I don't know if people are aware but Wirral Borough Council are currently in consultation over the future use of the Rock Ferry High School site. Development considerations include: Demolition of the buildings & the selling off the 3 playing fields.
We believe they're worth saving.
Ravenswood House is a Grade II Listed Building & the woodland area boasts many species of wildlife & trees. It is also used by the local community for play & recreation.
In addition, a Government report only yesterday highlighted that 900,000 more schoolchildren will be in the system over the next decade. They will need a school.
Maybe you live in the area, maybe you're an ex pupil or perhaps you have just enjoyed the space it offers?
If you have, can I direct you to our Facebook page & ask you for your support by signing our petition?
Over 750 people have signed since last night - please can you add your signature...& please share with family & friends.
Save Rock Ferry High School & Woodlands - Facebook Page.
Its going to cost the council a fortune to knock the school down. I heard the plans was to make this school into an engineering college. Ravenswood House is a Grade II Listed Building will be saved. Ive signed anyway the more the better.well done facebook for bringing this up. There using the school to train police dogs at the moment.
Thank you so much for the support. The response has been phenomenal. I only started the petition last night & we're already at 900 signatures, plus there are old fashioned paper sheets being filled too.
Please do continue to share the information with friends, family & colleagues as, who knows, that one extra signature just might make a difference.
There's also some potential local media interest too so, hopefully, the momentum will continue.
Feel free to contact me if you need any information & I'll also update the sites with any news.
Developers have been after that playing field for years, the rugby field, easy access to road. I remember signing a petition years ago to stop it. Thay spent thousands do a new laboratory facilities and just about finished , then closed school.i have signed and hope people power win.
Developers have been after that playing field for years, the rugby field, easy access to road. I remember signing a petition years ago to stop it. Thay spent thousands do a new laboratory facilities and just about finished , then closed school.i have signed and hope people power win.
Thank you so much for the support. The response has been phenomenal. I only started the petition last night & we're already at 900 signatures, plus there are old fashioned paper sheets being filled too.
Please do continue to share the information with friends, family & colleagues as, who knows, that one extra signature just might make a difference.
There's also some potential local media interest too so, hopefully, the momentum will continue.
Feel free to contact me if you need any information & I'll also update the sites with any news.
Thanks again for the responses & the support.
Will do .A big thanks for letting us know about this.
Just a thought ....every thing the council want to knock down and arnt allowed to usually end up burning to the ground unexpectedly .should we get the fire brigade on site now .
Shown on Bing Maps as a University Academy. Did it ever become one or did they just close it when it all moved to Park High
Might be worth emailing Old Rocks Rugby (prenton as it now is if you can find an address)
As an Old Instonian will happily sign petition and I hope you do better than we did with our old school playing fields (Ingleborough Rd- Birkenhead Institute)
Great news, we're at nearly 1100 signatures now & have positive interest from the Liverpool Echo & the Wirral Globe. Frank Field has also responded & is speaking to the Planning Department.
I've also been putting up posters in the local neighbourhood as the more awareness we can generate, the better.
Please do keep spreading the word & I'm very grateful too for the "heads-up" on useful people / groups to contact.
Finally, in answer to the questions regarding the school's current status: it did indeed become an Academy briefly before the pupils got transferred to Park High. It's now empty apart from being used to train the police dogs.
Thanks again for the support & do check out & "like" the Facebook Page
Great news, we're at nearly 1100 signatures now & have positive interest from the Liverpool Echo & the Wirral Globe. Frank Field has also responded & is speaking to the Planning Department.
I've also been putting up posters in the local neighbourhood as the more awareness we can generate, the better.
Please do keep spreading the word & I'm very grateful too for the "heads-up" on useful people / groups to contact.
Finally, in answer to the questions regarding the school's current status: it did indeed become an Academy briefly before the pupils got transferred to Park High. It's now empty apart from being used to train the police dogs.
Thanks again for the support & do check out & "like" the Facebook Page
Brill news, LiverPooltiger. Your doing a great job.Its about time Rock ferry residents were standing up for there area. Soon there will nothing left here. I will be listening to this on the radio tomorrow morning
Some quick but important questions that I'm hoping someone can help with please:
1: Anyone know anything...or even better, have copies.... of the covenants & deeds relating to the land?
2: Is anyone up to helping collect signatures / put up posters? Even if it's only an hour it would be a massive help as I'm advised that 3,000 signatures is a critical point & we're at about 1800 now.
[quote=Liverpooltiger]Some quick but important questions that I'm hoping someone can help with please:
1: Anyone know anything...or even better, have copies.... of the covenants & deeds relating to the land?
