The following Wirral residents have been recognised in the New Year Honours List 2011 (background information):

CBE

Howard Cooper, Director of Children’s Services, Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.  For services to Local Government.

MBE

Arthur William WALLER, JP. For services to the community in Merseyside.

The Reverend Margaret FLETCHER For services to the community in Thurstaston and in Irby, Wirral.

Wendie, Mrs DARLINGTON Director of Fundraising, Claire House Hospice.  For charitable services in the North West.

Professor Philip Leslie WOODWORTH Scientific Leader, National Oceanography Centre, Liverpool.  For services to Science. (Thornton Hough, Merseyside).

New Year Honours for Wirral residents is a post from: Wirral Times

The business park (pictured) is owned by Alderley Edge, Cheshire based property investment and development company  Bluemantle Group. As reported on Invest Wirral, the company has now let the two remaining buildings at the Business Park.

A charity called Wired now occupies an office building amounting to 6,000 sq ft of floor space, paying a reported rental price of £8 / sq ft. Laundry service TTH Laundry now occupies a 9,000 sq ft industrial unit at a reported rental price of £3/sq ft. Both deals were completed on ten year leases.

The 250,000 sq ft business park is located in Upton, near junction 3 of the M53 motorway, and home to tenants including the NHS and Uneek Clothing Company. Wirral Business Park was constructed in the 1980′s and is adjacent to what was once home to the Champion Sparks Plugs company. Arrowe Commercial Park is also available, offering a range of units. For further information visit the industrial units news site.

John Leighton, director of Bluemantle, said: “We have attracted some very high profile occupiers to Wirral Business Park and are delighted that it is now fully let. This scheme has proven to be a successful one and forms an integral part of our ongoing portfolio.”

Mason Owen and Legat Owen represented Bluemantle. Dixon Webb advised Wired.

Wirral Business Park fully let is a post from: Wirral Times

In the last three financial years from 2007 to April 5th 2010 54 public health funerals were undertaken by WUTH. This total is broken down by gender as 40 males and 14 females.

In the age group 30 – 60 there were 15 public health funerals. For the age group 61 – 80 there were 30 funerals and for age 81 and above there were 9 funerals. As per The Office of National Statistics guidelines, data sets resulting in less than 5 results are not made public as to do so could possibly identify the people concerned.

The cost of the public health funerals is broken down as:

2007/8 = £19,368

2008/9 = £29,380

2009/10 = £13,389

That is a total expenditure of £62,137 with a typical funeral costing approximately £1,150.

Across England and Wales there were approximately 2,200 public health funerals in the last financial year, amounting to a total expenditure of some £1.56m. The figures have been collated by the Local Government Association (LGA) and are described by David Rogers of the LGA as tragic. He says “These figures speak for themselves. People, mostly elderly, are dying around us with no family or friends to care for them”.

Eleanor Rigby was a famous hit in 1966 for the Beatles about a woman who “died in the church and was buried along with her name. Nobody came”.

Wirral has real life ‘Eleanor Rigbys’ is a post from: Wirral Times

Artemis Media (website), based at Monks Ferry, Birkenhead, has secured new business with CBI (North West), Thornton Hall Hotel, LT Print Group, Delivery Solutions, Green Power Forum and Mosslands School.

Artemis was set up by directors Emma Parker-Goff and Ben Pinnington in 2007. Other clients include shipyard Cammell Laird and law firm Mace & Jones.

Ms Parker-Goff said trading conditions remained tough. She told the Daily Post: “In this climate, PR has to understand what businesses are trying to achieve and reinforce those objectives. Providing it is focused, vigorous and enthusiastic, a media campaign can make a significant difference to a business at a time when growth is harder.”

Artemis Media hits a six is a post from: Wirral Times

Expanding call centre operator The Contact Company has bought the 29,500 sq ft Queensgate office building in Birkenhead for its second base in the town. The company bought the building with the assistance of a Wirral Council Think Big grant of £250,000 which will be used to pay for fit-out of the building.

The building was developed by Felton before it collapsed in the recession and has been empty for more than two years. The Contact Company acquired it from receivers Parkin S Booth, acting for NatWest.

The company already has a Birkenhead office on Europa Boulevard and clients of the company include the Jewellery Channel, Eaga, Liverpool FC, The Great Little Trading Company, and Lighter Life. The company has grown from 15 employees four years ago to 120 and now wants to create a further 244 jobs in Wirral.

Asif Hamid, chief executive of the Contact Company, said: “The purchase of Queensgate will enable us to keep growing at pace whilst continuing to provide our clients with the best quality service available. We are installing a state of the art telephony system and will continue to invest in our IT infrastructure and our brilliant staff to make sure this investment leads to further growth.”

The Contact Company will move into Queensgate in November.

Contact Company acquires Queensgate offices is a post from: Wirral Times

The Ness based business has decided to rebrand itself as a communications consultancy. Director Nick Mason told the Liverpool Daily Post: “We felt the term PR didn’t really do justice to the range of work we do for our clients, so we have rechristened ourselves ‘the communications consultancy’ because communication is at the heart of everything we do.”

The agency also reported that is has secured new deals with to run a media relations campaign with Paragon PE for its Halo laundry detergents range and has been hired by Ellesmere Port-based technology firm MSoft.

Wirral PR agency gives itself a revamp is a post from: Wirral Times

Travel Sanctuary Operations Ltd, trading from premises in Market Street, Hoylake has ceased trading from 23 September, 2010 and is unable to meet its liabilities. The company website is still currently online however. Travel Sanctuary trades as part of the Exotic Travel Group.

The agency, which specialised in long-haul holidays, reportedly resigned from its ABTA membership on 13 September and had 45 forward bookings. The ABTA claims period will close on 23/03/11. All claims and supporting documentation must be received prior to this date.

The company coincidentally renewed its domain name also on 13 September, 2010 – though that can be an automatic renewal process.

Wirral travel agency folds is a post from: Wirral Times

This means you cannot water a private garden or wash a private car with a hosepipe (or sprinkler). Watering cans and bucket & sponge are still permitted.

This is the first hosepipe ban in the North West for 14 years.

Wirral Hosepipe Ban is a post from: Wirral Times

The list is divided into those schools rated outstanding – who can apply for fast-track academy status that will let them convert by the start of the September term – and all the others who have expressed an interest.

The outstanding rated schools:

• Prenton High School for Girls
• Wirral Grammar School for Boys
• Wirral Grammar School for Girls
• St Anselm’s College
• Medway
• St John’s Catholic Infant School
• Ridgeway High School
• Pensby High School for Girls
• Saint Mary’s Catholic College

Other Wirral schools

• St Mary’s CE High School
• Weatherhead High School

Wirral Schools Interested In Academy Status is a post from: Wirral Times