Children's Minor Injuries Unit Update

Councillor Sue McGuire recently attended a meeting with senior managment from Sefton NHS, Southport & Ormskirk Hospital Trust and Sefton Council to discuss the latest moves for the provision of a Children's MIU in Southport.

As Sue, herself a long time camapigner for childrens and maternity services said "People in Southport have been waiting since 2003 for children to be treated in Southport again and although not a full A&E, a fully equipped Minor Injuries Unit will certainly be a step in the right direction. I am sure every parent and grandparent in Southport will welcome this.

Southport MP John Pugh said; " What Southport people want now frankly is some real action and not watering down of existing proposals. Although it will be great to see children once more treated on the hospital site , it is not the same as return of full childrens A&E. We need to have a system that's right both for emergency AND minor injuries "

Visit to the former Sandwinning plant

A report on the former Sandwinning plant and was presented at the June Southport Area committee and this included an invitation to visit the site with representatives from the site owner, Rainfords, the Planning Department and the Coastal Defence Team.

Pictured at the visit Cllr Lord Fearn, representative from Rainfords, Cllr Maureen Fearn, Neil Flemming from the Planning Office, Cllr Sue McGuire, Cllr John Dodd and Cllr Dave Pearson.

Councillor Maureen Fearn, chair of Southport Area Committee commented

"This was a great chance to ask questions about the future of this area, about what work still needs to be done and how much longer this will take."

Sue with Ken Bridge from North Meols Civic Society

Councillor Sue McGuire discussed the on-going plans for refurbishments of the Fog Bell on Marshside Road with Ken Bridge from the North Meols Civic Society.

As Sue explained "This is such a significant building for Marshside, its really important that we do everything we can to return it to its former glory. Carmel & I have been working with Ken and the North Meols Civic Society to ensure that the Heritage Lottery Bid for this area includes some funding for this renovation."

Pruning Trees on Bakers Lane

Residents have contacted your Lib Dem team to ask for action to be taken to tackle the overhanging trees along Bakers Lane.




Councillor Sue McGuire inspects the trees on Bakers Lane.
As Councillor Sue McGuire explains

"The Trees and Woodlands Departmet have inspected the trees along Bakers Lane and have confirmed that they do need pruning work to be undertaken on them.This pruning work will include pruning branches over properties, the highway, removing dead wood and thinning the crowns of the trees where needed.

Sue added

"The trees that stand on Bakers Lane are Plane trees, and because of this they can only be pruned during Autumn/Winter when the leaves have fallen. This is due to the leaves being hairy and collecting dust and pollution which makes it very difficult to prune during Summer. The work will therefore be completed later on in the year after the leaves have fallen."

Councillor Carmel Preston said

"The trees look great and really add character to the road but its important that they are managed and maintaned properly otherwise they can easily become overgrown."

Tackling Graffiti at Coyford Drive

Councillor Sue McGuire pictured with the graffiti on the sub station at the walkway on Coyford Drive.

As Sue explained

"Graffiti seems to be on the increase and so its vital that we have a system which deals with this as quickly and effectively as possible."

Councillor Preston added

"We have asked the Community Payback Team to remove this graffiti as soon as they can. This service has already removed graffiti in the Elswick Road area."

Further Action on Hawkshead Street

We have posted details on a number of actions taken so far to improve conditions along Hawkshead Street however we are concerned that more action is still needed. As a result of this Councillor Sue McGuire has met both the Highways Maintenance and the Cleansing Managers at Hawkshead Street to show them in person the problems being expereinced here.

As Sue McGuire explains "Although a number of pot holes have been filled in following our initial request not enough has been. Following the site visit the Highways Manager has confirmed that more of the eroded areas and pot holes will be filled in."

Councillor McGuire added "There is still an on-going issue with weeds and litter which needs to be tackled however as a start I am pleased to report that direct action has been taken to tackle the weeds on the odd side."

Other issues to be tackled:
Street light obstructed by overhanging vegetation
Double Yellow line at the Queens Road junction has been obscured by recent road patching.

As always you Lib Dem Team will report back any further action

Flytipped Rubbish on Coyford Drive Tackled

Councillor Sue McGuire inspects flytipped rubbish including black bags filled with cans & bottles and dead tree branches at the Coyford Drive walkway.


Your Lib Dem Councillors met with the Street Cleansing Manager to show the extent of the problem and to ask for the area to be cleared as soon as possible.


Councillor Carmel Preston explained

"We are pleased that the area was cleared so quickly once it was reported. Flytipped rubbish in an area can really affect how people feel about their surroundings. We will be keeping an eye on this area in future."

