Councillor Graham Morgan has officially commenced his seventh year as Leader of Knowsley Council, after being reappointed at the Council’s Annual Meeting, which took place on Friday 17 May 2024.
Councillor Morgan has been Leader of the Council since 2018, and has since led the Borough through both the COVID-19 pandemic and the cost of living crisis, both of which saw the Council stepping in to provide support to local communities on a scale never previously imagined.
When first taking over the role, Councillor Morgan was already taking the helm of a local authority which was one of the hardest hit by Government austerity – losing 50% of its funding and having to make £100m of savings. Meanwhile, the cost of providing adult and children’s services continues to rise rapidly – it now accounts for 76% of the council’s entire budget – a 14% increase in the last ten years. And there’s been a staggering rise in demand for other council services too, as a result of the pandemic and subsequent cost of living crisis. Despite this, year-on-year, the council has been able to balance it’s budget, whilst still providing unprecedented support for local residents – an achievement Cllr Morgan is rightly proud of.
Councillor Morgan said: “Nobody should underestimate the impact that austerity has had on our Council. Any council in our position would have found it challenging to continue to function well in normal times, and indeed a number of local authorities around the country have run into huge financial problems. But we then had to contend with the pandemic, and now the cost of living crisis, both of which hit people in Knowsley harder than they did elsewhere in the country.
“Meanwhile, the cost of providing social care for the most vulnerable in our society, something that we absolutely must do, continues to spiral. For every £1 that the council spends, 76p is now on adults and children’s services – which makes funding all the other services we want and need to provide incredibly challenging.
“We were already an area with a high level of need, but, right now, the demand for our Council’s support and services is greater than ever. For us to rise to those challenges, supporting people who need it most, whilst still keeping a firm grip on our finances, is nothing short of an amazing achievement.”
In fact, Knowsley Council’s support for families struggling with the cost of living crisis has gone over and above the national programmes. The Council created a £4.5m Knowsley Better Together Hardship Fund offering tailored support, including one-off payments to pensioners in winter, additional payments to foster carers, and free school holiday activities, with nutritious food provided.
In addition, the Council supported community projects through its £240,000 Public Health Winter Wellness Programme, reducing social isolation and keeping people warm, well and safe. A £280,000 Stronger Communities Fund supported Knowsley’s voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise sector to deliver the Knowsley Council Plan.
And “the Knowsley Offer” was launched – an online resource which connects residents with the services, support and information that they need to thrive.
Support for residents into employment or training continues, and the Borough’s first Family Hub opened in September last year. Knowsley’s schools continue to improve, and Kirkby recently opened its IntoUniversity education facility, which aims to raise the aspirations of local young people and open up routes into higher education.
But Councillor Morgan’s ambitions for the Borough mean that the Council has continually been making long term investments, alongside its day to day work, to benefit both people and place.
“It’s always been important to me that we don’t lose sight of our longer term aims. We want this Borough to be a prosperous place, where people can raise their families, live happily and safely, and achieve whatever they aspire to,” says Councillor Morgan. “So, whilst we have worked hard to ensure that the people who need support today are getting it, we’re also keeping a very firm eye on what will help us build a better future for tomorrow.”
Whilst serving as Leader, Councillor Morgan has overseen the purchase of Kirkby Town Centre in 2019, following which the Council delivered a long awaited new retail development in under two years, despite having to do that during the impact of the pandemic. This development has boosted the local economy by £15.3m per annum and created 500 new jobs. New businesses continue to open in Kirkby Town Centre, and BBC research showed a staggering 160% increase in footfall as a result.
And in Prescot, the award-winning Shakespeare North Playhouse opened to critical acclaim in 2022, with the “Shakespeare effect” very visible in a revitalised town centre, which is now thriving with a growing nighttime economy.
More than 4,000 new homes have been built in the Borough over the past five years, including more than 1,000 affordable homes (affordable rent, Extra Care and supporting home ownership), helping to meet the demand of local families. Section 106 contributions from developers have enabled more than £28m to be invested back into improving services and infrastructure.
“We have achieved so much, in such a short space of time,” says Councillor Morgan. “It’s been an incredibly difficult time for the high street nationally, but we’ve invested in our town centres, encouraging new businesses to open, and that’s paying off.”
And Knowsley’s successes have not gone unnoticed – this year, Knowsley Council has been shortlisted for not one, but two “Council of the Year” accolades in prestigious national awards.
Looking ahead
Now, as Councillor Morgan looks ahead to 2024/25, there is still much he wants to do – and much to build on.
Kirkby remains a focus – with £19.5m of Levelling Up funding to be invested, a Kirkby Town Board has been established with representatives from local government, local business and the community. They will now develop a long-term plan for investment and regeneration in Kirkby over the next 10 years.
Work continues on the Council’s vision for Huyton Village – which has already seen an influx of new bars, restaurants and cafes. Ambitious plans are in the pipeline to further transform Huyton’s village centre with a new commercial district, a Village Green, and better transport links.
Work is well underway on the delivery of Halsnead Garden Village – a major housing development with employment sites and a new country park.
In the south of the Borough, the East of Halewood housing development is progressing well with the wider town set to benefit from £30m of investment to expand the local retail offer, improve greenspaces and leisure facilities, and improve walking and cycling connectivity.
Across the Borough, the Council intends to continue its work to tackle anti-social behaviour, a key priority of local people. A recent investment of £1m in the Borough’s Crime and Communities Service, which brings partners across all agencies together to tackle crime, saw reports of anti-social behaviour fall by 23% last year alone.
Climate change remains a key priority, too. Having declared a Climate Emergency in 2020, the Council has begun decarbonising its own public buildings, reducing gas and electricity consumption and carbon emissions. It is also working on a substantial green infrastructure programme, recognising the health and wellbeing benefits parks and green spaces bring, and an ambitious Woodland Creation plan is underway, with 30 hectares of land identified. This is alongside extensive partnership tree planting schemes including the Urban Tree Challenge Fund.
Knowsley continues to improve and enhance its parks and green spaces – it now has 19 award winning Green Flag parks, and is aiming for even more to meet this high standard in the future.
Meanwhile, following the incredible success of Knowsley’s year as Borough of Culture in 2022 – when more than 60 events were staged attracting half a million visitors to the borough – culture remains at the heart of Knowsley’s future plans. This year, the Borough is celebrating its 50th Anniversary with an engaging and inclusive cultural events programme, which many thousands of residents of all ages will enjoy.
Above all, Councillor Morgan’s goals are to continue fighting for Knowsley. He said: “We will keep pressing the case to Government for fairer funding for our Borough. We are one of the most deprived areas in the country, and yet have been the hardest hit by Government austerity and cuts over the past 15 years.
“Of course I’m incredibly proud of all we have achieved, especially given the financial challenges. We’ve managed to do all this without a Government which cares about us, and I’m looking forward to a day when we have a national Government which recognises the needs of places like ours.
“Just imagine what we could achieve if we had proper support at a national level! And I hope that will come sooner rather than later.”