Merseyside hit by flash floods!

THE North West has been hit by torrential rain, causing floods across the region. One of the worst hit areas has been Merseyside. On Tuesday, 20 July 2010, the flooding not only caused major disruption for residents, but also led to some being evacuated from their homes. In the Knowsley Road area of Bootle they were taken to a local church hall. All this as a hosepipe ban continues! The worst hit area on Merseyside, on Tuesday, 20 July 2010, was around the A565 in Seaforth, leading to streets in some places being flooded to waist height! Sefton Council declined to comment, but Liverpool City Council said at least 50 roads were affected in the Liverpool area and that it had been "working flat out to try to alleviate the situation." Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service said it had received about 150 calls from 1.00pm to 4.30pm on the Tuesday. Merseyside Police also added that they had to deal with "numerous incidents over the course of the afternoon and evening." Public transport has also been affected, Merseytravel said that Bus services had been delayed and some trains had to be replaced with buses. "In Liverpool, there major floods in Princess Drive, Melwood Drive, Childwall Valley Road, Aigburth Road, Speke Boulevard, Allerton Road (Queens Drive – Library) which led to bus services running approx 15 mins late. A police incident in the Baker’s Green area also affected our buses. There was no access to Aigburth Vale so services had to be diverted along Aigburth Road. This meant that all our bus services in South Liverpool were affected in some way. We also had to deal with road closures on the Wirral, around the Bromborough Cross area and, in St. Helens in the Peasley Cross area. There flooding also led to major delays in and around Skelmersdale Concourse plus Tanhouse and Old Skelmersdale area for all passengers on the bus routes. Southport and Runcorn bus routes were relatively unaffected apart from services from Runcorn towards Liverpool, via Childwall and Speke. Passengers on Merseyrail were also affected on due to a tunnel fire, but that was not weather related. This lead to rail services on the Northern Line between Liverpool Central and Hunts Cross being cancelled and a replacement bus service being put into operation for the rest of that day. Otherwise the Merseyrail network has been operating normally." Liverpool Council on Tuesday, 20 July, also advised tourists and residents to avoid parks in the city, as many had become flooded. Motorists in Wirral also were advised by Wirral Council and the Highways Authority to avoid The Rake in Bromborough. Were you affected and did you get photographs? If you did let us know and tell us your story by emailing us at news24@southportreporter.com.

The search is on for the North West customer service champion

SIR Ron Watson CBE has been re-appointed to Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust for a second term as chair of the board.  The Trust provides hospital care to 240,000 people across north Sefton and West Lancashire and he was first appointed chair in 2006.  Sir Ron has considerable experience in previous NHS organisations including Southport and Formby Health Authority, Sefton Health Authority, Cheshire and Merseyside Strategic Health Authority where he was vice-chair, and as chair of Cheshire West Primary Care Trust.  He lives in Birkdale, in Southport, and is married with two children.

Commenting on his re-appointment, Sir Ron said:- "The commitment, dedication and professionalism of staff at both our hospitals have made it a pleasure to chair the board since 2006. I am delighted to be given the chance to serve local people for a further four years both as chair and to represent their views with my other non-executive directors. The NHS in general, and our hospital Trust in particular, face significant challenges over the next four years and my aim as chair is to ensure the best possible range of services are available for our population based on clinical need. I want to work constructively with colleagues, not just in the NHS, but within local government in particular and other voluntary agencies to ensure a seamless level of service for those we seek to assist."

Sir Ron's re-appointment was made in accordance with the Commissioner for Public Appointments' Code of Practice. All non-executive appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, in accordance with the original Nolan recommendations, there is a requirement for an appointee's political activity (if any) to be made public.  Sir Ron is a Conservative councillor for Dukes ward on Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council and holds two other ministerial appointments. He has been a member of the Mental Health Tribunal since 2002 (for which he is paid on a case-by-case basis) and a member of Standards Board for England (for which he receives £7,529 per year remuneration) since 2007.  His term of office is for four years from 1 November 2010 to 31 October 2014 and he will receive a remuneration of £20,896 per annum.