Hello and welcome to today’s edition of The Southport Lead.
The previous edition of this newsletter focused on a council meeting in which efforts to convince Sefton Council to reconsider its plans to close Botanic Gardens Aviary and I hadn’t intended to return to the issue so soon. However, it was raised again at a full council meeting on Thursday by both councillors and the public and some important issues were raised - including the misogyny faced by councillors.
It’s very easy to find example of this is certain quarters of Facebook, with abusive names, insults, and suggestions of ambushing surgeries commonplace. The fact that some have responding to these concerns by dismissing it as people being upset by ‘hurty words’ is telling in itself.
At the same time, those who are approaching the issue in a more valid manner remain frustrated at the stonewalling they are receiving in response. It all seems to be moving in a direction where no-one wins - discourse is more broken, collaboration is reduced, the public is more disenfranchised, and abuse gets worse.
One hopes that at some point, things will improve on all fronts. Whether that is likely is anyone’s guess.
🏫 Christ the King High School will be rebuilt thanks to the awarding of funding from the Department for Education. The aging facility will be rebuilt on the same site and the existing building is to remain in use until the new one is ready. No start date has yet been announced but it is hoped the project could be completed within a three-year timespan. The news was announced one day after planning permission was granted for a similar government-funded rebuild of Greenbank High School. Southport MP Patrick Hurley “These are major investments in two of our town’s schools and, most importantly, in generations of Southport children who deserve to learn in modern, first-class buildings. I’ve been pushing particularly hard for action at Christ the King, including taking the case directly to ministers, because I’ve seen for myself just how urgently investment is needed. So to see that work now bearing fruit is enormously welcome.”
🧑⚖️ A man who tried to rape a woman in a block of flats was arrested the following day at Liverpool John Lennon Airport. Klintis Duarta, 28, followed a woman into a the building and sexually assaulted her in a communal hallway in “relentless and sustained” attack. In a victim personal statement, the woman said: “I have previously suffered with nightmares anyway however since the incident I often have nightmares about the incident whereby I find I wake up feeling panicked with a sense of anxiety that last for hours. Since the incident I now take extra caution and care when entering any building. I ensure that I have checked the area first before opening the door and making sure that this has closed behind me and no one else has come through. I am aware that these things happen however you don’t usually believe that it would be on your doorstep let alone happen to yourself.” Duarta, who is originally from Mozambique and visiting the country from Portugal, pleaded guilty to attempted rape and sexual assault and was jailed for six years and eight months.
🙅 A disgraced teacher who sent naked pictures of himself to girls as young as 12 has been banned from teaching for life. Robert Collins, from Banks, was the head of art at Formby High School when he sent perverted messages to several young girls over a period of four years. His offending was discovered in June 2023 when Collins sent online messages to what he believed was a 12-year-old girl. He told the youngster – who was really an undercover police officer – he was a teacher and asked her “what’s the naughtiest thing you’ve done?”. The 39-year-old also asked if she wanted to be in detention with him and repeatedly asked her to send him pictures of her body, telling her: “I’m only asking because I like you a lot.” He also sent the “girl” a close-up picture of an erect penis and a man’s torso along with the message: “Here’s my d*** X”. Collins was sentenced to two years and six months in prison back in 2024. A Teacher Regulation Agency (TRA) panel has now taken further action to ensure Collins can never work around children ever again. As a result, he is prohibited from teaching indefinitely in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England.
🏃 A courageous fundraiser is taking on a 70.3-mile Iron Man challenge today after losing three members of his own family to suicide. Daniel Cardwell, who lives in Southport, is going to swim, cycle and run the Ironman 70.3 Weymouth as he aims to raise £10,000 for The Jordan Legacy. He has been in training for the past 18 months for an event which will include a 1.3m swim in the sea followed by a 56m bike ride and then a 13.2m run. Daniel was devastated at losing his brother Craig to suicide along with his two cousins, Jacqueline Cardwell and Jason Cardwell and has been inspired to raise funds for the The Jordan Legacy, which exists to raise awareness about suicide and the practical actions schools, workplaces and communities can take to prevent one of the most preventable deaths in the UK and globally. The Jordan Legacy CIC was formed in August 2020 following the death of the founder’s son, Jordan Phillip, on 4th December 2019. Daniel said: “Steve, who was Jordan’s Dad, and Steve’s daughter, Danielle, are a small team who do what they do day in and day out. Their mission is to do everything they can to prevent other families experiencing the devastation of suicide [..] So first and foremost I’d like to give a shout out to Steve and Danielle for everything they do because I can swim, I can run, I can cycle, but I could not do what they do day in, day out - thank you, because people need what you do for them. For everyone else out there - what they are doing could be for you. It could be for a friend, it could be for a loved one, who needs that help and support.” Daniel’s efforts can be supported via JustGiving.