2: Is anyone up to helping collect signatures / put up posters? Even if it's only an hour it would be a massive help as I'm advised that 3,000 signatures is a critical point & we're at about 1800 now.
Let me know if you can help.
Thanks in advance. [Quote]Ive emailed someone who maybe able to help.Just waiting on a reply. You still got time to get more signatures.
Yes, we're collecting like mad. I reckon with the paper & on-line versions, we're pretty close to 2000 now but I've been told tonight that we need 3000+ to make the council take notice. However, I'm pretty determined when I get going so that just makes me more focused on the target; this is why we're trying to get the extra help in collecting them.
Hopefully the radio coverage tomorrow morning will boost awareness too as lots of people still don't know what the council's considering.
Please do keep spreading the word - every signature counts.
Will wait to hear from you over any extra information / help. Thank you!
Have Just signed I live in rock ferry now though I went to bi and that's now a housing estate .my brother in law used to be a teacher there Nick Harrison
1700 signatures online now plus plenty more on paper. Thank you for the continuing support
There is also to be a meeting on Tuesday
We have been informed that only residents in Highfield South and Ravenswood who will be affected by the RFHS site, will be invited to Tuesday's meeting.
We, who set up the petition & Facebook group, have had no say in where the meeting takes place or who is invited to the meeting; that has been the sole decision of the Councillors .
Those who have been invited will have received letters today, and it might be a good idea to take the letter along with you on Tuesday to prove that you are a resident in the areas mentioned.
We know many of you outside of the invitees will be disappointed, but we shall put up a further post outlining details of the outcome of the meeting.
Also check out our Facebook Page for any other updates & news
Have Just signed I live in rock ferry now though I went to bi and that's now a housing estate .my brother in law used to be a teacher there Nick Harrison
Spread the lansyp,workmates,family etc.Every signature counts.
To those residents who have NOT received a letter from the council inviting them to a meeting on Tuesday : We, who set up the Facebook page & petition, have had no say in where the meeting takes place or who is invited. That has been the sole decision of the councillors. We will obviously share discussions & outcomes with you & are happy to raise points & concerns on your behalf. Thank for the continued support. Numbers still growing.
Am amzed how many have got involved in this.well happy on the results.and thankyou for your hard work and effort Liverpooltiger. sent you more info in a pm .
Nice follow up piece from the Wirral Globe today, complete with details about the discussion meeting being held with concerned residents at Highfield Church at 6pm tomorrow night:
Confirmed venue for follow up meeting with councillors & Frank Field, MP.
It's at 6:30pm on Friday, 13th February.
It's at the same venue as last time:
Highfield United Reformed Church
This is the big church at the cross roads of Rock Lane West with Highfield South & Highfield Road in Rock Ferry.
Hope to see you there & please tell your family, friends, neighbours & colleagues as we really do need a meeting full of people if we are to have any chance of saving the site for the community.
As ever, thank you for your support & keep sharing our petition too.
Nearly time for the meeting to discuss the site's future. Tonight at 6:30 Highfield Church, Rock Ferry. Please spare an hour of your time & join us in conversation with the Council & Frank Field, MP.
We really hope they won't develop the site with housing but it's definitely the plan unless we stand up to the council & tell them that it's not what we want!
Please come along to the meeting if you can & make your views count.
If we don't act now the council will say there isn't any opposition & go ahead - & all that history & green space will be gone forever. 😕
On the whole, I think the meeting went well. Frank Field handled the meeting much better than Cllr McLoughlin did last time - as you'd expect - so much less confrontational this time. Audience spoke up & spoke well & got him to agree to chair another meeting on 13th. Same time & place.
The community were unmovable on the issue of keeping the listed building, the playing fields & woodlands plus the boundary walls etc but the council got some movement with people saying they would possibly accept the development of the school site but ONLY if the buildings were acceptable to the community eg: Limited number of Bungalows on footprint of school site. There were also discussions around the proposed youth centre in Birkenhead being considered for this site instead.
Personally I think it was too much to say any of the stuff around housing at this stage because I still think we should look to use the site for the community - plus, once you accept housing development as THE option, they can then build what they like & then say they couldn't attract the type of development they originally wanted! (A developer can challenge the type of housing but not opposition to no housing.)
They are also looking to open an entrance road to a proposed development into Highfield South so that will bring additional traffic problems.
Still, we've now got an executive committee with residents & councillors on it so that should help keep us in the loop going forwards.
