New Ferry
Encyclopedia
New Ferry is a small town located on the Wirral Peninsula
, England
. Situated to the east of Bebington
, it is part of the Bromborough
Ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral
and in the parliamentary constituency of Wirral South. The 2001 Census
measured the town's population at 5,300.
to the north, a ferry service gave its name to the locality, with the first recorded mention of New Ferry in 1774.
Additionally, on 4 April 1865, a "South End" service was established between New Ferry and a dock basin in the southern dock system of Liverpool
, although this appeared to be relatively short-lived. From 1879, services to Liverpool Pier Head
were usually augmented with Rock Ferry.
The ferry service was forced to close after a ship collided with New Ferry Pier in thick fog, in the early hours of 30 January 1922. Due to declining passenger numbers, improved local land-based public transport and a close proximity to the Rock Ferry service, it never reopened. The lease on the Ferry Rights officially expired on 22 September 1927, although no service had operated at New Ferry for over five years as a result of the collision.
New Ferry was part of the Lower Bebington township, which became the Bebington-cum-Bromborough civil parish in 1922. Between 1894 and 1974 these parishes were administered as part of Bebington urban district
.
On 1 April 1974, local government reorganisation
in England and Wales resulted in most of Wirral, including New Ferry, transfer from the county of Cheshire
to Merseyside. Following this the World's first Trailway system was introduced; getting people from the area to Liverpool at lightning fast speeds.
, the main road between Birkenhead
and London
prior to the introduction of motorways, and immediately adjacent to the village of Port Sunlight
. At the centre of the town is the Toll Bar area, a name originating from when New Chester Road used to be a toll road
. The re-routing of the A41 road onto the New Ferry By-pass, the first part from Bolton Road to Thorburn Road built in 1960, and extended from Thorburn Road to the Tranmere roundabout in 1976, has resulted in a decline in through-traffic in the town centre.
The nearest railway stations to New Ferry are Bebington
and Port Sunlight
, where trains operate to , and on the Wirral Line
of the Merseyrail
network.
Due to the location of New Ferry it is served by many bus services. Arriva
, First
and Merseylink all operate through the town en route to destinations such as Chester
and Liverpool
.
regarding turning the nearby former tip site at Bromborough Dock
into a new park.
. The collapse of the Woolworths
chain in 2008 saw the closure of its New Ferry branch, which reopened in September 2009 as a Herons frozen food shop.
Numerous smaller retailers include: the Discount Carpet Centre, a 20 year old family business; Buckleys newsagents, which has been in business under the same owner since the early 1980s. For a small shopping centre it is unusual in having four butcher's shops: the oldest (the oldest on Wirral) is the much respected Edge's, with the same family trading in New Ferry since it opened in the 1850s. The centre also contains a number of other specialist shops offering sportswear, cake decoration, fishing tackle and combat clothing (Asian Combat).
The Wirral Farmers' Market, held in New Ferry's Village Hall (between Longfellow Drive & Grove Street) on the second Saturday of the month, has been voted Britain's Best Farmers' Market at the prestigious BBC Food & Farming Awards
also received a UK National Regeneration Award from BURA for its work investing in the local community. The market is entirely volunteer run, its profits being used to fund local community groups and good causes.
The John Masefield, a pub named in honour of a former poet laureate
, who was briefly stationed on a training ship on the Mersey near New Ferry. Part of the JD Wetherspoon chain, the company received complaints due to the unfortunate resemblance of the Masefield
portrait on the pub sign to Adolf Hitler
.
As a result, it has received the nickname of "The Bünker" or "Adolf's". The company had said it would consider renaming the pub, but this has not happened to date.
The Farmers Arms public house was involved in controversy during 2009. Shut down by local authorities after an incident, it briefly reopened before closing again in a £65,000 redevelopment scheme to convert this pub into a family restaurant and improve facilities. During a local committee meeting the issue of access past the pub was brought up. Due to the smoking ban, people are forced to smoke outside. However the pedestrian footpath is fairly narrow along that stretch and is often difficult to get past when a large group of people are there. With the redevelopment grant, they look to increase access, with the option of creating a back entrance being discussed.
New Ferry also has a number of Private Members Clubs: The Royal British Legion at Hesketh Hall on Boundary Road, The Ex Civil Defence Club in School Lane and The Bebington Liberal Club on Bebington Road.