Fundraising Coffee Morning

Cambridge ward Liberal Democrats recently held a coffee morning to raise funds for ward action and literature.

Councillor Carmel Preston said

"Its always great to catch up with everyone at occassions like this. We run regular fundraising events like this and everyone is more than welcome to come along - people should call either myself or Sue for more details."

With over 50 people attending, including Lib Dem party members, supporters and friends, attending a great time was had by all. Besides having a cup of coffee, people were also treated to a raffle, cake, handmade card and book stalls.

Update on Park Avenue

Following on from our a previous blog post, your Liberal Democrat councillors would like to thank everyone who has contacted us regarding the ongoing issues. A number of other matters have also been raised including the state of the pavements along Park Avenue and road safety at the junctions of both Preston and Rawlinson Roads - we will investigate both of these issues further and report back to you.

A site visit has been arranged for the 28th August and we are pleased to report that two Council Officers will be visiting Park Avenue to meet with your councillors and residents to review the current issuses. Your Lib Dem Councillors have also asked the local Police Inspector, Inspector Neil Moss, to attend to give guidance on what the police and community support officers can do to counter both HGV and speeding traffic along Park Avenue.

Following requests from your Lib Dem Councillors, Inspector Neil Moss has also indicated that a police speedwatch operation has been undertaken on Park Avenue on Friday 21st August.

Your Lib Dem team will provide a more detailed update to the blog following the planned site visit to Park Avenue later this month.

Action to stop the sale of cars on Cambridge Road

A number of residents have contacted your Lib Dem Team to report their concerns that vehicles are being offered for sale at the roadside along Cambridge Road.

Cambridge Road is one of the main routes into Southport and as a result many people feel it is not an appropriate location for vehicles to be offered for sale. It is possible that these vehicles may act as a distraction to drivers or as a possible hazard, on what is, a very busy road

As a result, your Lib Dem Councillors have asked the Council to include Cambridge Road within the Control of Roadside Sales Order. This order states that “no person shall sell anything on the specified highway or offer or expose anything for sale on that highway”

Other roads within Southport that are covered by the order include:

Hawkshead Street,
Liverpool Avenue, Ainsdale
Liverpool Road, Birkdale
Preston New Road,
Scarisbrick New Road,
St. Cuthberts Road, Churchtown,

The inclusion of Cambridge Road within the order followed the required public notification and consultation with the Chief Officer of Police.

This order does not apply to anything done at premises used as a shop or petrol filling station on Cambridge Road.

Residents can report details of any vehicles that are offered for sale on Cambridge Road by contacting SEFTON PLUS on 084540 0845, minicom 0151 934 4657 or fill in the contact us online form on the Sefton Council website.

Better health services for our Children

The recent tragic death of a baby from Southport clearly shows that our town needs better health services for our Children.




Although plans are proceeding for a Minor Injuries Unit for children,

Cllr Sue McGuire, long time campaigner for childrens & maternity services says;

"I have spoken to the senior management from both the Hospital and Primary Care Trust and everyone agrees it is crucial that staff at Southport Hospital are trained in emergency life support for children. Paramedics must be able to take children to Southport hospital in emergency situations - going to Ormskirk in those cases is just not acceptable."

Cllr Carmel Preston, herself a trained nurse, added

"This is the most appalling thing for any parent, any healthcare provision for our children must be about patient safety."

Southport MP John Pugh works with Vince Cable

Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor,Vince Cable, is widely recognised as one of the few politicians to see the recession looming and the collapse in the housing market.

With unemployment rising and the country deep in debt,Vince Cable and Treasury colleague, John Pugh are plotting a route back to prosperity.

“We need to cut out wasteful expenditure like ID cards and concentrate on funding properly the key services people need. We need to develop new green industries that don’t depend on Russian gas or Middle East oil and we have got to get the banking system working for Britain not for city fat cats ! Its a tough order but with so many people on the Tory front bench with interests and directorships in banks- only the Lib Dems have the independence to see it through !

Council adopt Sue's Plan for Prompt Payment

Lib Dem Councillor Sue McGuire is delighted that Sefton Council have now agreed to her plan to pay local small and medium sized firms that supply the Council as quickly as possible.

Sue explains

“The Council has a leading role to play to ensure that the local companies who supply them are supported. Small businesses are the life blood of our local economy. As the owner of a small business, I know that cash flow is essential now more so than ever with credit being restricted.”

Cllr Sue McGuire is pictured discussing the issue of prompt payment with the Chairman of the Federation of Small Business who fully support the call for “prompt payment”. In fact the Federation of Small Business have called for the public sector to pay suppliers invoices within 10 -20 days.