An historic pumping station with sweeping views across Kings Gardens in Southport is set to become a new restaurant and bar.
The vacant facility, close to Morrisons supermarket, was put up for sale by Fittons Estates earlier this year with a guide price of £100,000 after it was deemed surplus to requirements by Sefton Council.
Four interested investors came forward, and a preferred new owner has now been chosen. Their details have not yet been revealed.
In her report to the local authority, Sefton Council Cabinet Member Regeneration and Skills, Cllr Marion Atkinson, said: “A marketing exercise was undertaken earlier this year which concluded in July 2021, responding to the wider regeneration drive for Southport, in part linked to the Development of the Town Investment Plan.
“Four submissions were received, and a preferred purchaser identified.
“Due diligence is underway for use of this facility as a food and beverage use.”
A planning application to convert the landmark venue into a stylish restaurant and bar was submitted to Sefton Council in April 2017, and was subsequently granted, but this has now lapsed.
The building, on Esplanade, Southport was deemed ‘surplus to requirements’ by Sefton Council in 2014.
Built in the 1950s, it is a split level building, being single storey at street level with a lower ground floor storey to the rear, with this lower ground floor opening out onto Kings Gardens.
A £5.5million Sefton Council programme to transform Kings Gardens began in 2012 with the park officially opened in 2014 by Princess Alexandra.
Princess Alexandra carried out the unveiling more than 100 years after her grandparents King George V and Queen Mary first opened the park, which surrounds the Marine Lake in Southport.
Earlier this month, Sefton Council announced a series of improvement works designed to restore and regenerate a number of the park’s key features.
The large scale maintenance programme, made possible via the council’s Kings Garden’s contingency fund, will see the popular site undergo a series of restorative works, costing nearly £90,000.
The property which is now due to be transformed was originally constructed as a former pumping station, but in the recent past has been used by the council as a storage facility. It is constructed to a primarily open plan concrete frame, with the north elevation facing Kings Gardens and the south elevation accessed at first floor level from the main road.
The vendor, Sefton Council, commissioned a structural report detailing the current condition and recommended works.
The property is not Listed, but is recognised as a ”Non-designated Heritage Asset” due to its location in Kings Gardens, which is Grade II Listed.
Sefton Council, when it was selling the building, said the premises could also be suitable for alternative leisure employment, office or retail uses, subject to the necessary consents.
It is understood that the tenure would be a new 125-year long leasehold, subject to a peppercorn ground rental.
Necessary repairs will need to be in accordance with recommendation within the 2020 WML Survey Report.
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