One of New Ferry's links with its historic past as a tourist resort between the 1860s and 1920s was the Great Eastern Pub. The building dated from 1862 when Liverpool
day-trippers began crossing the River Mersey
by ferry to New Ferry Pier when it became known as "The Great Eastern Picnic Hotel". By coincidence, in 1888, Isambard Kingdom Brunel
's famous ship the SS Great Eastern
was broken up on the nearby shoreline, and many artefacts from the ship were auctioned off as it was being dismantled. The pub's owner bought a number of these including the ship's bar to install into the building, wood panelling for the walls, the ship's wheel and a beautiful stained glass window. Unfortunately, these were all removed by the last owners of the building in the mid 2000s, whilst the pub closed down in 2007. In November 2009 the site was sold to a housing developer, Worksharp Ecohomes Ltd of Southport
, who, in February 2010, submitted a planning application to Wirral Borough Council to demolish the building, described as being "in a state of serious disrepair" and replace it with ten two-storey semi-detached houses. On 5 March 2010, the security screens were ripped off the doors and windows, the contents of the pub removed and the building left unsecured. Many members of the community had been concerned that the motive behind this was to accelerate the pub's derelict state and ensure its future demolition. This process began in June 2010, ahead of a site meeting by Wirral Council’s planning committee and despite an online petition by New Ferry Regeneration Action Group to save the building.
Over 400 people had signed the petition demanding that it be saved from the bulldozer and instead converted to housing. Worksharp EcoHomes obtained planning permission to replace the building with ten semi-detached homes, but conditions attached to that permission mean they must provide a permanent memorial to explain the significance of the area and its connection with the SS Great Eastern. By February 2011 no plan for the memorial has been seen by the community, no work has therefore started on the houses, and the site is currently an eyesore of weeds, brick rubble mounds, and ugly steel fencing.
Shorefields Nature Park on the banks of the River Mersey
is a winter bird haven as it is designated Site of Special Scientific Interest
.
and along the railway towards Birkenhead
, local volunteers have, since 1993, created a wildlife haven, New Ferry Butterfly Park. Occupying an area of almost 5 hectares, the Park is designated as an Area of Special Biological Interest. Open to visitors on Summer Sundays, local volunteers provide tours and help to manage the site throughout the year.
In December 2009 it was announced that the site's owners, Brock plc, want to sell the land - it is believed for development, even though the site is zoned as open space by the local authority. Brock have refused to sell the site to Cheshire Wildlife Trust or to Wirral Borough Council. As a result of the 3,600 named petition by local residents and concerned persons across Europe, in January 2010 the Council agreed to issue a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) on Brock to force them to sell the land to them so that this much loved ecological resource can be saved for future generations.
During 2010 artist in residence Carol Ramsay has created an art trail within the Butterfly Park that will be open to the public 12-4pm every Sunday during the summer months. The trail contains work by four artists and Carol will also be holding art workshops.
The Olympic Taekwondo Centre is based in Bebington Youth Club, Cornwell Close. In 2008 the coach won Wirral Sports Council 'Coach of the Year' and the club took the Junior -73 kg male British National Champion title for the second year running.
Wirral Peninsula
Wirral or the Wirral is a peninsula in North West England. It is bounded by three bodies of water: to the west by the River Dee, forming a boundary with Wales, to the east by the River Mersey and to the north by the Irish Sea. Both terms "Wirral" and "the Wirral" are used locally , although the...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Situated to the east of Bebington
Bebington
Bebington is a small town and electoral ward within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England. It lies south of Liverpool and west southwest of Manchester, along the River Mersey on the eastern side of the Wirral Peninsula...
, it is part of the Bromborough
Bromborough
Bromborough is a large village within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the Wirral Peninsula, to the south of Bebington and to the north of Eastham...
Ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral
Metropolitan Borough of Wirral
The Metropolitan Borough of Wirral is a metropolitan borough of Merseyside, in North West England. It has a population of 311,200, and encompasses of the northern part of the Wirral Peninsula. Major settlements include Birkenhead, Wallasey, Bebington, Heswall, Hoylake and West Kirby. The city of...
and in the parliamentary constituency of Wirral South. The 2001 Census
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
measured the town's population at 5,300.
History
As with the neighbouring settlement of Rock FerryRock Ferry
Rock Ferry is an area of Birkenhead on the Wirral Peninsula, England. Administratively it is a ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral. Before local government reorganisation on 1 April 1974, it was part of the county of Cheshire...
to the north, a ferry service gave its name to the locality, with the first recorded mention of New Ferry in 1774.
