As we prepare to say goodbye to 2020, many of us will be saying – ‘good riddance’.
It was a year that brought us Covid, Tiers, lockdowns, cancelled events and temporary school and business closures.
In Southport, 2020 also saw many things that we can look back on with great pride – and some that give us something exciting to look forward to in 2021.
What else would you add to this list? Please let us know!
1 – Southport Market transformation work began
Exciting plans to transform Southport Market into a unique food and drink offer were given the go ahead by Sefton Council’s Cabinet on September 3, with building work beginning the following month.
The £1.4 million redesign and refurbishment of the town centre market site will create a modern food and drinks space, along with a flexible events and market area.
Southport Town Deal provided £900,000 towards the project, which would be on similar lines to the successful Altrincham Market. A further £500,000 is being provided by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.
The new look market will be an all year round attraction with space for up to eight delicious food and drinks units, providing a vital boost to the local economy and continued regeneration of Southport’s Market Quarter and King Street.
Fusion restaurant Paulo No Mercado has already moved into one of the units, while established family business Blackhurst Butchers is set to move into a prime unit at the front of the market. .
2 – Southport Town Deal revealed a £50m vision to improve our town
A £50million submission was submitted to the Government by the Southport Town Deal board on October 31.
The bid is asking for funding for a range of schemes to help regenerate Southport, including money for a new waterside events centre to replace Southport Theatre and Convention Centre.
If approved, the new centre will attract 455,000 visitors with a venue that can accommodate up to 4,000 people, including 1,200 in the auditorium.
The Town Deal bid also seeks funding for a spectacular immersive lights show in the Marine Lake and infrastructure funding to support the conversion of Southport Pleasureland into an all-year attraction.
3 – Southport Rugby Football Club went round the world – twice!
Earlier this year members of Southport Rugby Football Club were left devastated when their much-loved President Graham Ellis died.
In Graham’s memory, they launched The Ellis Expedition. As the Covid pandemic began, players and supporters vowed to travel virtually from the equivalent of Southport to the South Pole by running, walking, cycling, swimming etc.
Their love for Graham was shown by their amazing feat in travelling twice around the world, raising over £35,000 for the NHS in Southport and Ormskirk.
4 – We saw huge acts of kindness
Southport has shown its sense of community this year. There were huge acts of kindness throughout this year, supporting people in our community when they needed help the most.
At Playtown, owners Louie and Tanya Gaffney put the temporary closure of their business to one side to cook and deliver meals for thousands of elderly and vulnerable people.
Sean Connolly and Fiona Aldred launched a Gifts for Kids at Christmas appeal, Diana Clarke launched a Fill A Family Christmas Stocking Appeal and Mayor June Burns launched her Christmas Gift Appeal.
Stand Up For Southport has been supporting ongoing appeals to bring Michael Walton home, after he spent 503 days in intensive care at Walton Hospital, and the campaign to support Lewis Wright, as the 12-year-old Southport schoolboy battled cancer.
Thank you for all your support this year. Let’s see who we can help in 2021.
5 – A new Southport Sainsbury’s was finally approved
Whoever thought we’d finally see the end of this saga?
The decision to approve plans for a brand new Sainsbury’s superstore at Meols Cop retail park were finally approved this year.
It means that work can finally go ahead on a development which will create 160 new jobs and revamp the former Homebase area of the retail park which had become a local eyesore.
6 – Four storey tribute to Red Rum was created
The world’s greatest ever racehorse, Red Rum, has been celebrated on the end of a four-storey building on the corner of Scarisbrick Avenue and Promenade as part of the 2020 Sefton Borough of Culture.
The stunning artwork was created by Paul Curtis, owner of Paul Curtis Artwork, who is responsible for the famous Angel Wings in the Baltic Triangle in Liverpool and Audrey Hepburn outside David H Myers on London Street in Southport among others.
Sefton Borough of Culture began the year with some very exciting plans for big outdoor events, and managed to stage The Nightingale’s Song at The Atkinson in Southport, Waterloo Town Hall and Bootle Town hall before the Covid pandemic hit.
The initiative then went online with Brendan Riley’s Zoom Comedy Bingo, Zulay Newell’s Origami Red Squirrel project and others.
7 – The UK’s biggest Captain Sir Tom Moore mural was unveiled
Have you seen it yet? The immense three-storey tribute to Captain Sir Tom Moore now stands tall on the side of the Anthony James Estate Agents building on Hoghton Street in Southport town centre, with an equally large mural celebrating our NHS workers and North West Air Ambulance pilots on the other side.
They were painted by local artist Robet Newbiggin and were commissioned by Mark Cunningham, Lyn Cunningham and Jacqui Holt, Directors of Anthony James Estate Agents in Southport.
8 – The BHS building was finally sold
One of Southport’s landmark buildings, the former BHS building on Chapel Street, was finally sold after years of sitting empty.
JSM Company Group, based on Fleet Street in Liverpool city centre, wants to transform the historic building into six retail and leisure units on the ground floor, with 30, two-bed apart hotel rooms on the first, second, third and fourth floors.
The apart hotel rooms would be run under the ‘Prestige Stay’ brand.
The ground floor would welcome five retail units, two of which have been let already.
Prestige Stay is looking to open a pub in the vacant unit at the back.
9 – Superb new business opened in Southport
We have some brilliant new businesses to enjoy in Southport.
2020 – what a year to open! Local businesses in our town need and deserve all the support they can get. And we hope they enjoy a better year in 2021.
