WE SAID NO Save Rimrose Valley

We’re approaching the end of winter and spring is on its way! With that in mind, we decided to take a closer look at one of the most popular projects our charity, Rimrose Valley Friends, has delivered in recent years.

The creation of a wildflower meadow at the centre of the old Chaffers’ running track reinvigorated a neglected section of the parkland and received incredible financial support from the surrounding community and environmental funders alike. Since its original sowing in 2019, the wildflower meadow has become an annual attraction and has become both an incredible visual display and a new habitat for bees, butterflies, and other pollinators… scooping a prestigious Defra award in the process.

But what has this got to do with the campaign to Save Rimrose Valley? Well, the purpose of the project was to raise the profile of Rimrose Valley, to attract new visitors and to encourage people to care about it enough to fight for its future. 

In this episode you will hear how it is very much ‘mission accomplished’ and that the once disused running track has now become one of the jewels of this incredible parkland and a vital, free facility - benefiting people’s health and wellbeing. 

As 2022 comes to an end, members of our campaign team caught up to mull over the year, to reflect on some of the key developments, and to revisit some of the other projects undertaken by our charity, Rimrose Valley Friends.
2023 is set to be a pivotal year in the fight against the road proposal, with National Highways expected to hold its long awaited statutory consultation on its final road design.
We'll be calling for people to reject this outright, and to instead demand non-road, sustainable alternatives to port access which respect our communities, our health and wellbeing and the environment.
Stay tuned for more information on how you can play your part throughout the year.
This recording was made prior to the news that our fellow campaigner and former trustee, Hazel Davies, had passed away.  Our thoughts go out to her family and friends and our work will continue in her memory.

On Friday 26th August, a group of Save Rimrose Valley campaigners consisting of children, parents and grandparents hit the road and boarded a coach to Manchester.  

The trip was the campaign’s latest protest as they took the fight to the regional headquarters of National Highways - the public body responsible for the plans to bulldoze Rimrose Valley.  

Joined by other campaigners from the North West and members of staff from long-time allies, outdoor clothing store Patagonia, they marched through the streets of Manchester to deliver letters and materials produced by local school children.  

Would National Highways come out to accept them?  Find out in our latest podcast.

In this episode we focus on the game of football and how Rimrose Valley and the green space surrounding it hosts numerous, pitches clubs and leagues. 
We look at the massive physical and mental health benefits that come with people of all ages playing our national game all year round, and how National Highway’s proposed road through the valley will affect thousands of participants.
Having seen how the recent Euro 2022 victory for England's Lionesses gave the whole nation a well needed shot in the arm, why is National Highways even considering ploughing a four lane carriageway through many of these sporting facilities?
We talk to local, grass roots players and organisers about how they feel about the potential loss of their football pitches and the effect it will have on their lives and wellbeing. And how the football clubs on Rimrose Valley and the surrounding spaces could be lost.

A question our campaign is often asked is; why can’t Sefton’s network of railway lines solve the problem of port access? Many members of the community have pointed out the number of disused railway lines running from the dock that were active up until the 1980’s. 
 In this episode we investigate how these used to operate by visiting some of the locations with former lorry driver, John Wilson. We then discuss the wider picture of rail freight distribution in the UK with Maggie Simpson, Director General of Rail Freight Group, the representative body for rail freight in the UK. 
 We conclude by bringing things right up to date and taking a look at the government’s latest plans for rail enhancements in the North West. Is our region getting the investment it so badly needs?

It's been an eventful and a positive year for the campaign. We've had protest events that were covered nationally. Activities and educational events on the valley for the first time in what seems like forever. 

In a year where most of us haven't had the best of times, here's our review of some of the good things that have happened in 2021.