Kelly’s virtual London run to help charity
SEFTON Council could purchase and convert vacant shops to boost Southport town centre, a councillor suggested.
Cllr John Pugh, who was MP from 2001-2017, believes the council could access Town Deal funding to purchase units such as the former Debenhams store and use its own Sandway Homes housing company to carry out the conversions.
This would enable the upper floors to be changed into housing, as seen elsewhere along Lord Street, to provide new accommodation for young residents and boost footfall for existing businesses.
Such a project could soon be carried out privately at the former BHS store, with plans submitted to create 30 apartments above the ground floor, while local authorities in areas including Newark, Northampton and Leyland has all been given funding buy empty shops.
Cllr Pugh raised the suggestion as a council meeting earlier this year but, after being voted down 37-17, fears Sefton is missing out an a big opportunity.
He said: “Many councils, eligible for government Town Deal funding, have already bid for and got money to purchase and re-purpose retail properties including old Debenhams buildings. Ipswich for example has been given £1m to purchase a Debenhams building, It will probably be desirable for Sefton to do something similar.
“However, when I proposed the council used its recently founded housing company to buy up and convert empty retail eyesores in the centre of town, the ruling party voted it down.
“That’s a great pity as Sefton, with its own housing company, is in a good position to use government funding for shop conversion. Sefton preferring more speculative projects like another Market re-launch may not be the best use of what money we are given.
“I hope there will be a re-think as we are weeks away from submitting a major bid for substantial amounts of government cash. We need the involvement of the council’s housing company in town centre re-generation because of their expertise in site and lease acquisition.
“The easy bit we can all do is spotting what needs to happen; the hard bit is to work out how to do it. For that we need professional expertise.”
A BLIND woman will run from Southport to Liverpool to participate remotely in the London Marathon.
With Covid-19 preventing the event taking place as normal, Kelly Barton, from Southport, will complete the run in October in the new format known as the Virtual London Marathon.
The 43-year-old, who lives with her 14-year-old son and her partner Mike Leatherbarrow, is hoping her efforts will raise £2,000 for the Salvation Army and its new expression in Liverpool, Strawberry Field.
That facility houses Steps to Work, a programme that supports young adults with learning disabilities and other barriers to employment gain work.
Kelly, the volunteer co-ordinator at Strawberry Field, has been registered as blind since birth. She said: “I haven’t been able to train much during lockdown because guide running was banned due to social distancing rules, so this new way of taking part in the London Marathon will be a definite test, made harder without the crowds of London to keep me going, but I am ready to embrace the challenge to raise money for such a worthwhile cause.
“Some young people can face many barriers when it comes to gaining employment and I am someone who understands just how hard that can be.
Kelly will start from The Salvation
Army church and community centre on Shakespeare Street in Southport and will finish at the famous red gates of Strawberry Field in Woolton, Liverpool.
She will run the 26.2 miles with her partner and guide runner Mike as those with a visual impairment can run with a guide runner who assists them through either being tethered together or, in Kelly’s case, holding the arm, just below the elbow. Mike can carry out this vital role for the run and adhere to social distancing because he is Kelly’s partner and therefore in her support bubble.
Kelly continued: “It’s an amazing feeling to be able to run and to run fast, all my life I’ve gone around slowly and with such care; I’ve never had running experience before but now I am supported by Mike who gives me the confidence to run and although it was daunting at first I’ll never stop. Mike describes what is going on around me, and he’ll let me know the sites that we’ll pass so I really won’t be missing out on anything.”
Kelly has taken part in various runs since first taking up the sport at the age of 40 and took part in the London Marathon two years ago, in 2018, but had to walk a large proportion of the course.
Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, and to prepare for this year’s run, Kelly took part in Southport’s weekly Park Run, which is five kilometres.
To donate to Kelly’s fundraiser please visit www.justgiving.com/ kelly-barton.