We’ve seen some great new businesses open this year, with more on the way in 2021.
Paulo No Mercado opened at Southport Market, as work continues to transform this landmark building.
Lord Street enjoyed a flurry of exciting new businesses, which included: Grill Hunters, The Carlton, Skylight, Casa Italia and Curlett Jones Estates.
From The Block Fitness opened next to Bliss Hotel on The Promenade; Xander’s Fish Bar opened on Eastbank Street; Churchtown Village welcomed RS Fine Chocolate, Mixers, and House of Mojos; and Hillside saw the Korean Kitchen open.
These were just some of the new businesses which opened this year.
We all need to shop local and eat local this coming year and support them as much as we can.
10 – Southport Lifeboat enjoyed one of their busiest years
Lifeboat volunteers had one of our busiest years to date, with 41 call-outs; calling upon all of their search and rescue assets.
In February, their Arctic lifeboat headed down the River Mersey to escort HMS Prince of Wales on her first public visit to port. After restrictions came into place following the outbreak of COVID-19, their call out numbers reduced to a few per month as people remained at home. This preceded our busiest period to date with just under 30 service calls in the months May-August, with crews called upon up to 8 times per day on some occasions.
As a response to the growing number of people caught out by the tide, with over 40 people rescued in one incident alone, in August their launched their #ItsBehindYou safety campaign which aims to educate beachgoers about the dangers of becoming cut-off by the tide. Following the vandalism of our training D-Class lifeboat towards the end of summer, the support from the public was tremendous.
Southport Lifeboat is now looking forward to the completion of its new lifeboat station in 2021.
11 – Victoria Park launched two new events
2020 was the first year since World War Two that the Southport Flower Show did not take place at Victoria Park in Southport.
The UK’s largest independent flower show will return in July. The Hairy Bikers will be among their very special guests next year!
The Flower Show will be joined next year by two superb new events too.
Comedy In The Park sees John Bishop top the bill alongside Katherine Ryan, Al Murray, Jason Manford, Paul Chowdhry and host Judi Love. This exciting all-day comedy extravaganza will take place at the stunning grounds on Victoria Park on Saturday 17th July 2021.
The UK’s largest BBQ Festival experience is coming to Southport in 2021.
Tickets are now on sale for the Smoke & Fire Festival North, which will take place at Victoria Park in Southport 18-21 June 2021.
Add this to established events such as Southport Food and Drink Festival and the British Musical Fireworks Championship, and Victoria Park will be the place to be in 2021.
12 – We clapped for carers
Going into the first Coronavirus lockdown in March was a terrifying experience.
There was no sense of when it would end. No guarantee that any vaccine could be found. No knowledge when we would see family or friends again. No clue as to when the huge pressure on our amazing NHS and care home staff would end.
Clap For Carers every Thursday night grew and grew in popularity. It began on our doorsteps and grew louder and louder each week as we gave our thanks to all those who worked so hard and under such horrendous conditions to save lives.
We even saw a weekly Clap For Carers convoy through Hesketh Bank and Tarleton and convoys past Southport Hospital by Bates Dairy milk floats and vehicles, local taxi drivers and others.
13 – We clapped for carers at Southport Town Hall
Acclaimed denim artist Ian Berry created a spectacular Clap For Carers visual light show at Southport Town hall in May.
Video projections saw a huge pair of hands lead a round of applause on Clap For Carers night on Southport’s main civic building.
The building was also adorned with rainbows and children’s pictures in a celebration of our wondeful NHS staff.
14 – Father Christmas still made it through
We knew Father Christmas wouldn’t let us down! The second lockdown may have been in place, but the superb volunteers from Southport Hesketh round Table still came out every night as they took a dancing Father Christmas and a Santa Sleigh around the streets of Southport.
They did all they could to put smiles on families’ faces while also raising money for local charities and good causes.
15 – Stand Up For Southport reached 14,000 members
What a year! Stand Up For Southport was launched at Christmas 2019 by Southport residents Andrew Brown and Phil Gee.
We wanted to create a positive voice for Southport, and a platform where local people could share beautiful pictures of our town at its best and share community news, events and appeals that would help our town to become a better place.
When the Covid pandemic hit the UK we were honoured to be able to give local people the chance to share their views on how they want Southport to look in the future through the Southport Town Deal. The Town Deal bid enjoyed more than 7,000 pieces of feedback, more than anywhere else in the UK.
We have been delighted to act as media partners for Southport Rugby Club’s Ellis Expedition, as they successfully raised over £35,000 for the NHS in Southport and Ormskirk.
We worked with Southport Foodbank to create and launch their charity calendar.
We have provided support for the campaign to bring Michael Walton home and to make dreams come true for Southport schoolboy Lewis Wright.
We have supported Southport Lifeboat, Queenscourt Hospice, the Community Link Foundation, and other charities and appeals.
We have worked alongside Southport BID to highlight the support they have been giving to local businesses, while also promoting local businesses across Southport.
We have been heartened to see over 14,000 people join our Stand Up For Southport Facebook group in just one year alone – please invite your friends to join us! – with thousands more on our Instagram, Twitter, Linked In and other pages.
Thank you for all your superb photos of Southport, all your guest blogs, your posts, your stories, your comments, your likes, and most of all your sense of community, your togetherness and your positivity during 2020.
We would like to wish everyone a safe and a successful 2021 – let’s continue working to help make that happen.
Do you have any stories for Stand Up For Southport? Please message Andrew Brown via Facebook here or email me at: mediaandrewbrown@gmail.com
