It's my (street) party!

RESIDENTS in Liverpool are being invited to organise street parties to celebrate the Royal Wedding. The legal cost of arranging a road closure for an event to mark the wedding of HRH Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, on Saturday, 19 May 2018, is being waived and the City Council will also provide signage and cones, with organisers only having to arrange public liability insurance.

Assistant Mayor and Cabinet member for culture, Cllr Wendy Simon, said:- "Liverpool comes together at times of celebration and we know there will be communities interested in holding a street party to mark the Royal Wedding. Our aim is to make it as simple and easy as possible for them to do so."

Separately, the City Council has also established a Liverpool wide Community Events Order, which means that from now on, people wanting to hold community events or street parties lasting up to 3 hours do not have to apply for a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO), which previously cost them in excess of ₤2,000.

It will allow the closure of roads so that regular community events or street parties can take place, and has the benefit of allowing children to play safely in traffic-free areas, creating safer zones and encouraging young people to get active outdoors, improving their health and wellbeing.

Residents interested in either arranging a street party for the Royal Wedding, that is due to take place on 19 May 2018, or other community events needing a road closure between now and April 2019 to must apply online, by 30 April 2018.

Cabinet member for highways, Cllr Steve Munby added:- "The Community Events Order enables the City Council to cover the costs of a 1 off, annual Traffic Regulation Order which gives communities the freedom to put on an event in their area. Not only is it a simple and effective way to encourage children to play out on traffic-free streets, but in turn, it gives neighbours the chance to socialise, growing the community spirit and engendering pride in where people live."

Events must be funded and organised by applicants, and major roads and bus routes are exempt. The Council does not provide bollards or road closure signs for events other than a Royal wedding or Jubilee event.

The initiative forms part of Play Streets; a nationwide drive for Local Authorities to develop a scheme that will encourage young people to play safely on the streets.

All Zoe's Footsteps – Southport Dad to take on epic 117 mile walk

A dad from Southport, whose daughter has just completed more than 2 years of treatment for Leukaemia, will soon be setting off on an epic 117 mile walk to raise vital funds for CLIC Sargent and Alder Hey Children's Charity.  Phil Robinson has named the walk:- 'All Zoe's Footsteps' as the 117 mile walk represents 117 weeks of treatment for daughter Zoe, his inspiration.

Zoe was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia in October 2015 at the age of just 2½. Following treatment at Alder Hey Children's Hospital which she completed, in February 2018, Zoe has made a full recovery. CLIC Sargent is the UK's leading charity for young cancer patients and their families.

Phil says:- "We are so grateful for the support that was offered to us as a family by CLIC Sargent at the time we needed it most, and the team at Alder Hey have been fantastic throughout Zoe's treatment. I hope to be able to give something back and help children, young people and their families who find themselves in a similar situation."

On 2 April 2018, Phil will set out on the 6 day walk from his home in Southport, walking 25.8 miles on the 1st day, ending in Preston. Day 2 will be Preston to Adlington (16.7m), day 3 Adlington to Eccles (22.9m), day 4 Eccles to Knutsford (18.7m), day 5 is Knutsford to Runcorn (18.9m), and the final day will be a walk of 14 miles through from Runcorn, finishing at Alder Hey Hospital.

Stefanie Underhill, Fundraising and Engagement Manager at CLIC Sargent said:- "We are delighted that Phil has chosen to fundraise for CLIC Sargent and wish him the best of luck for this impressive challenge! Today, 11 more children and young people will hear the devastating news that they have cancer. Without fundraisers like Phil, many children and young people would be facing the ordeal of cancer treatment without the support they need."

Irene Axon, Community Fundraising Manager at Alder Hey Children's Charity said:- "We need support for vital research, innovation and education and support like Phil's amazing Challenge will help us develop better, safer medicines and treatment to benefit young patients at Alder Hey and children across the world. Good luck Phil."

To sponsor Phil's challenge for CLIC Sargent or Alder Hey Children's Charity, go to on the fund's Just Giving Page.

Launch of the Liverpool Active Workplace Toolkit to aid productivity and reduce absence in the workplace

AS part of the Liverpool Active City Strategy 2014 to 2021, and in partnership with strategic stakeholders, Liverpool City Council (LCC) and NHS Liverpool Clinical Commissioning Group (LCCG) are launching the:- 'Liverpool Active Workplace Toolkit,' on 20 March 2018, at the Liverpool Business Fair, at Liverpool Football Club with speakers:-

► Dr Sandra Davies, Director of Public Health, Liverpool City Council.

► Danny Woodworth, Physical Activity and Sport Officer, Merseyside Sport Partnership.

► Nicky Yates, Strategic Physical Activity and Sport Development Manager, Liverpool City Council.

► The Toolkit has been developed to maximise the benefits of developing active workforces across Liverpool.

Local and national research shows that as well as benefiting physical and mental health, developing a more active workforce can improve productivity, teamwork and morale in the workplace, whilst also reducing sickness absence. Currently 44% of adults working in Liverpool are not meeting minimum physical activity guidelines and are missing out on a wide range of benefits to their current and future health and wellbeing.

In partnership with Merseyside Sport Partnership, who were commissioned by LCC/LCCG to deliver the:- 'Liverpool Active Workplace Programme' in 2017, the Toolkit aims to help local employers promote the benefits of physical activity to employees, bringing together best practice and demonstrating the benefits for employers in enabling their workforce to be come more active. It includes lots of ideas that employers can try to enable staff to increase their daily activity levels; all are designed to be low cost, quick and simple to implement.

The Toolkit is supported by the City's 'Fit For Me' campaign, which aims to inspire everyone in the City of Liverpool to become more active. Employers can download the Toolkit for free via the 'Fit For Me' website.

Cllr Tim Beaumont, Mayoral Lead for City Well-being and Healthy Weight Champion said:- "This is a great resource for employers in Liverpool to get their workforce moving. Benefits of having a more active workforce are better overall morale, lower staff turnover, improved productivity, teamwork and communication, we see absenteeism reduced by up to 20%, and it also demonstrates good corporate social responsibility which is attractive to prospective employees."

Dr Maurice Smith, local GP and NHS Liverpool CCG's Clinical Lead for Living Well said:- "We're delighted to be supporting the launch of the Liverpool Active Workplace Toolkit. It's a fantastic resource packed full of simple ideas for employers to use to help encourage staff to be more active during the working day. Believe it or not, you don't need to spend hours and hours exercising to live an active lifestyle either. Even introducing small changes into the working day can make a big difference to the health and wellbeing of employees. So whether that's trialling some standing or walking meetings, or just encouraging staff to get away from the desk and take a short walk over their lunch break, or even encouraging walking or cycling as part of the daily commute, as long as it gets the heart beating a bit faster, it all counts."