Additionally, on 4 April 1865, a "South End" service was established between New Ferry and a dock basin in the southern dock system of Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, although this appeared to be relatively short-lived. From 1879, services to Liverpool Pier Head
Pier Head
The Pier Head is a riverside location in the city centre of Liverpool, England. It is part of the Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City UNESCO World Heritage Site, which was inscribed in 2004....
were usually augmented with Rock Ferry.
The ferry service was forced to close after a ship collided with New Ferry Pier in thick fog, in the early hours of 30 January 1922. Due to declining passenger numbers, improved local land-based public transport and a close proximity to the Rock Ferry service, it never reopened. The lease on the Ferry Rights officially expired on 22 September 1927, although no service had operated at New Ferry for over five years as a result of the collision.
New Ferry was part of the Lower Bebington township, which became the Bebington-cum-Bromborough civil parish in 1922. Between 1894 and 1974 these parishes were administered as part of Bebington urban district
Urban district
In the England, Wales and Ireland, an urban district was a type of local government district that covered an urbanised area. Urban districts had an elected Urban District Council , which shared local government responsibilities with a county council....
.
On 1 April 1974, local government reorganisation
Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....
in England and Wales resulted in most of Wirral, including New Ferry, transfer from the county of Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
to Merseyside. Following this the World's first Trailway system was introduced; getting people from the area to Liverpool at lightning fast speeds.
Transport
New Ferry is situated on the A41A41 road
The A41 is a formerly-major trunk road in England that links London and Birkenhead, although it has now largely been superseded by motorways. It passes through or near various towns and cities including Watford, Hemel Hempstead, Aylesbury, Solihull, Birmingham, West Bromwich, Wolverhampton,...
, the main road between Birkenhead
Birkenhead
Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool...
and London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
prior to the introduction of motorways, and immediately adjacent to the village of Port Sunlight
Port Sunlight
Port Sunlight is a model village, suburb and electoral ward in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is located between Lower Bebington and New Ferry, on the Wirral Peninsula. Between 1894 and 1974 it formed part of Bebington urban district within the county of Cheshire...
. At the centre of the town is the Toll Bar area, a name originating from when New Chester Road used to be a toll road
Toll road
A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...
. The re-routing of the A41 road onto the New Ferry By-pass, the first part from Bolton Road to Thorburn Road built in 1960, and extended from Thorburn Road to the Tranmere roundabout in 1976, has resulted in a decline in through-traffic in the town centre.
The nearest railway stations to New Ferry are Bebington
Bebington railway station
Bebington railway station serves the town of Bebington on the Wirral Peninsula, England. The station is situated on the Chester and Ellesmere Port branches of the Wirral Line, forming part of the Merseyrail network.- History :...
and Port Sunlight
Port Sunlight railway station
Port Sunlight railway station serves the Port Sunlight area of the Wirral, England, a model village built for the workers of the nearby Lever Brothers soap factory. The station is situated on the Chester and Ellesmere Port branches of the Wirral Line, part of the Merseyrail network.- History :Port...
, where trains operate to , and on the Wirral Line
Wirral Line
The Wirral Line is one of the two commuter railway lines operated by Merseyrail that are centred around Merseyside, England, the other being the Northern Line...
of the Merseyrail
Merseyrail
Merseyrail is a train operating company and commuter rail network in the United Kingdom, centred on Liverpool, Merseyside. The network is predominantly electric with diesel trains running on the City Line. Two City Line branches are currently being electrified on the overhead wire AC system with...
network.
Due to the location of New Ferry it is served by many bus services. Arriva
Arriva North West
Arriva North West is a division of Arriva that operates bus services around North West England. It consists of two companies: Arriva North West Ltd and Arriva Merseyside Ltd....
, First
First Chester & The Wirral
First Chester & Wirral is a division of bus operator First Manchester Ltd., running local bus services in and around Chester and the Wirral, north west England. The company is a subsidiary of FirstGroup plc, the largest bus operator in Britain....
and Merseylink all operate through the town en route to destinations such as Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
and Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
.
