The only cutbacks the public will welcome
NORWOOD ward’s Labour councillors and local residents have been making cutbacks of a far more beneficial kind to the area, by taking on overgrown stairways and clearing up its problem pathways.
It is part of the activities of a new community action group which saw one session start work on Tedder Avenue, clearing weeds and litter from the locality.
Cllr Carran Waterfield said there had been a great response from local residents: “We had a lot of positive comments and also some good ideas for future work in the area.
“It’s early days yet for the group and these sort of projects rely on residents getting stuck in and coming up with ideas for their neighbourhood but it’s very encouraging so far.”
Another event had volunteers tackling litter problems along Bispham Road and then moving to Morven and Lesley Grove, before setting to work around the Myrtle and Pine Grove area.
Cllr Greg Myers took on cutting back Palm Grove’s overgrown stairway leading up to Sussex Road, a job which proved not for the faint-hearted.
He said: “We only had a set of long-handled pruning shears with us to tackle
it with but decided to give it a go anyway as it was so overgrown there.
“It felt a bit like trying to shear Highland cattle with nail scissors to be honest but I got there in the end.”
“It was also great to see new volunteers like Angela and young Harry taking part, they did a fantastic job clearing the area of all sorts of debris.”
The group was set up after discussions between the ward’s Labour councillors and Joe McNulty of the High Park Project and aims to build up community resilience in the area.
Joe said: “We think if local people can get involved in local activities to improve the area then it will help foster community strength and pride.”
Cllr Mhairi Doyle says that, given the huge cutbacks to Sefton Council, she’s happy to roll her sleeves up and get down to work with the action group:
“I’d prefer that properly funded services kept our wards and town looking great but until that returns then myself and my colleagues will do what we can to help. I’ve not got a huge amount of time for those who supported the cuts and then sit back to do little but complain about the effects of them we are too busy trying to deal with the problems they’ve caused.”