Kevin Matthews

Journalism. Communications. Movies. Music. Politics. (Plus more.)

All views expressed are mine.

[Liverpool City Region @LpoolCityRegion]

Great to be with We Are Juno CIC for the opening of their new 'not-for-profit' children’s care home in Runcorn.

Plus Dane Housing transformed the property into a modern space with ensuite rooms and activity areas. It is one of four planned by Halton Borough Council over the next three years.

Mayor Steve Rotheram praised the growing partnership which offers an alternative to the profit-driven market that is "rooted in community, compassion and long-term stability"

[Liverpool City Region @LpoolCityRegion]

Step inside the future of @MerseyFerries 👀

A sneak peek at the Royal Daffodil’s stunning new interior ahead of it's launch later this year 🚢

More to come soon…

Read more🔗 https://t.co/i01WKB1InW

[Mersey Ferries @MerseyFerries]

Step inside the future of Mersey Ferries 👀

A sneak peek at the Royal Daffodil’s stunning new interior ahead of it's launch later this year 🚢

More to come soon…

Read more🔗 https://t.co/mF3kaG5nIH

[Liverpool City Region @LpoolCityRegion]

The first new Mersey Ferry in more than 60 years has been on the river this week undergoing sea trials.

The new £26m Royal Daffodil left Cammell Laird’s Birkenhead shipyard on Thursday for two days of testing. We were there to capture this historic moment👇

[Liverpool City Region @LpoolCityRegion]

It's Ladies Day and we have a dedicated team working hard with partners to make travelling to the world-famous Grand National Festival as smooth, safe and comfortable as possible. 🤝

A jewel in Liverpool City Region's crown, the event attracts around 150,000 spectators over three days and a worldwide TV audience running into the hundreds of millions. 🏇

Meet some of the people brightening up the journey to and from Aintree...

#GlobalLiverpool

@Merseyrail | @stagecoachMCSL | @arrivanorthwest | @BTP | @AintreeRaces

[Mersey Ferries @MerseyFerries]

As the Royal Iris of the Mersey marked her final journey after nearly 66 years of service last weekend, we caught up with the people who know her best — the crew and staff who have worked onboard and behind the scenes for many years. ⛴️

Watch as those who have been part of Royal Iris' story share their memories, reflections, and what the ferry has meant to them over the years. 💙

#FarewellRoyalIris #FerryCrossTheMersey

[Liverpool City Region @LpoolCityRegion]

Missed our series on the City Region’s booming film and TV industry? Here’s a recap…

The Liverpool City Region has seen 1,607 films and TV series arrive on set over the past five years. It’s added £150m to the local economy and created more than 5,000 jobs.

The £2.8m Liverpool City Region Production Fund has backed ten productions, including the first series of BBC Crime drama ‘This City Is Ours’. It has led to 19 industry awards including four BAFTAs and two International Emmys.

What began as a fund to attract productions, has stimulated growth, creating more than 800 full time equivalent jobs and 56 trainee roles in all six of the City Region’s boroughs: Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and Wirral.

@MetroMayorSteve visited the set of ‘This City Is Ours’ during filming of series two.

[Liverpool City Region @LpoolCityRegion]

In the third of our series on the City Region’s booming film and TV industry, @MetroMayorSteve goes behind the scenes of ‘This City Is Ours’ during filming of series two at a restaurant in Liverpool’s Chinatown.

The first series of the hit BBC crime drama was funded by the Liverpool City Region Production Fund and was one of ten productions to be backed by the £2.8m investment which is managed by @FilmLiverpool.

Others included ‘The Responder’ (Martin Freeman, Emily Fairn), ‘Time’ (Stephen Graham, Sean Bean) and soon to be released, ‘A Town in Nova Scotia’ starring Bill Nighy, the first feature film supported by the fund.

The fund had a transformational impact on the growth of the film and TV sector here. The Mayor talked to ‘This City Is Ours’ Producer Simon Maloney about the advantages of filming in the City Region.

[Liverpool City Region @LpoolCityRegion]

The Liverpool City Region has seen 1,607 films and TV series arrive on set over the past five years.

Whether it becomes the backdrop for somewhere else — as in Hollywood productions including ‘The Batman’, ‘Clayface’, and ‘Heads of State’ — or as the City Region in its own right, such as in dramas ‘Time’, ‘The Responder’, and ‘This City Is Ours’, thanks to its diverse architecture and film friendly environment, it is attracting high profile productions.

In the second of our series on the Liverpool City Region’s booming film and TV industry, @MetroMayorSteve went behind the scenes of ‘This City Is Ours’ during filming of series two and met Props Master Bobby Brown from Wavertree.

[Liverpool City Region @LpoolCityRegion]

The City Region’s film and TV industry is booming. As the UK’s most filmed area outside London, record growth has seen our area become the leading film and TV hub outside of the capital. It’s added £150m to the local economy and created more than 5,000 jobs.