Community
The community led organisation, New Ferry Regeneration Action Group (NFRAG), has been actively seeking funding for a variety of projects since its inception in 1999. As well as successfully campaigning to get CCTV cameras around the shopping centre; the main car parks resurfaced; environmental improvements within Winstanley Road and Salisbury Drive; new pavings, railings and lighting in New Chester Road; and starting up the successful Wirral Farmers' Market in the Village Hall, the group has more recently carried out improvements to the Shorefields Nature Park where further improvements are also imminent. The group is also very active in discussions with waste operator Biffa and the Forestry CommissionForestry Commission
The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for forestry in Great Britain. Its mission is to protect and expand Britain's forests and woodlands and increase their value to society and the environment....
regarding turning the nearby former tip site at Bromborough Dock
Bromborough Dock
Bromborough Dock was situated on the River Mersey at Bromborough, on the Wirral Peninsula, England.Owned by the manufacturer Lever Brothers , it served the company's factory at Port Sunlight. The facility was once the largest private dock in the world.Consent for its construction was given by the...
into a new park.
Shopping
New Ferry has a small shopping precinct often referred to as "The Ferry". The area consists of the chain stores Cooperative and IcelandIceland (supermarket)
Iceland is a supermarket chain in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Iceland's primary product lines include frozen foods, such as frozen prepared meals and frozen vegetables - hence the name of the company...
. The collapse of the Woolworths
Woolworths Group
Woolworths Group plc was a listed British company that owned the high-street retail chain, Woolworths, as well as other brands such as the entertainment distributor Entertainment UK and book and resource distributor Bertram Books...
chain in 2008 saw the closure of its New Ferry branch, which reopened in September 2009 as a Herons frozen food shop.
Numerous smaller retailers include: the Discount Carpet Centre, a 20 year old family business; Buckleys newsagents, which has been in business under the same owner since the early 1980s. For a small shopping centre it is unusual in having four butcher's shops: the oldest (the oldest on Wirral) is the much respected Edge's, with the same family trading in New Ferry since it opened in the 1850s. The centre also contains a number of other specialist shops offering sportswear, cake decoration, fishing tackle and combat clothing (Asian Combat).
The Wirral Farmers' Market, held in New Ferry's Village Hall (between Longfellow Drive & Grove Street) on the second Saturday of the month, has been voted Britain's Best Farmers' Market at the prestigious BBC Food & Farming Awards
BBC Food
BBC Food was the name of the BBC's international commercial television channel focusing solely on food until it was replaced in the television markets it was broadcast by BBC Lifestyle. The channel was owned and operated by BBC Worldwide, the BBC's commercial arm.The channel launched in June 2002...
also received a UK National Regeneration Award from BURA for its work investing in the local community. The market is entirely volunteer run, its profits being used to fund local community groups and good causes.
Public houses and clubs
The area is home to several pubs including Shillings Bar, Alice's Place, The John Masefield, The Farmers Arms, The Cleveland Arms and the Wirral Hotel.The John Masefield, a pub named in honour of a former poet laureate
Poet Laureate
A poet laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for state occasions and other government events...
, who was briefly stationed on a training ship on the Mersey near New Ferry. Part of the JD Wetherspoon chain, the company received complaints due to the unfortunate resemblance of the Masefield
John Masefield
John Edward Masefield, OM, was an English poet and writer, and Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1930 until his death in 1967...
portrait on the pub sign to Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
.
As a result, it has received the nickname of "The Bünker" or "Adolf's". The company had said it would consider renaming the pub, but this has not happened to date.
The Farmers Arms public house was involved in controversy during 2009. Shut down by local authorities after an incident, it briefly reopened before closing again in a £65,000 redevelopment scheme to convert this pub into a family restaurant and improve facilities. During a local committee meeting the issue of access past the pub was brought up. Due to the smoking ban, people are forced to smoke outside. However the pedestrian footpath is fairly narrow along that stretch and is often difficult to get past when a large group of people are there. With the redevelopment grant, they look to increase access, with the option of creating a back entrance being discussed.
New Ferry also has a number of Private Members Clubs: The Royal British Legion at Hesketh Hall on Boundary Road, The Ex Civil Defence Club in School Lane and The Bebington Liberal Club on Bebington Road.
One of New Ferry's links with its historic past as a tourist resort between the 1860s and 1920s was the Great Eastern Pub. The building dated from 1862 when Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
day-trippers began crossing the River Mersey
River Mersey
The River Mersey is a river in North West England. It is around long, stretching from Stockport, Greater Manchester, and ending at Liverpool Bay, Merseyside. For centuries, it formed part of the ancient county divide between Lancashire and Cheshire....
by ferry to New Ferry Pier when it became known as "The Great Eastern Picnic Hotel". By coincidence, in 1888, Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel, FRS , was a British civil engineer who built bridges and dockyards including the construction of the first major British railway, the Great Western Railway; a series of steamships, including the first propeller-driven transatlantic steamship; and numerous important bridges...