I'll keep you all posted & hope to see you on the 13th March at Highfield Church at 6:30
Just a reminder that the latest Public Meeting on the future of the site is tomorrow evening, Friday, 13th March, at 6:30pm at Highfield Church (The big church on the crossroads of Highfield South & Rock Lane West.
Frank Field, MP, & the Rock Ferry councillors will be present to hear our views.
If this green space & its heritage is important to you, please come along & get your view across whilst you still have the chance!
I attended this meeting tonight and I was shocked and disgusted at the behaviour of certain members of The Green Party(allegedly). In my opinion they hijacked this meeting to attack and barrack Frank Field. One woman ran screaming and shouting like she was demented to the point of being threatened she would be removed by the police.most of us residents just wanted to get on with the meeting but with these people couldn't. I think the majority of residents felt like me, appalled and saddened.I would just like to wish Frank Field well as he became unwell .
I too would like to wish Mr Field well. A very unfortunate end to the meeting
We will need to gather our thoughts & obviously re- convene as the meeting did not achieve any outcomes last night for understandable reasons.
I will say for the record & clarity though (....& I have no political allegiance) that the speakers you refer to do not represent the Green Party & are not members of that party although Mr Field did make that reference. I think it's important to be fair in that respect.
I haven't made any comment on site as I haven't seen any news on Mr Field's condition & I wouldn't wish to be inappropriate in the circumstances. However, I do have concerns that I will raise in due course in respect of the representation on the residents's committee & Mr Field's comments on his "do not reply" email - I am happy to state for the record that I have never been anything other than professional in my correspondence & I am happy to publish them if there is any doubt.
As I say, a strange meeting in many respects & unfortunate as ultimately, all we're seeking is a consensus approach to finding a solution for our site.
Thank you for attending & the comments. I appreciate you taking the time to do both.
Thank you Liverpool Tiger for your reply. If that group did not represent The Green Party then who ? I had an elderly lady sitting behind me that every time Frank Field spoke she bad mouthed him and she certainly appeared to be with this group, even when at the end I told her no- body was interested in Green Party issues just the subject we wanted to discuss and after further comments about Frank she got very angry telling me to shut up which I told her the same. Very unpleasant!.....Not getting at you LT but really would like to know who this group were ??? Thanks.
As far as I know, there were no groups represented last night, just residents
It is perhaps the case that certain individuals had issues with the politicians last night & used the forum accordingly but they are not doing it as representatives of the Save Rock Ferry group.
It is also wrong, as I said on my previous post, that they represented the Green Party in any way. I have met the prospective Green Party councillor through this campaign & he has been nothing but supportive to us. However, he is not representative of us & came in an individual capacity last night. I am also certain he is not one of the individuals that you refer to. He is the gentleman who asked if we could write directly to the Secretary of State with our concerns / thoughts. Please be assured too that he did not bring any group agitators with him to the meeting.
I can also assure you that I personally have no political affiliation & indeed would welcome support from any influential source if it helps achieve a positive outcome for the site.
As I said, a strange & unfortunate meeting in many ways but I think it's important that the facts as I know them are presented correctly as we can only achieve a positive solution by working from a position of openness & trust.
I will end by once again wishing Mr Field well & a speedy recovery.
Ok thanks LT. Hope the next meeting will be better and more constructive. I realise that you must be disappointed and upset the way it turned out. Keep up the good work.
We had action plans in place for the coming week including further press coverage but I will not be making any further comments in the circumstances until the situation becomes clearer.
My concern is with Mr Field right now & I trust & hope that he will soon be back in robust health.
I'm sure Frank wouldn't want his situation to slow things down.
And I wouldn't let the other idiots change your plans one iota.
Were they a developer's rent-a-crowd? There are a lot of developers and building companies working around the area at the moment, their employee's interests wouldn't necessarily tie in with yours.
We don't do charity in Germany, we pay taxes. Charity is a failure of governments' responsibilities - Henning Wehn
A local resident here , present at all three meetings. At the last meeting we had a screeching lady take to the stage , ranting on about something ,which for the life of me ,I cannot remember what.We also had a nice gentleman ranting on about history lessons (was he an ex RFHS pupil?). It was about then that the local police had to take to the stage to give a verbal warning.The nice gentleman also came out with some very sordid comments as people were leaving the church. Local residents? Good debate ? I will let you make your mind up on that.
I notice Colin Dow is saying that the police prevented anybody else talking apart from Frank Field and his buddies.
Colin is also saying that Frank was criticising the people who got Ravenswood listed. I think Colin attributed the words "small minded" to Frank's description of the listing people.
The other comments were along the lines that people had been let down on agreements that had been made at the previous meeting with regard to access to the site and other matters.
