WITH just a few days left until people in Wirral go to the polls, Wirral Council is urging voters to get ready for the upcoming local elections.
Voters will have received a poll card in the weeks before polling day which will tell them where they should go to cast their vote. Voters will be allocated to a polling station based on their home address. Information on polling stations is also available on the Electoral Commission’s website at www.electoralcommission.org.uk/i-am-a/voter/your-election-information.
Staff will be on hand to assist voters with any questions about filling out their ballot paper. There are also a number of things that will be available at polling stations to help people cast their vote, including large print sample ballot papers and tactile voting devices to help those with a visual impairment.
Kris Cureton, Electoral Services Manager and Deputy Returning Officer for Wirral Council said: “Make sure you check the information on your poll card, as your polling station might have changed since the last election. You do not need your poll card to vote, but we encourage you to bring it with you to make the process quicker and more efficient.”
Ailsa Irvine, Director of Electoral Administration and Guidance at the Electoral Commission, added: “Polling stations will be open from 7am to 10pm on Thursday, May 5. Voters who have opted to vote by post must return their postal ballot pack by 10pm; they can hand it in at their polling station if they don’t have time to return it by post.”
Those voting in person on 5 May might see some public health measures in place at polling stations, similar to those in place in other indoor venues. Wirral will be following the latest public health guidance to make sure polling stations are safe places to vote.
If you are self-isolating or become unwell as a result of Covid-19, you don’t need to lose your vote. Voters have up to 5pm on polling day to apply for an emergency proxy vote. This allows them to nominate someone they trust to vote on their behalf. For further information on how to apply for an emergency proxy, voters should contact the electoral registration team at Wirral Council on 0151 691 8046 or email electoral@wirral.gov.uk
For further information on elections in their area, voters can visit www.electoralcommission.org.uk/voter. This page will continue to be updated ahead of the polls.
Wirral Council is set for an incredibly tense and important set of elections on May 5 and just a small number of votes could completely change the local authority.
Labour’s Janette Williamson currently leads the council, but the party has just 27 of Wirral’s 66 council seats, meaning just a small number of seats could put Labour in complete control or see the party thrown out of office should other parties group together.
Wirral Council’s local elections will be held against the backdrop of the council’s £20m cuts package, which will see it withdraw funding from Woodchurch Leisure Centre, nine libraries, two golf courses and more.
Battles are currently being fought over the future of key leisure services, with local groups given the opportunity to take over the above facilities under a community asset transfer, supported by short-term council funding in some cases. The local elections could decide the future of these services and much else besides, as the council faces another tough 12 months.
Here’s all the places in Wirral you can vote on May 5:
Bebington
Grange URC Hall, Kings Lane
Town Lane Infant School, Town Lane
St Andrews C of E Primary School, Townfield Lane
Brackenwood Junior School, Norbury Avenue
Victoria Hall, Victoria Hall Walk
Bidston and St James
Little Centre Beechwood Ltd, Fifth Avenue, Beechwood
St Oswald Parish Church, Bidston Village Road, Prenton
Holy Cross Catholic Primary School, Gautby Road, Bidston
St James Centre, Laird Street, Birkenhead, Wirral
Our Lady & St Edward Catholic Primary School, via Old Bidston Road, Bidston
Christ The King Church, St Anne Street, Birkenhead
Birkenhead and Tranmere
Wirral Multicultural Centre, 111, Conway Street
Birkenhead Town Hall, Hamilton Square
Birkenhead Central Library, Borough Road
The Woodlands Primary School, Hollybank Road
Kings Church, Victoria Fields, Birkenhead
Mersey Park Primary School, Elm Road
Bromborough
New Ferry Village Hall, Grove Street, New Ferry
Hulme Hall, 23 Bolton Road, Port Sunlight
Former Dig It Community Project Building, Rear of Fire Station, Dock Road South, Bromborough
Bromborough Evangelical Church, Matheson Memorial Hall, Croft Lane, Bromborough