's famous ship the SS Great Eastern
SS Great Eastern
SS Great Eastern was an iron sailing steam ship designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and built by J. Scott Russell & Co. at Millwall on the River Thames, London. She was by far the largest ship ever built at the time of her 1858 launch, and had the capacity to carry 4,000 passengers around the...
was broken up on the nearby shoreline, and many artefacts from the ship were auctioned off as it was being dismantled. The pub's owner bought a number of these including the ship's bar to install into the building, wood panelling for the walls, the ship's wheel and a beautiful stained glass window. Unfortunately, these were all removed by the last owners of the building in the mid 2000s, whilst the pub closed down in 2007. In November 2009 the site was sold to a housing developer, Worksharp Ecohomes Ltd of Southport
Southport
Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. During the 2001 census Southport was recorded as having a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England...
, who, in February 2010, submitted a planning application to Wirral Borough Council to demolish the building, described as being "in a state of serious disrepair" and replace it with ten two-storey semi-detached houses. On 5 March 2010, the security screens were ripped off the doors and windows, the contents of the pub removed and the building left unsecured. Many members of the community had been concerned that the motive behind this was to accelerate the pub's derelict state and ensure its future demolition. This process began in June 2010, ahead of a site meeting by Wirral Council’s planning committee and despite an online petition by New Ferry Regeneration Action Group to save the building.
Over 400 people had signed the petition demanding that it be saved from the bulldozer and instead converted to housing. Worksharp EcoHomes obtained planning permission to replace the building with ten semi-detached homes, but conditions attached to that permission mean they must provide a permanent memorial to explain the significance of the area and its connection with the SS Great Eastern. By February 2011 no plan for the memorial has been seen by the community, no work has therefore started on the houses, and the site is currently an eyesore of weeds, brick rubble mounds, and ugly steel fencing.
Education
Primary Schools in the New Ferry area include Grove Street Primary School, Church Drive School, Port Sunlight and St Johns RC Primary. The former site of New Ferry market has been turned into a Learning Centre, offering opportunities for young people and adults to further their qualifications.Parks and open spaces
Facilities at New Ferry Park include a play area for children (refurbished and extended in January 2010) and football pitches, which are often used during local amateur Sunday league matches.Shorefields Nature Park on the banks of the River Mersey
River Mersey
The River Mersey is a river in North West England. It is around long, stretching from Stockport, Greater Manchester, and ending at Liverpool Bay, Merseyside. For centuries, it formed part of the ancient county divide between Lancashire and Cheshire....
is a winter bird haven as it is designated Site of Special Scientific Interest
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
.
New Ferry Butterfly Park
Out of a thin piece of land adjoining Bebington railway stationBebington railway station
Bebington railway station serves the town of Bebington on the Wirral Peninsula, England. The station is situated on the Chester and Ellesmere Port branches of the Wirral Line, forming part of the Merseyrail network.- History :...
and along the railway towards Birkenhead
Birkenhead
Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool...
, local volunteers have, since 1993, created a wildlife haven, New Ferry Butterfly Park. Occupying an area of almost 5 hectares, the Park is designated as an Area of Special Biological Interest. Open to visitors on Summer Sundays, local volunteers provide tours and help to manage the site throughout the year.
In December 2009 it was announced that the site's owners, Brock plc, want to sell the land - it is believed for development, even though the site is zoned as open space by the local authority. Brock have refused to sell the site to Cheshire Wildlife Trust or to Wirral Borough Council. As a result of the 3,600 named petition by local residents and concerned persons across Europe, in January 2010 the Council agreed to issue a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) on Brock to force them to sell the land to them so that this much loved ecological resource can be saved for future generations.
During 2010 artist in residence Carol Ramsay has created an art trail within the Butterfly Park that will be open to the public 12-4pm every Sunday during the summer months. The trail contains work by four artists and Carol will also be holding art workshops.
Sport
New Ferry Wirral Hotel Football Club are a local amateur football club, who play their home matches at New Ferry Park on Sunday mornings.The Olympic Taekwondo Centre is based in Bebington Youth Club, Cornwell Close. In 2008 the coach won Wirral Sports Council 'Coach of the Year' and the club took the Junior -73 kg male British National Champion title for the second year running.