First look inside stunning new Southport Lifeboat Station as work nears completion

Take a look at the first pictures inside the stunning new Southport Lifeboat Station – which is due to open its doors soon! 

The life-saving facility has been created on Marine Drive, on Southport’s seafront, after an incredible £1.4million was raised through fundraising over the past few decades. 

People are now being urged to donate funds to ensure the new station can be furnished. 

Construction has been taking place for the last three years, with the project beset by delays due to the Covid pandemic and other unforeseen issues. 

But now Southport Lifeboat – which relies entirely on charitable donations to operate and is staffed by volunteers – will soon be able to move into its purpose-built facility in the best possible location. 

The new station replaces the old lifeboat house next to Southport Pleasureland that was built in 1886 and has been used by the Southport Offshore Rescue Trust, which operates Southport Lifeboat, since 1988.

Southport Lifeboat provides a lifeboat and land based search and rescue service around the region’s coastline. The crew are all unpaid volunteers who are on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Independent of the RNLI, the Trust relies on donations and fundraising to support itself to provide a first class life saving service in an area of coast and water covering between the River Mersey in Merseyside and the River Ribble in Lancashire, and up to 25 miles offshore, including Southport Marine Lake.

Southport Lifeboat volunteers have helped in the safe return of over 5,000 people since being formed in 1988, and aims to give our crew the best equipment possible to help save lives on our coastline.

Southport Lifeboat Coxswain and Trustee Director Nick Porter said: “Construction on the new Southport Lifeboat Station has almost been completed. Whilst we are waiting for the finishing touches, we’d like to share with you some images from inside our new home.

“The new station has been paid for entirely by public donations and will be the new home for the Southport Offshore Rescue Trust, the independent charity that runs the Southport Lifeboat.

“Being independent means that we are not part of the RNLI, so we raise funds locally which are spent to save lives in the local area.

“The RNLI has not had a lifeboat service in Southport since 1925, their nearest stations are in Lytham St Annes and New Brighton.

“The Southport Lifeboat was set up in the late 1980s after bereaved relatives set up the charity following a number of tragedies along the Southport coast that cost the lives of many young men and women.

The new Southport Lifeboat Station. On the top floor there is a lookout tower and operations room, where shore crew will be able to keep in contact with all of our assets on training and call outs.

“The boathouse area is large enough to accommodate both of our Lifeboats and their respective launch vehicles, as well as our ATVs. At our current lifeboat house, some equipment is stored outside or in containers as our service has outgrown the building.

“As an independent lifeboat station, we do not have a network of relief assets to call upon if something breaks down. Therefore, we have included a workshop within the premises so that our volunteer crew can easily service or repair the equipment and keep the vehicles in top condition.

“Our volunteers will no longer have to get changed in the same area as where the boat, tractor and quads are stored as we have a large changing area. This area will be filled with equipment storage lockers for the dry suits, lifejackets, helmets and other PPE that they use.

“Crew will be able to wash their kit down with warm water for the first time ever in our wash down room. Currently, our volunteers must wash down outside with cold water.

“And then the wet kit will be placed in a drying room. Our old lifeboat house was built in 1886 and doesn’t have any heating. Crew often return to the boathouse in winter months and find their equipment is still damp from the week before!

“Kitchen facilities will mean that the volunteers will be able to have a hot meal after a long call out, or have refreshments during theory training sessions. At our current station, we have a kettle situated in a room that is also used as a workshop and store room for our spare parts.

Building work is continuing on the new Southport Lifeboat Station

Upstairs we have created an office space to work from. The building will have internet access throughout making it easier for the day to day running of the charity.

“An area for Trustees, the Operations Team, Coxswains and Launch Authorities to have their meetings.

“And a large training room with views of the coast, and inside to the boathouse area.

“And on the top floor there is a lookout tower and operations room, where our shore crew will be able to keep in contact with all of our assets on training and call outs.

“In addition, the new lifeboat station has a platform lift so volunteers and visitors can easily access the first floor, a large storage area, and in a first for the Southport Lifeboat, toilet facilities. A comprehensive CCTV and alarm system have been installed to protect the building when the volunteers are not there.

“As the finishing touches are applied to the building, we are now asking for your help with donations to furnish our Lifeboat Station, details of how to donate to us can be found on our website.”

It costs £60,000 to keep Southport Lifeboat functioning all year round. That is no mean task during ordinary times, let alone the extraordinary times we currently find ourselves in.

Southport Lifeboat is funded entirely through public donations, and is independent of the RNLI.

There are other ways you can help the charity continue to save lives, including joining LifeboatLotto or online donations.

For more details about the emergency service, or if you would like to donate, please visit their website:

http://www.southport-lifeboat.co.uk/

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