News in Heswall

Woodchurch Leisure Centre, nine libraries, two golf courses and more are at risk after a crunch Wirral Council meeting last night.

The full council meeting voted in favour of a £20m cuts plan which will see it pull funding for Brackenwood and Hoylake golf courses on April 1, as well as closing Wirral Tennis Centre for a 12-month period.

Today, Wirral Council is set to pass a budget featuring huge cuts which could see the closure of many much-loved leisure services in the borough.

The council must save £20 million to address a gaping hole in its budget, after it was slated in two government reports published last November for failing to make tough decisions and being overly focused on political point-scoring.

Above: a gallery of pictures by Bob Shaw

Cup action was the order of the day for Heswall this Saturday as both our First Team and Reserves played out semi-final ties in the Wirral District Senior and Amateur Cup competitions.

Tesla has opened its Supercharger network to non-Tesla drivers living in four more countries as the brand expands its trial. Selected sites in France, Germany and Norway have been opened up all to electric car owners following a successful trial in The Netherlands last year. Although Belgian electric car owners can access the new sites, no Supercharger sites in Belgium have been opened up.

The move, which has been welcomed by non-Tesla drivers in the countries where the network has opened, marks the start of a new phase of the trial.

Brackenwood municipal golf course, which dates back 87 years, could shut down within months due to the council's £20 million cuts package.

However, it is understood there are bidders interested in saving the course in the nick of time.

The governing body of British Tennis said it is ready to help save the "vital" Wirral Tennis Centre where women's US Open champion Emma Raducanu once competed.

Wirral Council's current plan is to close the indoor courts at the Tennis Centre in Bidston for a year, before reopening just three of the current six courts once an upgrade has taken place.

Wallasey-born Professor Steve Harding, a biochemist who also happens to be an expert on Wirral's Viking heritage, is leading a team of fellow scientists and archaeologists from Nottingham, Toulouse and York in examining ancient iron objects in new ways.

These include artefacts found in Bebington, fragments of weapons and adornments which could demonstrate that their location was the scene of a major battle which had a profound effect on England's history.

The support of volunteers is needed to help plant a woodland of more than 2,700 trees at Poulton Recreation Grounds next month.

Wirral residents are invited to get involved by grabbing a spade (or bringing their own if they have one) on 12 March to help the area become a haven for wildlife.

In early January we reported the fierce local resistance from people and politicians to the plans of the Leverhulme Estate to build hundreds of homes on Wirral green belt land. Among those voicing concern was Wirral West MP, Margaret Greenwood. Click or tap here to find out more.

Now Leverhulme, which owns 5000 acres of land, has launched a pre-application consultation process on its ambition to create up to 830 "much needed new homes" in "beautiful and sustainable communities" across Wirral.

'Middle Grade' refers to young readers aged between 8 and 12, a group keenly fought over by the publishing industry for which this is a vibrant market.

Thousands of titles are published each year, and increasingly they feature illustrations designed to make a child's book that much more accessible and welcoming.