(source was two direct posts by Colin Dow, not via media interpretation).
I have also been told that Colin is saying that there were no people shouting down the meeting.
Please note: These are NOT my opinions, don't shoot the messenger.
We don't do charity in Germany, we pay taxes. Charity is a failure of governments' responsibilities - Henning Wehn
Thanks for that DD, it's intriguing to see conflicting viewpoints over how the meeting went. We have those that say noisy confrontation took place and now one saying it didn't. If those participating can't agree how it went then how on earth can they expect to agree on anything of substance?
Who is Colin Dow? Did he really attend this last meeting because I did!! It was as I said a group of people determined to scream and shout about their gripes with Frank Field about something said on an e-mail, I think! It was hard to understand them as they shouted and ranted do much! The police stepped in to try and restore some order as one demented woman had taken over the Mike and screaming into that about God knows!! I,m not really into politics but I was interested to see if anything had been decided about RFH and as far as I was concerned these people scuppered the meeting and as I say in my opinion just wanted to verbally attack Frank Field who as everybody now knows collapsed. I,m glad to hear Mr Field is making a recovery.
(Andrew) Colin Dow was a labour councillor that got kicked out the Labour Party around 2001 for bullying other members. Colin defected to the Green Party.
Since then he has stood locally under the party "WIN Genuine Candidate", WIN standing for Wirral Independent Network, it may have affiliation to the national "Community Action Party".
He is a Green activist, whether he is a member of the Green Party at the moment I have no idea, in February he pledged to vote for the Green Party.
While he can talk sense, imho he has too many chips on his shoulders.
Colin purportedly took out his camera to photograph Frank Field when he collapsed but was asked not to.
We don't do charity in Germany, we pay taxes. Charity is a failure of governments' responsibilities - Henning Wehn
Thanks DD . Did look him up and was not surprised to see he was connected to Green Party. That explains all! How disgusting of him if that happened with camera, although it doesn,t surprise me after witnessing the chaos and barracking that went on by this group of people who we don,t know who they represented.
Ok, Alison here who started the petition & also spoke at the last meeting. I hope in a controlled fashion.....
First let me say how disappointed I am that the actions of a very small number of people has allowed others to take away the focus of the campaign which was...& remains..to look for a positive solution for the site.
I think we are all consistent in saying that only 2 people shouted in this way at the meeting. Both were residents who feel passionately about the site & the lack of engagement but, unfortunately their point was lost in their delivery & ended up being counter-productive. Both of these were residents & not Green Party Activists (& yes, I do know this for a fact)
I think it's really important that the truth is told on this - I am not part of a group of activists & nor were they. Nor were the Police called: they were present at every meeting from the start.
It does now indeed appear that Mr Colin Dow has Green Party connections but, for the record, he did not shout at or abuse Mr Field during the meeting. (The meeting was video taped & confirms this fact) However, it appears (by reports yesterday) that he says he did take out his camera at the end to photograph Mr Field. This is not acceptable behaviour in my view.
Nonetheless he was there in an individual capacity & not as part of this campaign yet it appears that we are all now being targeted as 'Agitators' & 'Infiltrators' from either the Green Party, Militant or as a Trotskyist. Nothing could be further from the truth. Again for the record, I actually voted for Mr Field & Councillor Meaden at the last election.
I think it's important that the facts aren't distorted to suit a political agenda. I am just an ordinary resident who wanted (& still wants) to engage in a true consultation process to find a solution for our site. I resent being used in a political dogfight to point score & I especially resent my sincere efforts being misrepresented. This has been done to such an extent that we now have no "next stage" in place & this scares me as who knows what may be enacted without consultation? I fully intend to pursue my place on the Residents' Committee but this may now be denied me as the propaganda places me as trouble.
Please, as local residents, don't be distracted. Our concern should still be the future of the site & ensuring that we are fully involved in the consultation process - something that has so far, at best, been obstructed & at worst, denied.
Thanks for the clarity and what appears to be a concise assessment. It is too easy to pass judgement on peoples antecedence rather than current form or activity.