But how is this felt on the ground – behind the scenes? 🎬 @MetroMayorSteve went on set with the cast and crew of ‘This City Is Ours’ during filming at a restaurant in Liverpool’s Chinatown and caught up with props masters, make-up artists, costume designers and actors amongst those working on the hit BBC crime drama. 🎥

Hear their thoughts on the industry in our series starting with location crew Laura and Neave.

[Liverpool City Region @LpoolCityRegion]

#DevolutionDelivers for Knowsley

Knowsley’s Bowring Park and Golf Course in Huyton now offers more than one type of green after it encouraged rewilding with native plants and created new natural habitats to improve biodiversity.

Last year its ‘Grow: The Sustainability Campus’ was named the Sustainable Project of the Year at the prestigious Golf Environment Awards.

The site has even off-set carbon from the nearby motorway using sensors and provided green skills training for the local community and businesses.

[Liverpool City Region @LpoolCityRegion]

#DevolutionDelivers for Knowsley

How you get from A to B and even on to C is set to improve with Knowsley’s share of the Liverpool City Region’s £1.6bn transport package.

Devolution means decisions on how the area will benefit from its portion of the funding are made here — helping to improve connections across Knowsley.

That could include better roads, bus services, and even active travel routes…

[Liverpool City Region @LpoolCityRegion]

#DevolutionDelivers for Knowsley

Kirkby’s £80m fully accessible Headbolt Lane station was the second new station to be opened in the Liverpool City Region served by the battery-powered trains from our new publicly owned fleet.

The new station not only allowed Kirkby residents easier access to the Merseyrail network but also offered cycle parking and links to active travel networks.

Liverpool City Region's Walking and Cycling Commissioner, Simon O'Brien, checked out the active travel measures for himself.

[Liverpool City Region @LpoolCityRegion]

WATCH 🎥 | Mayor Steve Rotheram opens the UK’s flagship Apprenticeships & Training Conference in Liverpool, welcoming industry leaders from across the country back to the Liverpool City Region for the second year running.

In his address, the Mayor highlighted how the Liverpool City Region is leading the way:

• Investing more than £60m a year in adult skills
• Over 54,000 apprenticeships created in six years
• £16m Apprenticeship Levy transferred, creating 2,345 new roles
• Working with major employers including BBC, Amazon, Airbus, TUI, B&Q and LFC
• Half‑price bus or train travel for young apprentices with the Apprentice Travelcard

📍 Live from ACC Liverpool

#ATC2026 #Apprenticeships #Skills #LCR

[Liverpool City Region @LpoolCityRegion]

#DevolutionDelivers for Sefton

Children in Sefton are among more than 120,000 from across the Liverpool City Region who have benefitted from free cycle safety training over the last 15 years.

Supported by the Combined Authority, the Bikeability scheme not only provides young people with life skills but also helps them to learn about sustainable forms of travel and how it combats climate change.

Liverpool City Region Walking & Cycling Commissioner, Simon O'Brien, took his two wheels to a session at Great Crosby Primary School in Sefton...

[Liverpool City Region @LpoolCityRegion]

#DevolutionDelivers for Sefton

Southport’s cultural programme for 2026 - Elegantly Eccentric - is helping to drive the town’s resurgence, attract new visitors, and showcase everything that makes it special.

Beginning with Lightport, an immersive light art experience which saw thousands of families flock to Lord Street over Valentines Day weekend, the initiative sets out plans for a year of culture, creativity and community putting Southport back on the map.

[Liverpool City Region @LpoolCityRegion]

#DevolutionDelivers for Sefton

As a devolved area, the Liverpool City Region is receiving £1.6bn of transport investment of which Sefton will receive a share.

The funding will support everything from better buses and safer walking and cycling routes, to upgraded roads, rail links, and local infrastructure.

The investment will help create a more reliable, accessible, and connected network for the 1.6 million people who live, work, and travel in the Liverpool City Region - including residents in Sefton.

Let’s see how Sefton will benefit from its share of the funding.

[Liverpool City Region @LpoolCityRegion]

Watch as Apprentice Ellie Vondy explains how she hopes to become the first female captain of the iconic Mersey Ferry.

She said: “It’s so exciting to think I could be the first woman... I’m a Liverpool girl and the ferry is part of the city’s heartbeat so I just hope I do women justice.”

[Liverpool City Region @LpoolCityRegion]

Devolution is enabling the introduction of bus franchising, which will bring services in St Helens under public control for the first time in decades.

It means greater local oversight of routes, fares and service standards — helping to deliver a more reliable, affordable and joined-up network for residents, workers and visitors.

Leader of @sthelenscouncil, Cllr Anthony Burns, explains what the changes will mean for people in St Helens and how the new system will help put passengers first.

[Liverpool City Region @LpoolCityRegion]

🎞️WATCH as Mayor Steve Rotheram urges public and private sector leaders to speed up housebuilding ‘for the sake of families living in uncertainty’.

Launching a new developer network to accelerate delivery of a major housing programme, he said: “I’ve always believed that having a decent home isn’t a privilege – actually, I think it should be a human right.

"It’s the foundation of everything that we do in life. And yet, across our city region too many families are being priced out, left waiting or living in uncertainty, while good sites sit stalled and unused.”