One of Merseyside’s oldest sports clubs still play every Saturday

Dear readers – Birkenhead Park Football Club is one of Merseyside’s original sporting establishments, its rich history dating back 155 years. Once the best side in the country, providing international players and hosting top touring sides, “Park” currently play in the sixth tier of English rugby, overshadowed even by local rivals they used to dominate.

Redolent of the region’s High Victorian apex, are Park — playing posh, southern rugby union in northern, working class Birkenhead — a fish-out-of-water in 2026? Or considering the current state of rugby, is their mere survival — and even recent successes, albeit at a more modest level than a century ago — an act of defiance worthy of their finest alumni? 

That’s today’s story by Laurence. But first, your regularly scheduled Post briefing.

Your Post briefing 

A major blow for Garston residents: plans by real estate company Peloton to build a large industrial site near homes have now been approved. Initially, proposals for the development were rejected by Liverpool council, over locals’ concerns about noise and pollution. However, Peloton challenged that decision, and have now won their appeal against the council and are moving forward with the development. “There’s lots of elderly people living here — people who’ve got ill health, breathing troubles — none of us are going to be able to open our windows in summer,” one resident told the BBC. “This is literally a stone’s throw from residential houses. We’re just really, really disappointed that this has gone through,” Liverpool councillor Lucy Williams said.

The Hillsborough law has been delayed again after MPs raised concerns over whether it would apply to the security services. Last week, victims of the Hillsborough disaster met prime minister Keir Starmer to urge him to make sure the bill applies to employees of M15, M16 and GCHQ. As things currently stand, the “duty of candour” clause in the law will not fully apply to them. Now, the government has delayed the remaining stages of the bill to next week, with a government source telling the BBC this would allow further “tweaking” to address issues raised around the accountability of secret services.

And apologies for the whiplash, but it seems we will be getting the rail improvements first promised to us more than a decade ago. Kind of. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced that Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) is back on, promising an initial £1.1bn for design and preparation. It will be delivered in phases, she explained, starting with upgrades to lines between Leeds, York, Bradford and Sheffield. The second phase will be the building of a new route between Liverpool and Manchester, and the third will improve connections between Manchester and cities in Yorkshire.