Take a quick walk around Liscard town centre and you’ll notice there’s almost as many betting shops as there are banks.
Along the Wallasey town’s main high street, there’s also a handful of amusement arcades offering slots and other casino games. Two pawn shops face across one another further down Liscard Way.
The town centre and these businesses suggest Liscard is a place where money leaves rather than stays. But the prevalence of bookmakers doesn't necessarily point to levels of wealth that can afford to be gambled away.
READ MORE: Merseyside areas still waiting to hear if they will get funding
A high-rise tower at the end of the high street sits within one of the most deprived parts of the region. In the small collection of streets, 5.9% of households are deprived in four or more dimensions, according to the latest census data.
But Wirral Council is seemingly ready to roll the dice on Liscard. The town is currently waiting to hear if a £12 million Levelling Up Fund bid will be successful - money that will go towards improving its shopping district and opening a community hub. An announcement on the fund it set to be made by the government before the end of the month.
People speaking to the ECHO point towards the millions being pumped into Birkenhead while support for Liscard has been limited down the years. For many, the money is much needed - for others, there's a desire to see it spent differently - should it be awarded.
There’s no vibrancy
The statistics may appear bleak at a time when the cost of living shows no signs of letting up, but the atmosphere in the Tower pub stands in contrast to the rain beating down on Liscard. Situated at the foot of the high-rise, its tables are packed out in the mid afternoon and is the most lively point of the town centre.
Further along the road you reach Community Spirit, one of the many charity shops in the area. “Everything here is different now,” says the volunteer behind the counter, who’s returned to the area after 40 years away.
“There used to be a cinema,” he remembers when asked what it was like before he left, adding: “but it has become rundown and lost a lot of facilities. There’s no vibrancy here now.”
Two mums, who did not want to be named, chip in as they look through the items in the shop. One of the mums said: “I’ve got teenagers and there’s nothing for them to do.
“They can sit in Central Park but when they go there they end up getting chased by the police. There’s absolutely nothing for the kids.”
Speaking about the high street offer in the town, the other mum added: “You can’t get a decent pair of trainers here. The only place you can go is a charity shop. It’s that or go to Birkenhead or Liverpool.”
'I really don't know how they're coping'
Facing across the road is Wallasey Ambulance station. Outside a range of staff are standing around a makeshift fire taking part in industrial action.
Beneath the collection of Union flags and umbrellas is Gill Tee, a paramedic for the last 27 years and a member of the GMB union. Gill and her colleague’s motivation for being on the picket line is better pay and working conditions.
The 51 year old told the ECHO: “How are we meant to encourage people to stay in this job, all the long shifts that they're doing to be standing in the corridor for 12 hours with no breaks? It's all the other stuff that goes with it. People are leaving this job. They've had enough. They're burnt out.”
But Gill and other ambulance staff also have an up close view of how the cost of living is impacting one of Wirral’s most deprived areas. “We're feeling the pinch as workers, so I really don't know how they're coping,” says Gill, speaking about some of the people and households she comes across in her work.
She added: “In Wallasey, there are some parts that are really affluent, other parts where you go inside and there are poor living conditions. There are homes where people have had no heating on. The living conditions for some people are worsening from our point of view.”
'The idea was simple, to help people'
Back towards the centre of Liscard, Mill Lane runs behind the main shopping centre. There sits an unassuming corner shop, now named Community Food.
The shop is linked to Community Spirit a short walk away, with all proceeds going into its produce and upkeep. It offers a range of foods, drinks and household goods, all of which are laid out on shelves and stacked around the store and sold at a heavily discounted price.
People in the area can also use the pay it forward scheme so people without money can come in to pick up a shop. A collection of stickers cling to the wall behind the till bearing sums of money donated by shoppers which can be claimed by those in need throughout the day.
The shop was set up by Lee Johnson and his wife. Lee, 52, is sitting behind the till today as a handful of people come and go.
“The idea was simple, to help people,” says Lee, when asked about the inspiration to set up the shop just over two years ago, which is linked to a church community group. Around 80 people have been served by early afternoon, according to the booklet kept on top of the counter.
Lee added: “There are people who come in who have no money, so we just give them shopping. But it’s not just a shop for people who’re deprived. It’s just a normal shop."
Asked how the potential of £12m could help turn the town around, Lee suggests more investment in the area can’t be a bad thing. However, he believes there is a core wealth in its people, irrespective of deprivation statistics, adding: “It’s the poor people who want to give the most.”
'Start fixing the cracks'
While Liscard may have seen its investment decline in recent decades, claiming its large community centre and other businesses along the way, residents in neighbouring Egremont feel their area has had even less. In response, a community group was launched four years ago, Voice Of Egremont Residents & Tenants association, and has carried out a range of community work within the area.
Looking from a few streets over at the money being proposed for Liscard town centre, there’s a feeling it could be spent differently to have a more telling impact. Maria Kershaw, chair of The Voice of Egremont Residents & Tenants Association, told the ECHO how in "50 years we’ve never seen any more money go into here".
As a result, the group was formed among local residents with the hope of “bringing up” the riverside community. Maria added: “We’ve done so much in six short years and we’re not giving up. People who’ve been struggling, we’ve strived to bring them back up from their knees.
"People think we have been given money. We’ve had three lots of £500. We have not had thousands."
Noting the downturn in shops, where Marks and Spencer's, British Home Stores, Woolworths was all once based, the group believe this is a sign that the high street investment won’t bring back a return. In many ways, it could be a similar gamble that the town currently caters for.
The action group would like to see the money get to the root of the problems impacting this corner of Wallasey. Another group member, who did not want to be named, added: “We need to stop papering over the cracks and start fixing the cracks.”
Speaking about the Levelling Up Fund bid and hopes for improving the area, Wirral Council Leader and Liscard and Egremont Cllr Jan Williamson told the ECHO: “Liscard is Wirral’s second biggest shopping area. Retail has obviously changed a lot in recent years, with internet shopping and online banking, and so many people struggling since Tory austerity hit hard 13 years ago. That means we have to be a bit more creative in how we make our high streets attractive and useful places.
“One of the things we have been working on is community wealth building - looking at how we can support local people to make money and keep it within our community. Big multinationals are one thing, but being able to build local businesses up and support independent traders is the way to keep wealth here in Wirral, not send it offshore to some tax haven.
“One of the things we are looking at within the funding, and the Liscard Neighbourhood Framework, is for a community hub, where groups can meet. The community centre at Egerton Grove has been closed for many years. There are so many brilliant groups in the area, helping people year round, and to give them a place to get together and share ideas would be fantastic.
“Similarly, it would help our young people. I remember how hard it was as the mum of a teenager to find things to do that didn’t cost a fortune, and while we work hard to keep as much of the council youth services as we can, providing an opportunity for community groups can only be a good thing.
“But, in the meantime, we do signpost people to the Wallasey Youth Hub, at the fire station on Mill Lane. It has a good range of activities for young people aged 13-19, running Tuesday-Saturday from 7-10pm, for 50p a session.”
Receive newsletters with the latest news, sport and what's on updates from the Liverpool ECHO by signing up here
READ NEXT:
Liverpool prisoners shoot rap video in jail
Martin Lewis issues 'heartbreaking' warning to anyone booking a holiday
Kieran Salkeld and Jake Duffy named as alleged attempted murder victims
People 'devastated' by loss of Martin Gregory who was hit by HGV
Met Office issue weather warning for heavy rain as floods expected
