Securing millions of pounds of Town Deal funding would “transform Southport” says the person leading the campaign.
Rob Fletcher, the Chair of the Southport Town Deal board, knows first hand about the dramatic impact it would have. As a proud local resident who studied in the town, he is Chair of Fletcher’s solicitors, a national law firm and a Top 100 UK Law Firm which was founded and based in Southport.
Few are better placed to compare where Southport has been in the past, where it is now – and where it needs to aspire to be in the future.
He remains hopeful. The board submitted its Town Deal submission containing projects worth £50million to the Government on 31 October. A decision is now eagerly awaited.
Rob Fletcher said: “What is happening through the Southport Town Deal is very exciting for Southport.
“It is going to be so transformative for our town.
“We want to strengthen Southport’s economy, diversify our local economy, and really pull Southport up by its bootstraps.
“I would like to thank the members of the Town Deal board and the consultants who helped us to put our submission together. The people on the board are very high calibre.
“I think the submission we ultimately presented is superb.”
The team behind Southport Town Deal is a good mix of business leaders and cross-party politicians with the common aim of attracting vital investment into Southport.
They include Southport Conservative MP Damien Moore, Sefton Labour Cabinet Member Cllr Marion Atkinson, Sefton Council Chief Executive Dwayne Johnson, Southport BID Chair Susannah Porter, Southport College Principal Michelle Brabner, and several other business and public service leaders. Between them they possess a wealth of experience from a variety of different sectors.
Rob Fletcher said: “The discussions have been very good. We have managed to keep politics out of it.
“Southport’s MP, Damien Moore, has been a big part of this process. He has been very involved.
“He has really been fighting Southport’s corner for the Town Deal in Westminster.
“Southport is in a Conservative Parliamentary seat and is in a Labour council area, and I hope the support from all sides will give us some real benefit.”
The successful business owner says he is feeling positive that the Southport BID board has put forward an excellent submission.
The proposals were put forward following months of research and consultation, with Stand Up For Southport and Turleys among those helping to secure over 7,000 local responses.
People power has guided the impressive submission. Central to this is the creation of a brand new waterside events centre to replace Southport Theatre & Convention Centre, which closed in March last year.
The high quality landmark facility is estimated to attract nearly half a million visitors a year and bring in over £18million to the local economy.
It would give a huge boost to local hotels, restaurants, shops and other businesses in the town if it goes ahead.
Hundreds of young people in Southport have given their views on the Town Deal and the plans for a new events centre, which would be very different to a theatre which was famous for hosting stars such as Ken Dodd and others in years gone by.
The new facility would still boast a 1,200-seat auditorium, which would host a variety of performances from singers, comedians, theatre companies and others.
But it would be far much more too, operating over more days, more evenings, and attracting more visitors.
The new centre would be able to host flexible exhibition space which could accommodate up to 4000 people, along with a new restaurant and café.
It would host new events such as e-sports (electronic sports), a form of sport competition using video games which would appeal to a new, younger demographic.
This would be very attractive to local schools and colleges in Southport, while helping Southport BID ambitions to develop and grow the digital and creative sector in Southport.
Rob Fletcher said: “The potential is absolutely huge.
“E-sports is becoming increasingly popular. It is developing into a very popular competitive sport now. There is talk about it being included in the Olympics, it has got a huge following.
“The new events centre is not going to be an old fashioned style theatre, it is going to be much more than that.
“We are trying to get more conferences booked in and coming back to Southport as well.
“The venue will host up to 1,500 people seated with 4,000 spectators for events such as e-sports.
“Once we start getting conferences back into Southport it is going to have a big impact on hotels, restaurants and other local businesses.
“Another project is the light show on the Marine Lake – it will be a little bit like Bellagio in Las Vegas, but on a smaller scale.”
In addition to a spectacular light and sound show, there would also be a new walk-on pier into the Marine Lake.
There would be investment in improving infrastructure around the Southport Pleasureland site to enable it to develop its own exciting plans and become an all-year round attraction.
Over £1million in Acceleration Grant funding through the Southport Town Deal is already helping Sefton Council to transform Southport Market into an exciting new food, drink and events hub and Southport BID to provide decorative lighting along both sides of the historic Lord Street boulevard.
New incubation and co-working space projects are also part of the bid, with the possibility of repurposing one of the vacant large town centre buildings to refurbish 4000m2 floor space and provide over 300 desks for co-working.
Further investment would improve the linkages between Southport Train Station and the Promenade area.
The knock-on impact of a successful Southport Town Deal would be huge.
One estimate suggests it could unlock £350million of further private investment and encourage the progression of schemes such as Southport Cove, a world class surf resort which would be built at Princes Park.
The proposals would also bring with them the need for better and new hotels to service the growing number of visitors.
Rob Fletcher said: “The ambition is trying to attract more people to come to Southport.
“We are trying to get people here, and then keep people here.
“There is a lot of private investment waiting to come into Southport if our Town Deal submission is successful.
“We are optimistic about Southport’s chances of securing further Town Deal funding, and we are very bullish about our chances.”
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