AS we move into 2021, St Helens Local Democracy Reporter Kenny Lomas looks back at some of the year’s most significant stories.
January
Just days after the World Health Organisation reported that there was a cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan, China, which we now know were caused by Covid-19, NHS bosses locally revealed growing pressures on A&E.
This came as the NHS experienced its worst waiting times on record.
It was revealed that 14,903 people attended Whiston Hospital’s A&E department in December 2019, a 57 per cent rise on the previous year (9,514).
Whiston Hospital, which is managed by St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, treated 70.9 per cent of patients who attended in December within four hours, against a target of 95 per cent.
In total, 4,337 waited longer than four hours to be treated, from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge, compared to 3,004 the previous year.
Click here to see the full report.
February
In February, proposals were submitted to demolish part of Earlestown Town Hall as part of wider plans to bring the iconic building back into public use.
A planning application was submitted by St Helens Council to demolish outbuildings built as an extension to the main building in the 1960s, and to restore the windows and doors to the rear of the building.
Newton Labour councillor Seve Gomez-Aspron said at the time that the demolition work would pave the way for further refurbishment of the historic building.
The demolition work got underway in August.
March
The news we had all been dreading happened in March, when it was confirmed that Covid-19 had finally made its way to St Helens.
Text messages and emails were sent to parents from St Anne’s Catholic Primary School in Sutton informing them that a parent of a child in reception had tested positive for Covid-19.
The school remained open, but closed its nursery and reception to carry out a deep clean.
Ten days later and all schools were ordered to close by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, shortly before the UK went into lockdown.
April
An inseparable couple who insisted on being kept together in hospital were discharged home in April following a battle with Covid-19.
Sidney and Jean Moore, who are both in their late 70s, were kept together during their time as inpatients at Whiston Hospital.
Sidney praised NHS staff for helping them along their recovery, branding them as “magnificent”, as they were discharged to their Newton-le-Willows home to continue their recovery.
The touching story was a bright light in an altogether dismal month, which saw hospital staff mourn the loss of much-loved surgeon Sadeq Elhowsh, who died following a battle with Covid-19.
Read Sidney and Jean's heartwarming story here.
May
Town hall leaders wrote to the government in May, warning them they faced “unprecedented and unacceptable cuts” without additional funding.
In a rare show of unity, the leaders of every political group on St Helens Borough Council signed the letter, in addition to its two Labour MPs.
Another cross-party letter was sent in October, warning that a projected £20.4 million funding gap “threatens every essential frontline service we provide”.
The government has yet to respond to either letter.
June
St Helens and Ealrestown were given a huge boost in June when shops finally reopened after being forced to shut due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Many businesses have remained open during the pandemic but non-essential stores, including several in the charity sector, have remained closed.
The ExtraCare charity shop in Market Street opened its doors again in June, with the shop’s only two paid employees coming back from furlough to hold the fort.
In St Helens, Church Square Shopping Centre put in place a number of new measures to ensure a safe and welcoming environment for visitors and employees.
July
A switch to all-out elections was backed by councillors in July, although the council’s five political parties were split on the matter.
An all-out election, which sees all seats up for election every four years, will be called in St Helens in 2022 as part of the forthcoming boundary review.
Labour councillors voted in favour of sticking with all-out elections beyond 2022 at a meeting of the St Helens Labour group in February.
Then in July, Labour and the Independents backed the formal proposal to permanently switch to all-out election, with the Tories and the Greens voting against.
August
Glass Futures was given a major boost in August when the government named it among the many schemes in line for a slice of a new £900 million fund.
The Liverpool City Region will receive £26 million from the fund, with £9 million allocated to the Glass Futures project.
The announcement came just days the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority signed off £9 million for the scheme, for the development of trial space and headquarters, from its Strategic Investment Fund.
At the time, St Helens Borough Council leader David Baines said Glass Futures will put St Helens on the “regional, national and international stage.”
September
Newton-le-Willows made headlines in September after seeing its Covid-19 infection rate rocket.
At one point the infection rate was the highest in England, with a number of outbreaks linked back to hospitality venues on the High Street.
Many residents found out about the spike from housing provider Torus via text and email.
This prompted criticism to be levelled at the council from a number of senior Labour politicians over the way the worrying news was communicated to the public.
Here's the report from September.
October
Plansfor a massive warehouse on green belt land for Home Bargains at the Omega development in Bold were approved by St Helens Council’s planning committee in October.
Joe Morris, director of innovation at TJ Morris and brother of billionaire businessman Tom Morris, said the development would deliver more than 1,200 jobs when operational.
But the plans, which have since been called in by the Secretary of State, were met with significant objection from the public.
The plans have since been called in by the Secretary of State.
November
Official documents revealed in November that the former chief executive of St Helens Council was paid more than a quarter of a million pounds during his final year.
Mike Palin, who joined the council in 2015, left the role in September 2019, with no official reason given for his departure.
The council’s statement of accounts showed that Mr Palin was paid £254,000 after stepping down from the council.
The documents also revealed that Keith Ireland, the interim assistant chief executive who joined the council in April 2019, was paid remuneration of £79,000 during 2019-20 following his departure, shorty after Mr Palin.
December
December delivered the day we had all been waiting for, when the first wave of Covid vaccines began being administered to the people of St Helens.
Former Saints player Bill Adair became the first person in St Helens to receive Covid-19 jab, as GPs kicked off a massive vaccination programme.
This was later extended to the borough’s care homes.
St Helens CCG has also said that it is ready to roll out the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid vaccine, now that it has been approved for use in the UK.
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