What, where, when?

Things going down on Merseyside this week Greetings fellow Monitorites, It’s that time of the week again when we dig through the council calendars of Merseyside to find out what‘s going to being discussed next. If you’re new here, welcome. We send this email out usually on

One councillor behind sharp rise in complaints

The borough has seen more code of conduct complaints in two months than the whole of the previous year A single councillor is behind a sharp rise in code of conduct complaints at one Merseyside council, a senior officer has revealed. Monitoring officer Jan Bakewell, whose role includes handling code

The budget line that sealed Southport aviary’s fate

Who paid attention to the line on page 17? When Sefton Council announced last week that Southport’s 87 year old aviary would close, there was an immediate public backlash. The BBC reported a bird keeper describing the news as a ‘bolt from the blue’, residents were in uproar all

Interesting things happening in Merseyside this week

… and some important updates on the Monitor Greetings fellow Mersey Monitorians, Welcome to this week’s newsletter about local democracy-related events across Merseyside. We need to start, unfortunately, with yet another apology. Last week you didn’t receive your regular email brimming with meetings, events and all manner of

Southport esplanade updates given in ‘error’

What is actually happening at one of Southport’s most prominent sites? The future of a key Southport site has been thrown into confusion after the council admitted this week that months of updates given to councillors about it were incorrect. An exclusivity agreement linked to a proposed £75 million

What decisions are being made where this coming week?

Plus: liver birds, legal letters and a missing portrait Welcome to the Monitor’s packed weekly digest including our diary of local democracy related meetings and events coming up across Merseyside this week. We’d firstly like to apologise that this regular email has arrived a little late to your

The government doubled Wirral’s housing targets, could it mean trouble for the green belt?

Just 15 months after approving its local plan, Wirral’s about to start it all over again Wirral is about to begin making a new local plan just 15 months since the last one was adopted, after councillors agreed the first steps this week amid concerns about what it could

Putting out the bins: a £350m council contract and plans to buy us all a depot

Why is Wirral Council buying the depot of a bin company it’s awarding a potential £350m contract to? The bins in Wirral could soon be emptied by Biffa, the company that already does the bins in Wirral, after a contract worth £350m over 16 years cleared a major hurdle

Decisions, decisions, decisions

What’s coming up across Merseyside (and an apology from the Monitor) If you’re new here, welcome. If not, hello again. The Mersey Monitor is a little independent public-interest newsroom in and about Merseyside. We’re focused on the communities that make our region what it is, the

The spine that lies East of Maghull, sort of

One of Sefton’s biggest housebuilding projects is back before councillors tonight and it all centres on a spine. Well, a spine road, to be more precise. Planning officers are recommending approval for another change to the massive and somewhat controversial East of Maghull development, this time allowing Persimmon Homes

Staff shortages closed 18 local mental health beds. Now the NHS doesn’t want them back

Two years ago, 18 specialist mental health beds at Bowmere Hospital in Chester were closed due to staff shortages. Tonight, Wirral councillors will be asked about that change becoming permanent. A report going before the council’s Adult Social Care and Public Health Committee argues the beds are no longer

Sefton is getting new taxi drivers all revved up

But why is the borough in its ‘highest demand’? Sefton Council is becoming ‘attractive’ to private hire drivers amid a surge in applications for licences registered in the borough, according to the head of licensing in Sefton. The remarks were made by licensing chief Mark Toohey at a meeting of