There’s been a lot of action in Town Halls, council chambers and Parliaments over the last few years. We’ve been asked to vote on all kinds from Brexit to your local councillor to who is going to oversee the police.
Next year, all out elections will be held in Liverpool, meaning dozens of potentially new councillors will be sitting in the chamber on Water Street on our instruction. We’ve had two by-elections this month with a third on the way.
Despite all that action, there are still even more ways you can engage with democracy, as Liverpool Council has a number of different consultations in play at the moment, from the structure of its governance, to a change to traffic. We’ve listed the current initiatives the local authority wants your say on.
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Mayoral changes
This is the big one. Envelopes are landing on doormats across the city asking for your take on how the council’s top table should look after years mired in scandal and negative spotlight. A total of three options have been put forward - leader and cabinet model, committee system, or maintaining the Mayoralty.
Mayor Joanne Anderson vowed to campaign to effectively do away with her own job through a referendum. As changes were made to the electoral calendar as a result of the damning Caller Report, meaning all out city elections were bumped to next year, a referendum has been deemed too costly by the controlling Labour group at around £500,000.
At a meeting of the local authority in January, Mayor Anderson’s Labour group presented an option for a consultation on the issue - priced at around £120,000 - to run until June. The Mayor said a consultation would 'do the same job' as a referendum and get the same results.
Other parties are campaigning for other models, with the Lib Dems - the largest opposition party - pushing hard for the committee model. Their leader, Cllr Richard Kemp, said anyone voting to keeping the Mayoral would be “mad”.
SEND schools move
The local authority is seeking residents’ views on relocating a special educational needs and disability (SEND) school 14 miles away as it attempts to tackle the “dramatic increase” in need for school places. A non-statutory engagement exercise has been launched with stakeholders over the future of three city special schools and pupil referral units after the local authority’s cabinet gave its approval.
As a result, a report will be put together on the potential for Bank View School on Long Lane to relocate 14 miles away to Parklands in Speke. The schools could be relocated as the city looks to meet the “dramatic increase” in young people with education health and care plans (EHCP).
More than 4,000 children in Liverpool have EHCPs, an increase of 46% since 2019.
The consultation will consider moving Princes School on Selborne Street to Redbridge School on Long Lane, while Redbridge would move into Bank View as they occupy the same site. It will also seek to assess the viability of New Heights Key Stage 4 site relocating from Parklands to the vacant school premises on Naylorsfield Drive.
Further discussions will be held with the leadership at Ernest Cookson School, Hope School, Clifford Holroyde School and Woolton High School regarding future organisation and the delivery of education at these locations for young people with social, emotional, and mental health needs.
Cllr Tom Logan, cabinet member for education and skills, said that Liverpool “does not have enough places to meet demand” currently and “radical changes” were needed to the system with the consultation acting as a starting point. The exercise will run until next month.
Traffic changes
A six month engagement process is looking into experimental traffic changes to Kingsley Road, Toxteth. As part of a £1.3 million investment to the road, a temporary one-way system, a 20mph limit, and a cycle lane have been installed, in addition to resurfacing works.
Liverpool Council now wants to know if the amendments should be made permanent. It said the one-way arrangement (northbound between Princes Avenue and Upper Parliament Street) has been established to create more road space to provide formalised parking areas, avoiding parking obstructions in the cycle lanes.
The cycle lane will provide “safe segregation for cyclists, connecting the route with Princes Avenue Boulevard to the south and Crown Street/Oxford Street to the north.” The proposal also maintains the zebra crossing facility, taxi provision to the south, provides blue badge parking by the health centre, loading provision for the convenience store to the north and bus stop provision.
The parking provision which alternates between the east and west side of the road will reduce traffic speed. The ETRO came into operation on 20th December 2021 and can only stay in force for a maximum of 18 months while the effects are monitored and assessed.
Residents can have their say until June.
Public realm strategy
Views on a draft public realm strategy planning document are also being sought before the start of May. The additional documentation will “ensure high-quality streets, square and parks and open spaces as part of new developments, regeneration and street renewal schemes across the city” according to the local authority.
Comments on all the consultations will be kept for 12 months before being destroyed.
