News & Events

We are pleased to congratulate Councillor Joanne Burke on being nominated for the NALC Star Council Awards 2021. The winners and runner’s up will be announced at an online awards ceremony later this year. You can read below the reason for Councillor Burke’s nomination. 

Click here to view all nominations on NALC’s website

Cllr Joanne Burke, Prescot Town Council, Merseyside

Since being elected in 2018, Cllr Joanne Burke has constantly strived to develop Prescot Town Council’s offer for residents. One of her most successful initiatives is the school uniform recycling programme. Over the past two years, this project has seen 551 families supported with 4,345 individual garments, saving over a tonne of material going to landfill. Cllr Burke has combined this project with sports nutrition and play activity sessions. These sessions are delivered twice a week during school holidays at a local park. This project provides activity and healthy lunch for all those attending, preventing stigma whilst combatting holiday hunger. The two projects were adapted for COVID-19 with record numbers of families engaging.

Cllr Burke was also at the forefront of developing Prescot Town Council’s isolation support scheme. She worked closely with Prescot Town Council’s clerk to develop a program of support that offered a three-day sustenance package to local residents who could not leave the house. Cllr Burke donated stocks of food that had been compiled for the summer holiday programme and personally went out shopping to generate stock until the council’s order arrived. Cllr Burke also delivered the first support package.

Another of Cllr Burke’s innovations worthy of note is the local democracy programme that Prescot Town Council now offers to all local primary schools. This facilitates understanding of local (parish and town) councils and role play by the children in the chamber, in the hope of inspiring young people to use their voices.

In addition to her role as a councillor, Cllr Burke is also involved in several community groups. This ensures ongoing maintenance of two-way contact. In 2019 Cllr Burke launched Prescot Mission Christmas, an initiative that saw 30 isolated residents invited to Christmas dinner at Prescot Town Hall with transport arranged, entertainment and a hamper gift. Thirty housebound isolated residents received deliveries of this offer. The COVID-19 pandemic galvanised Cllr Burke to raise the bar and in December 2020 under her leadership, Prescot Mission Christmas delivered Christmas dinner, crackers, goodies and two other meals to 200 families in Prescot and the wider area.  

Prescot Town Council’s school uniform recycling project is now well under way, please donate any items of uniform during August 2021 at Prescot Town Hall Mon-Fri from 9.30am – 4.30pm and you can collect School Uniform from Eaton Street Pavilion on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s throughout August between 12pm – 3.30pm.

Grab a Jab

Whilst we all love the sunshine of summer months, unfortunately they also seem to bring with them a craze for causing damage to our much loved parks. 

So far mindless vandals have caused damage to the bespoke Welcome mural (£600 to repair and repaint), cut holes in the bowling green fence (£400 per panel) and snapped newly planted trees (£300 each). 

The cost of the vandalism means that monies allocated to improving the park for all are now being spent on repairs and target hardening measures to protect what we have, rather than making the park better for all. 

If your children hang around on our parks that’s brilliant that is what they are there for but have a word with them and tell them they should be enjoyed by all not damaged so that that enjoyment ruins the enjoyment for others. If they come home with anti vandal paint on them they have been up to no good, you only get this stuff on you if you are somewhere you should not be. Anti Vandal paint will ruin your cloths and takes ages to clean off your skin. 

Today a team of volunteers from the Friends of Eaton Street Park assisted by officers from Prescot Town Council and the resident Gardener from Knowsley Council took steps to target harden the bowling green from further vandalism by planting a hedge made up of Hawthorn and Pyracantha along with the use of anti vandal paint in strategic points. Once established Hawthorn and Pyracantha will not only provide a formidable barrier but also a beautiful hedge feature of orange and white that is absolutely  loved by wildlife.   

School Uniform Donations Needed

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Residents in Prescot will be able to access PCR testing due to increasing numbers of cases in the area.

• Prescot Soccer Centre on Warrington Road, Prescot. The Mobile Testing Unit will be open from 10am until 3pm on Wednesday 16 June, Thursday 17 June and Friday 18^th June

The Mobile Testing Unit will offer COVID-19 testing to residents who are:

• Showing symptoms of COVID-19. Symptoms include a high temperature, new or persistent cough or a loss of taste or smell
• Generally feeling unwell such as experiencing headaches, a sore throat or runny nose
• Have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive
• Has been in close contact with someone who is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19

Please note: the site is operating as a walk-in testing site, with limited parking available at each site. Please where possible walk to the testing unit and book an appointment

Booking an appointment

Appointments are required and they can be booked through www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test or by ringing 119.  Other PCR testing sites are also available in the Borough (Huyton, Kirkby and Stockbridge Village) and appointments at those sites can be booked through the same link.

Test results are normally returned in around 24 hours.

The Mobile Testing Unit will be located at St Andrew’s Church / The Star Children’s Centre on Shevington Lane between 10am and 3pm on Wednesday 16 June and Friday 18 June, and at Prescot Soccer Centre on Wednesday 16 June, Thursday 17 June and Friday 18 June.

Residents are asked to remember to wear a mask when attending the Mobile Testing Unit and to ensure they keep a safe distance from those not in their household.

In addition, residents should return home and stay at home until their test result is confirmed.

With restrictions being eased, opportunities for more social interactions and variants of concern in circulation, it’s important that anyone with symptoms or who has had a positive test with a lateral flow / home testing kit, are tested. Importantly, if the PCR test is positive, they can self-isolate and stop passing on the virus to others.

For more information and to apply click on the link below:

https://www.imaginariumtheatre.co.uk/makers-and-players

We have just received confirmation that our funding application to the Veolia Environmental Trust for £75,000 has been given conditional approval. 

The application has been a collaboration between the Town Council, KMBC ‘s Parks Team and Friends of KGV Brown’s Field and Carr Lane Woods, so we are delighted that our partnership approach has paid dividends.  

However, the support and feedback of all those who completed the online questionnaire along with letters of support from St Mary and St Paul’s Primary, Evelyn Primary and Friends and Family Play Centre will have really helped, so a huge well done to everyone. It might not always seem worth your time and effort, but filling in a simple questionnaire really can make a difference and together we really are improving our Town and Green Spaces for the benefit of all. 

We will keep you posted as we progress with the project as there is still a lot to be done before we can contemplate making a start on site.