The closure of a community trust, a new chapter for a much-loved venue and an upcoming NHS doctor strike are just some of the stories we have published today
Café Tabac is one of the most loved venues in the city(Image: Howard Davies/Trinty Mirror)
Here are five stories published by the Liverpool Echo you may have missed today.
1) Charity boss says ‘we have to face reality’ as closure announced
A community trust set up on a lane immortalised by The Beatles has announced it is to close its doors after more than two decades. Back in 2003, the Penny Lane Community Trust was set up to save the nearby fields from a housing development. In 2010, the community centre and Beatles visitor centre opened its doors with a wide range of Fab Four memorabilia, complete with a striking mural of Paul McCartney and John Lennon adorning its outer wall. The trust’s building is often visited by guides who come out to the city’s suburbs to show tourists Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields. READ HERE.
2) City institution’s next chapter written by someone who ‘loves it’
While Bold Street businesses have come and gone over the past half century, the Cafe Tabac has retained its enduring appeal. However, after being owned by the same family for more than 50 years, the much-loved bistro has been acquired by the Ma Pub Group behind city venues such as Ma Boyle’s Alehouse and Eatery, Tempest on Tithebarn, Nova Scotia and Newington Temple. Current owner Elaine Clarke, 57, whose legendary auntie Rita Lawrence opened the Tabac, said “letting go now comes with a heavy heart and truly marks the end of an era for me and for my family”. Ma Pub Group director Iain Hoskins, who began his hospitality career working with Elaine in the 1990s, promised it would remain “the Tabac Liverpool loves and knows”. READ HERE.
3) NHS doctors to go on strike in run-up to Christmas
Resident doctors in England will go on strike for five consecutive days in the run-up to Christmas, the British Medical Association (BMA) has announced. The walkout will take place from 7am on December 17 until December 22. Health Secretary Wes Streeting condemned the move as “cynical”, and accused the union of attempting to turn medics “into the Grinch who stole Christmas”. He added that his “door has always been open” and he stands ready “to do a deal that puts patients first this Christmas”. The BMA has confirmed to the ECHO that all resident doctors in England will be eligible to strike, including those at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital. READ HERE.
4) Huge £100m warehouse project signed off amid 100 plan objections
The firm behind a huge £96m storage and distribution business on the site of a former printing hall in south Liverpool said they want to have a “respectful relationship” with neighbours amid more than 100 objections to the proposals. It was confirmed in October last year GB Europe Holdings Limited had submitted a detailed planning application to Liverpool Council for land on Dakota Drive. City councillors have signed off on the plans after the former Prinovis factory was razed to the ground in a controlled explosion in the summer. It will now be replaced by an 88,000m logistics warehouse. This is despite Cllr Lucy Williams, Garston ward member, warning the development represented something “our community has never seen before” and how people in the area “would not benefit from this”. READ HERE.
5) Nearby Michelin retreat is one of the best boutique hotels around
A famous Ormskirk venue has been named as one of the best boutique hotels in the country. The Top 50 Boutique Hotels awards are voted for by more than 200 hospitality and travel industry experts from across the country. Each academy member has four votes they cast in order: position one being their top choice of boutique hotel, descending to number four, which is their fourth favourite choice. The votes have been counted and Ormskirk’s Moor Hall Restaurant and Rooms has been ranked in 15th place. Moor Hall, located on Prescot Road in Aughton, opened in 2017 and received its first two Michelin stars in 2018 and 2019. In February this year, the venue reached the extraordinary heights of obtaining a third star, making it only the 10th in the UK to do so. READ HERE.
Read all the latest headlines at Liverpool ECHO.