Bromborough Civic Centre, Allport Lane, Bromborough
Clatterbridge
Stanton Road Primary School, Stanton Road, Clatterbridge
Holy Trinity Church, Chorley Way, Spital
Chapel of Saint Peter, Brookhurst Close
All Saints Church Hall, Church Road, Thornton Hough
Claughton
St Peter’s Catholic Primary School, St Peters Way, Claughton
St Andrews Church Centre, Moorfield Avenue, Noctorum
Bidston Avenue Primary School, Bidston Avenue Entrance, Claughton
Birkenhead Quaker Meeting House, 83 Park Road South, Birkenhead
Birkenhead Sea Cadets HQ, Park Road East, Birkenhead
Eastham
Bromborough Methodist Church, 175 Allport Lane, Bromborough
Scout Hut, Ferry Road, Eastham
Heygarth Primary School, Heygarth Road, Eastham
Chapel of the Holy Spirit, Eastham Rake, Eastham
Delamere Community Centre, Delamere Avenue, Eastham
Greasby, Frankby and Irby
Greasby Infant School, Hall Drive, Greasby
Greasby Methodist Church Hall, Pickerill Road, Greasby
Irby Methodist Church Hall, Mill Hill Road, Irby
St Chads Church Hall, Roslin Road, Irby
Heswall
Barnston Primary School, Sandham Grove, Heswall
Gayton Primary School, Gayton Road, Heswall
Heswall Royal British Legion, 78 Pensby Road, Heswall
St Peters Parish Centre, Village Road, Heswall
Hoylake and Meols
St John’s Church Centre, School Lane, Meols
The Parade Hoylake Community Centre, Hoyle Road, Hoylake
Hope Church Wirral, Station Road, Hoylake
West Kirby Methodist Church, 29A Westbourne Road, West Kirby
Leasowe and Moreton East
New Brighton FC (Rugby Union), Reeds Lane, Leasowe
The Millennium Centre, Twickenham Drive, Leasowe
Eastway Primary School (Family Centre), Eastway, Moreton
Sacred Heart Parish Centre, Hoylake Road, Moreton
Sandbrook Primary School, Stavordale Road, Moreton
Liscard
Marlowe Road URC Hall (Station A), Marlowe Road, Wallasey
Marlowe Road URC Hall (Station B), Marlowe Road, Wallasey
Grosvenor Ballroom, Grosvenor Street, Wallasey
The Old Egremont Mission, Guildford Street, Wallasey
Moreton West and Saughall Massie
Christchurch Parish Centre, Upton Road, Moreton
Moreton Community Centre, Maryland Lane, Moreton
Moreton Baptist Church, 326 Hoylake Road, Moreton
The Grange Public House, Function Room Hire, Hoylake Road/Acton Lane, Moreton
St Mary’s Church Centre, 127-129 Saughall Massie Road, Upton
New Brighton
St Peter & Paul Catholic Primary School, Atherton Street, New Brighton
New Brighton Primary School, Vaughan Road, New Brighton
Earlston Library, Earlston Road, Wallasey
Liscard Primary School, Withens Lane, Wallasey
Sea Cadet Training HQ, Victoria Road, New Brighton
Oxton
The McAllester Pavilion, L C McAllester Memorial Field, Bidston Road, Oxton
Oxton St Saviour’s C of E Primary School, Holm Lane, Oxton
St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, Woodchurch Road, Oxton
Christ Church Hall Oxton, Bessborough Road, Oxton
Pensby and Thingwall
Thingwall Primary School, Pensby Road, Thingwall
Emmanuel Church, Heswall Mount, Pensby
Pensby Primary School, Greenbank Drive, Pensby
The Hope Centre, Fishers Lane, Pensby
Christ Church Hall, Barnston Road, Barnston
Prenton
St Stephens Church Hall, Prenton Lane, Prenton
Prenton Primary School, Bramwell Avenue, Prenton
Dixie Suite, Tranmere Rovers FC, via Borough Road, Prenton
Devonshire Park Primary School, Temple Road, Prenton
Rock Ferry
Bedford Drive Primary School, Bedford Drive, Rock Ferry
Rock Ferry Library, (Community Hall), Old Chester Road, Rock Ferry
The Barnabas Room, St Peter’s Church, St Peters Road, Rock Ferry
Highfield URC Schoolroom, Rock Lane West, Rock Ferry
Seacombe
R.N.A Club, (Royal Navy Association), Riverview Road
Somerville Primary School, Northbrook Road, Seacombe
St Joseph’s Parish Centre, Wheatland Lane, Wallasey
Park Primary School, Love Lane, Wallasey
Upton
Overchurch Infant School, Moreton Road, Upton
Upton Victory Hall, Salacre Lane, Upton Village
Gilbrook School, Off Glebe Hey Road, Woodchurch
Fender Primary School, New Hey Road, Woodchurch
Woodchurch C of E Primary School, Church Lane, Upton
Wallasey
Oldershaw Rugby Club, Recreation Ground, Belvidere Road, Wallasey
Jubilee Church, 12 Hose Side Road, Wallasey
Wallasey URC Hall, Front Entrance, Wallasey Village, Wallasey
St Nicholas Church, 21 Newport Avenue, Wallasey
Wallasey Village Library, St Georges Road, Wallasey Village, Wallasey
West Kirby and Thurstaston
St Michaels Church, Frankby Road, entrance from Queensbury, Newton
West Kirby Concourse, Grange Road, West Kirby
St Bridget’s Centre, St Bridgets Lane, West Kirby
Dawpool C of E Primary School, School Lane, Thurstaston
Newton Village Hall, 47 Grange Cross Lane, Newton
