A new community action group organised by Norwood councillors and the High Park Project has undertaken it’s first clean up activity in the ward with the help of local residents.
The volunteers tackled litter and weeds outside shops around Bispham Road Post Office and then moved on to the approach to Meols Cop station and the surrounding area.
The idea grew out of conversations between the ward’s three councillors and Joe McNulty from the High Park Project, which has been set up by the Brighter Living Partnership with National Lottery funding to help in the area. Norwood Councillor Greg Myers explained:
“We were in discussions with Joe about a number of issues and the subject of a community action group came up. We already have Labour’s Group Action in Norwood (GAiN) team which takes on community projects in the ward and Joe said that they were aiming to do a similar sort of thing in High Park.”
“We all agreed it made sense to work together and try to expand this type of activity into the wider community so that more residents could try to help improve the area a bit by getting stuck in ourselves.”
Joe McNulty said there was a natural synergy between the aims of the councillors and the scheme:
“We all want to see community resilience grow and improvement in the area, that’s what we are trying to achieve with this. A bit of local pride restored is never a bad thing and if we can help that along then I’ll be delighted.”
“The High Park Project aims to facilitate positive, long-lasting changes to the local area but we need input and support from local residents in order to achieve this.”
The volunteers were also assisted by Sefton Council which helped provide materials and clear the debris collected.
Councillor Mhairi Doyle said it was a really positive reception from the public:
“Everyone who spoke to us was very appreciative, from shopkeepers to passers-by. The local Jewsons Manager Chris even came out to provide bottles of water for us as it was hot and thirsty work out there.”
“We did have someone who tried to simply blame the council for the weeds and such but I pointed out that with over 51% of its budget slashed, things are extremely difficult at present.”
“It was heartening that they listened and then they were more understanding and also congratulated the volunteers for getting stuck in to help.”
One of the volunteers, Pat, said she’d got involved as she just wanted to help out:
“I just want to see the area I live in looking a bit smarter and I hate litter, to be honest. It’s nice to know that someone out there wants things to improve and so I wanted to join in.”
“It doesn’t take that much effort to make a difference as you can see.”
Joe McNulty says another clean up is planned for July 29th and it’s hoped more residents will come along and join in:
“This was our first event and we had eight people there in the end, which is a great start. We’ve had more interest and suggestions about where to improve next and welcome any help with open arms.”
“Hopefully, we’ll have more next time and be able to do more.”
Anyone interested can contact the Norwood councillors or the High Park Project, which is based at Southport Community Centre, for more details. Volunteers can also join in on the day, meeting outside Bispham Road Post Office at 11am.
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