Merry Xmas And A Happy New Year

West Park's Labour Team would like to wish all local residents best wishes for Xmas and the New Year. You can contact us any time regarding any local issue of importance to yourself.



West Park Labour Team

Recycle your Xmas trees

You can take trees along to local parks in St. Helens on Sunday 7th January where Council Rangers will take them off your hands between 10am and 3pm. The parks are Mesnes Park (Naylor’s Wood car park), Bankes Park in Billinge, Sherdley Park, Victoria Park in Windle, Ashtons Green open space at Parr and Clinkham Wood at Moss Bank. Alternatively, take them to one of the following waste sites: Ravenhead at Burtonhead Road, Rainhill at Tasker Terrace, Newton at Junction Lane and Rainford at Southerns Lane.

Small trees - a maximum of 4ft tall - can be placed at the side of your green bin on the relevant collection day. Residents are also reminded that Christmas cards can be recycled by putting them into your green bin or taking them to WH Smith, Tesco or TJ Hughes between January 2nd and 31st.

Work well underway at St Helens Hospital

Labour Campaigner Marlene Quinn has unreservedly welcomed the £85 million pound investment in St Helens Hospital.

Marlene commented commented” The £85m investment in St Helens Hospital will provide state-of-the-art diagnostic services and day and overnight surgical facilities at St Helens and Whiston Hospitals. With the new NHS Walk-in Centre complimenting services at our local hospitals "

The new facilities include: six operating theatres and 65 beds. And an expanded out-patient centre will be created which will have the capacity to deal with up to 200,000 out-patient visits every year.

Winter Heating Allowances

Elderly residents should be receiving their winter heating allowance by now. Call 08459 15 15 15 if you need more information.The payments vary beyween £100 to £300 depending on your age.Many residents will remember the Tories freezing winter heating allowances at £10 for many years.The very same Tories now run the local council with their Lib Dem pals.

Lib Dem Axe Sharpened For Care Homes

Ashtons Green Care Home in Parr is under threat from the Lib Dem Axe. Unions say staff have already been told that they will lose their jobs in March 2007 and elderly residents and their families face an uncertain future. Furious Labour Councillors confronted the Council’s Lib Dem leadership about the home's future. Labour had planned for the home to be redesigned to provide high quality accommodation and respite care.

In a further blow to local elderly residents and carers the Lib Dem Led Council has announced the closure of Larchfields Care Home in Newton .Labour's Marlene Quinn said " This announcement came just a couple of weeks before Xmas.The Lib Dems axed 6 care homes in Liverpool so we know all about Lib Dem rhetoric and Lib Dem reality when it comes to vulnerable residents". One local resident said "The residents of Larchfields are an elderly and frail group of people who have contributed to our society for many years. It is now time for us to repay and thank them for what they have done.Larchfields is their home where they are comfortable, familiar and cared for. The staff have become their extended family."

Marlene Slams Child's Play Delay

Labour Campaigner has slammed the Lib Dem led regime at the Council for the constant dithering and delays over children’s play facilities in the ward.

Marlene said “Last spring we informed local people that Labour had set aside £1 million to be spent on children’s play facilities. Some of this money was to be used to install new children’s play equipment in Thatto Heath Park,Taylor Park, Dodd Ave and Queens Park. Sadly, the Lib Dems did a deal with the Tories to take control of the Council in May and the play facilities that should have been in place for the summer holidays have been constantly delayed by dithering within the new regime”

“It now looks like our local kids will get their new play equipment just in time for next spring. You can rest assured that West Park’s Labour Team will fight for these facilities. Because we are the only all local campaign team we are fighting for OUR community.”

Leslie Road

Marie Rimmer has asked the council to include Leslie Road in the round of roads to be gritted during bad weather. Marie said “The steepness of the road makes it especially dangerous. So far the council have not agreed to grit Leslie Road but I intend to keep pressing on behalf of local residents.The council have agreed to an
extra grit bin for Leslie Road follwing requests from your Labour Team”

The Big Lib Dim Lights Out

The Lib Dem Led Council in St Helens are raiding the Labour government’s Neighbourhood Renewal Fund to pay for routine street lighting replacement schemes. These funds were intended for improvements to deprived areas above and beyond normal council spending.

Street lighting is also being ‘prioritised’ and all routine council revenue replacement schemes have been shelved for this financial year.

Labour’s Marlene Quinn said” Labour provided Neighbourhood Renewal Funds to help improve deprived communities, not to replace council spending on street lighting. And if your street isn’t lucky enough to be thought of as a ‘priority’ it’s tough luck. Good street lighting is an important factor in fighting crime”

What do you think? Let us know at labour@westpark.org.uk

Taylor Park Car Parking

Cllr Marie Rimmer commenting on this issue said ”I have received many questions about the extra car parking that was planned at the Grosvenor Rd end of Taylor Park. The plans were ready to submit to planning some time ago and it was intended extra parking spaces would be ready by summer 2006.Like everything else it appears to have vanished into a quagmire of delay and dither. I will continue pressing for action on behalf of residents and have written personally to all residents who have contacted me about this matter”.

Residents rap increase in dog fouling

A big increase in dog fouling was by far the biggest concern of local residents in our recent survey. Labour Campaigner Marlene Quinn said “There is a definite feeling that this problem has got much worse in recent months. Residents from Hewitt Av, Cambridge Rd, Silkstone St, Chamberlain St ,Mulberry Ave, Marsden Ave, Oliver Rd and users of Queens Park have all made their feelings known to us on this issue. West Park’s Labour Team will be urging the Council to concentrate on the issues that matter most to local people. The vast majority of dog owners are perfectly responsible but this council needs to do more to target the irresponsible owners”

Labour successfully campaigned for extra dog bins in Queens Park and responsible dog owners are using them. Overflowing dog bins are a health hazard and this Lib Dem led Council needs to act...NOW!!

pictured:
Marlene Quinn at an overflowing dog waste bin in Queens Park.

A Load Of Old Rubbish

Your Labour Team inspect a growing pile of rubbish in our area.It was reported for clean up.

Labour’s Marlene Quinn said “This huge pile of fly tipping in has been allowed to grow and a 3 piece suite was recently added for good measure. Is this the ‘improved environment’ the Lib Dems promised us at election time? Labour’s Council budget last spring provided an extra £1 million for the local environment and so far only 400k has been spent. Your Labour team has pressed for this mess to be cleaned up”

How is the Lib Dem led council dealing with rubbish in your area? Let Marlene know at labour@westpark.org.uk