Misogyny and failed democracy claims as aviary row gets increasingly toxic
By David Humphreys, additional reporting by Jamie Lopez
A bid to pause the closure of the Botanic Gardens Aviary has been rejected by Sefton Council at a heated meeting which raised issues of questionable decision making and misogynistic abuse.
The council confirmed in July it plans to close the aviary in March next year, arguing it is not keeping up with modern animal welfare standards expected for the birds in its care and that the costs associated with upgrading its infrastructure would be too great. PETA, the world’s largest animal rights group, was among the organisations to offer public support in response to requests from the council when the decision was greeted by a major backlash. come forward to support Sefton’s move to close down the 87-year-old site.
Efforts were made a decade ago to transfer the site off the borough’s books before they fell through. This included attempts made in 2016/17 regarding proposals from Botanic Gardens Community Association (BGCA) to manage both the fernery and aviary on site and a more recent discussion with a Wales-based group which had been keen but ultimately found the plan unviable. BGCA has since helped support the running costs of the site
The closure decision was ultimately made at the 2026/27 budget approval earlier this year where a £60k Green Sefton saving was referenced as ‘close aviary’. Those opposed to the decision have been frustrated by the council’s unwillingness to reconsider and its repeated answers that it is a welfare issue but wasn’t consulted on as it was an operational decision.
At a full council meeting on Thursday evening, a petition from a BGCA member Hannah Melling and a motion put forward by the opposition Liberal Democrats called for the decision to be reexamined but both were defeated by the controlling Labour group whose members raised another issue of personal abuse aimed at the leaders by a very vocal minority online.
Efforts will now continue towards the site’s closure next Spring. This will include the rehoming of the birds.
Presenting his motion, Cllr Daniel Lewis said “significant concern” has been expressed by residents, volunteers and community organisations about both the proposed closure and how the decision was communicated. Announcing the move, Sefton Council said efforts will be made to rehome the animals with suitably equipped organisations and euthanasia will not be considered.
The motion called on cabinet members to acknowledge the concern raised by campaigners and hold off on closing the aviary. This included a pause of demolition and rehoming pending an independent assessment covering welfare needs and whether the site can be adapted to modern standards.
Cllr Lewis’ motion asked councillors to back calls for the cabinet to invite expressions of interest from suitably qualified charities, sanctuaries, educational organisations, community groups, social enterprises and other potential partners for a future welfare-led use of the site.
Ms Melling, on behalf of Botanic Gardens Community Association (BGCA), submitted a petition of more than 500 signatures calling for the aviary to be saved. She said the public “deserves better” than the response they had received from Sefton Council.
Ms Melling said welfare reasons being cited were not valid and the owners of the birds in the aviary were yet to be contacted on the decision. She added how 35% of smaller birds would die and parrots could “psychologically collapse” and may not survive a relocation.
She said: “That’s not welfare improvement, that’s welfare harm.” Ms Melling said a “viable charitable solution” was ready to step in, “all we are asking for is a review”.
Support for the motion came from Reform UK councillor Charles Denton who called on the authority to reverse the decision as it would be “good for the birds and good for the council”.
Cllr Denton also called on Sefton Council to give campaigners the opportunity to raise the money needed to keep the aviary open. However, Labour Cllr Catie Page said she had visited the aviary prior to its proposed closure and “didn’t like it at all”. She said: “I thought the birds were in an appalling state.
“The reality is there are an awful lot of people who don’t want it and think that £60,000 could be better spent elsewhere. It’s £60,000 every year to keep birds in conditions that are not good.”
Cllr Lewis’ motion had asked the borough to publish a costed options appraisal comparing a reduced or redesigned council-operated facility against the proposed closure. Cllr Joanne McCall, Maghull Community Independents, had asked the council to think again, describing the aviary as “too much of a public asset” to let it go.
Amid concerns over transparency, Cllr Joanne Williams, cabinet member for public health and wellbeing, said the decision was first raised in February ahead of the council setting its annual budget and provided ample opportunity for the closure to be scrutinised. Cllr Leo Evans said documents were delivered too late for members to properly assess the plans.
