at Birkenhead YMCA , and of course the world famous ship builders Camel Lairds were founded 200 years ago on the shores of Wallasey Pool . Port Sunlight Village with the Lady Lever Art Gallery is just a stones-throw from Eastham Country Park which is also a great visitor attraction .
The list is endless with so many interesting places and people coming from Wirral and leaving their mark on the world . We have so much to be proud of and so much we should be telling the rest of the world about .
We are also surrounded on three sides by a fantastic coastline with an Esplanade which provides unrivalled walking opportunities . Parts of our coastline which have sadly been neglected will hopefully soon will be restored to its former glory as a family-friendly beach . All parts of Wirral have something to offer in the East , West , North or South and we should be maximising their potential on the back of this injection of investment money . I would like to see in my year as Mayor that we start to explore these opportunities and make the most of what Wirral has to offer .
As part of my Mayoral year , I am also keen to promote volunteering . We have so many fantastic small charities in Wirral , many of them crying out for volunteers . I have chosen two volunteer-run Charities as the main beneficiaries of the Mayors Charity Fund for the forthcoming year . They are IncuBabies and the Blind Sailing School . Of course , I hope to be able to support many more of the smaller Wirral Charities that are run by teams of unsung heroes who are often overshadowed by the bigger national charities by having lots of fundraising events which I hope everyone will try and support in whatever way they can , no matter how small their contribution might be .
We will always be delighted to hear from any of you who might have any offers of help and support . Please contact the Mayor ’ s office at Mayor @ wirral . gov . uk .
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