The Newsletter for your Community Issue 39: August 2015 See our website www.newferryonline.org.uk
SHOREFIELDS NATURE PARK PROJECT FINALLY UNDERTAKEN
NEW FERRY RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION AGM WED 26th AUGUST 2015 New Ferry Residents Association is to hold its Annual General Meeting on Wednesday 26th August, 6.30pm at St Marks Church Hall. This will be the first community meeting the group has held since the AGM last summer. The group, which has been working hard behind the scenes since 1999 to win funding for New Ferry projects, has suffered a number of blows since last December. This started with the sudden death of founder member of NeFRA and Chair of the Friends of New Ferry Park Arthur Waller MBE.
It has taken over 2 years to plan and win funding for, but ÂŁ22,000 worth of improvements have been carried out at Shorefields Nature Park. New Ferry Residents Association had to apply for funding from various sources for the project, and eventually was awarded the money from the Community First fund and Funds for You from Wirral Borough Council. The works, completed during July, saw the footpath through the woods repaired and resurfaced, new gates installed to deter motorbikes getting in and ruining the path again, four new heritage signboards and improvements to the steps at the northern end. The scheme also included closing the access at the end of Oakworth Drive which had seen an increase in the number of people coming into the residential cul-de-sac and using it as a shortcut to the steps giving access to Port Sunlight River Park (this had been announced in our last newsletter in summer 2014). The original idea for Shorefields had included a plan to win funding to build a new footpath along the top of the cliffs and to provide new picnic tables. Unfortunately, the National Lottery is not an easy funder to get money out of and turned down our application for an additional ÂŁ25,000 to pay for this. We are determined, however, to continue to seek funding for this second phase. If you would like to get involved in the project or are interested in Shorefields Nature Park in general, please email us at www.newferryonline.org.uk or write to us at the address shown below.
In addition, the group's Treasurer John Blainey has now left New Ferry and relocated to Birkenhead. John had been the organiser of the recent Classic Vehicle Day events, and a valuable contributor to getting the Christmas Lights put up at the end of last year. This means there is an urgent need to find new volunteers from the community to get involved. At the AGM, we will be seeking a new Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary and Treasurer. We will also be seeking new people to come onto the committee to help with various projects as and when needed. If you would like to nominate someone (or be nominated yourself), please come along to the meeting.
Published by New Ferry Residents Association, c/o New Ferry Village Hall, Longfellow Drive, New Ferry, Wirral, Merseyside CH62 5JS. Printed by Merseyside Business Forms, Unit 5, Royal Standard Way, Expressway Business Park, New Chester Road, Wirral CH42 1NB