Cross-Boundary civic infrastructure funding campaign launched in Birkdale

FUNDING CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED: Community campaigner hopes the campaign will improve grant funding

A campaigner for the heritage of Sefton is expanding his scope eastwards
across Birkdale in a move to improve overall grant funding support for the whole area which covers several districts of the Sefton Borough.

Birkdale, whose historical boundaries cover the Ainsdale, Birkdale, Dukes and Kew Ward electoral districts is also notable for having four conservation areas - Birkdale Park, Gloucester Road, West Birkdale and Birkdale Village. Most conservation appraisals were undertaken by the Local Authority in 2008 and 2011.

Grant Funding Applications each possess their own distinctive criteria, although many of these still have conditions based on their geographical positioning which doesn’t account for solely what is contained within Local Government borders. Indeed, the original and still widely regarded complete Birkdale Village begins on Weld Road in West Birkdale with its continuation and majority comprising Liverpool Road based in neighbouring East Birkdale.

Funding sources, such as the prized Levelling Up Fund, which covers a broader area that the officially prescribed Local Government areas for conurbations, such as Birkdale and Southport are yet to be achieved by Sefton Council. The most successful applications to date nationwide have considered this and taken measures to provide the best possible pitch to Whitehall thereby having the best economic impact overall.

READ MORE

• New woodlands for Cheshire and Merseyside after £4 million funding
• Southport Nostalgia: Southport's motoring history to be celebrated at Classic and Speed event

Mr Barton is aiming to proactively raise points and bring solutions for key
stakeholders as part of his long-term campaign to improve Placemaking and the
significance of traditional vernacular architecture in the modern day.

David's ultimate focus has been and remains the restoration of Sefton, and wishes to cultivate the greatest possible wrapper funding for Sefton Council, which in turn will bring genuine high-quality investment that will recreate and restore more lost features and buildings back into the streetscape. Mr. Barton affirms that by resourcefully utilising the built environment this will bring the relevant key infrastructure funding for items, such as transport connectivity and community facilities that will further compound economic growth.

He said: “Following on from my previous work namely in Southport Town
Centre and West Birkdale and a series of requests from various people, I shall now be integrating East Birkdale into my overarching civic heritage crusade. I shall be shortly outlining a series of restorative projects that I have collated during my own village audit, that will support future grant funding applications spanning the wider Birkdale area.

"As part of my critical analysis, I shall be citing items for improvement that will best support residents and businesses. As an elected official myself once, I always maintained my own parameters within the Dukes Ward district integrating cross boundary work accordingly. As a voluntary Community Campaigner covering the Borough, I will strive to do what I can to increase Sefton Council’s funding ratio, especially if this brings aid to Aintree, Bootle and Crosby."

He continued: "As with Lord Street and the Promenade when I first embarked on original restorative campaigns, Birkdale is a prime example of an area that requires a greater level of attention and focus if it is to reach its full potential.”

Get all the latest news, updates, things to do and more from Birkdale, Merseyside's dedicated InYourArea feed.