quote I think we are all consistent in saying that only 2 people shouted in this way at the meeting. Both were residents who feel passionately about the site & the lack of engagement but, unfortunately their point was lost in their delivery & ended up being counter-productive. Both of these were residents & not Green Party Activists (& yes, I do know this for a fact)
I think it's really important that the truth is told on this - I am not part of a group of activists & nor were they. Nor were the Police called: they were present at every meeting from the start. unquote
If those two individuals are local residents then lord help us,you forgot to mention the sordid comments on leaving the church. Yes the police are present at the meetings ,which also tells us a lot,but you forgot to mention the fact that they had to take to the stage to issue a threat of eviction. Can you please tell me how many people that signed your petition actually live on roads that border on the RFHS site.Because these are the people that will have to bear the consequences as to what happens to this site,and that includes me. At the second meeting, as I recall, we agreed to keep the woods and the two fields on that side of the cinderpath, as they are,ie green. The big question is, what do we do with the rest of the site.You may or may not know,that the first day after the school closed its doors for the last time,and the council in all its wisdom did not have security in place,a couple of fire engines had to attend the site.So unfortunately we have to take into account, the brain dead of the area.So could you please go into more detail as to what you would actually like to see happen on the walled site,saving it for the local community,sounds good, but to me as a local resident it is just not specific enough.At the moment the walled site stands as just a monument to a failed school.
First up, I'm not condoning any person behaving badly - I said in my previous post that it was unacceptable - What I am saying is that I / we are not part of an organised group of agitators & infiltrators as has been portrayed. The individual you refer to was just that, an individual. Nothing to do with me or anyone else involved with the petition. Yet we are all being grouped together as one, with reports implying that our only motive in this campaign is political mischief. Rubbish.
I think you might also agree that the questioning at the meeting was composed other than the incidents you refer to - certainly the video confirms that to be the case - despite many feeling extremely frustrated.
Secondly, you ask how many petition signatures are from local residents? The answer is the overwhelming majority. You're welcome to see the forms if you doubt it. Also check out the comments on-line. They're mainly Highfield South, Thorpe Bank, Hurst Bank, Bankside, Old Chester Rd, Rock Lane West & Ravenswood Avenue plus plenty from the "Poets Avenues" (Browning, Spenser etc) & Highfield Road who regularly use the fields. Others who have signed are people who have family members who live around the site, Football players who use it for games & others are ex pupils so they too have a keen interest in its future.
My family has lived in Rock Ferry since 1939 & my house actually backs on to the field - as do other family members' properties - so I can assure you I share all your concerns about getting this decision right. (Our experience includes having a garden fence stolen & made into a bonfire by drunken youths so I am well aware of issues with the site in the past)
That's my whole point. You ask what we would do? Well for starters, we'd like to discuss some options. That's all we've asked from the start but have constantly been blocked in any efforts to engage in discussions.
We actually do have some options & we would equally be happy to discuss the Councillors' plans too. This is what we thought was the point of the proposed Residents' Executive suggested by Mr Field at the 13th February meeting.
However, despite being told at this (13th February) meeting that we would all meet before the next March meeting & then report back to everyone, nothing at all happened. We kept asking to meet but residents were first told that they could only join if they'd actually spoken at the meeting on the 13th Feb, then several others were refused access to the committee at all, despite overlooking the site & being Campaign Founders. Finally the first Executive meeting was called at short notice for 3pm on the day of the last meeting (13/03) when most people were at work or picking kids up. Therefore only 4 people could attend. Hardly representative of the community. Those who did attend were also told that was it - there would be no more public meetings after that.
My final point would be that once the land has a change of status agreed & it is declared fit for development, what then happens, once it's sold, is down to the developer - not the Council, not us. The Councillors can promise anything but if the planned development won't sell, the developer will build what will sell...&, yes, they may save the fields this time but what happens next year when they want a bit more money? That is why it is so important that we sit down together & get this right. Maybe agree a Legal Covenant to protect the land? If you still have any doubts about the potential risks in not reaching a satisfactory legal outcome; look at the situation with the Dell School where the residents were promised "Riverside Luxury Apartments" yet a decade on are looking at a derelict litter filled site.
Seriously, we're on the same side. We too just want to try & preserve the site to best suit our community & we also very much understand that means something needs to happen with the school buildings. That's why I started the petition in January so we residents could be consulted about its future - & I was pleasantly surprised that so many others felt the same. That's where the petition numbers came from & I must also add that when we surveyed residents from all adjoining roads again in the second week in March, not a single person had changed their mind.
Liverpooltiger Do not forget that the local community have already had a vote of sorts on RFHS , they voted with their feet and sent their children to any other school but RFHS. The Dell site was foremost in my mind at the last meeting,but unfortunately, due to the shambles at the start of the meeting and then Frank Fields illness, I could not get the question asked. I am well aware that the only reason local residents are being asked about the site, are due to the new Government rules that came in,in about November 2014.After attending all 3 meetings,all I can say at the moment, is,that process is in a bit of a mess,to put it mildly.Is that the impression that will be conveyed to the Secretary of State , I wonder.That should concentrate all minds,councillors and local residents.
Cools.
well done x
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