Three Town Deal schemes aiming to ‘put Southport back on the map’ progress to next stage

Three Town Deal initiatives designed to help “put Southport back on the map” will reach their next stage next week. 

Business cases for all three will be reviewed by Sefton Council’s Cabinet next Thursday (10th March). 

They include plans for the new Enterprise Arcade, Southport’s first digital incubator space for start-up businesses and entrepreneurs and a much-needed co-working space. 

Other plans making progress include ‘Les Transformations de Southport’, which aims to improve routes and public spaces in Southport town centre. A consultation is currently taking place, with people able to add their views here: https://yourseftonyoursay.sefton.gov.uk/futuresouthport/

A Building Better Customer Experiences initiative will create a new ‘Southport Standard’ for service and disability awareness. 

The design and business case for the new £75million Marine Lake Events Centre, which will replace the former Southport Theatre & Convention Centre, will be submitted this summer. 

Cabinet Members next Thursday will review the business cases for all three of these Town Deal projects which have been developed over recent months by the Town Deal board, for which Sefton Council is the accountable body: 

 1 – Les Transformations de Southport

An artist’s impression of how Market Street in Southport could look

This project is aimed at improving the public realm within Southport Town Centre. 

Set to support Southport’s return to the grandeur of Victorian England, when it was the country’s second most popular tourist destination, “Les Transformations de Southport” looks at interconnectivity across the whole town centre, from improved routes in the town centre to the creation of new public spaces for hosting events. 

The public consultation on the first phase of this project is still open and any local residents who still wish to contribute to the consultation can do so at https://yourseftonyoursay.sefton.gov.uk/futuresouthport/

Rob Fletcher, Chair of the Southport Town Deal board, said:

“The name Les Transformations de Southport recognises our town’s inspiration for Hausmann’s reconstruction of Paris, and this first phase aligns closely with the priority areas identified in our Town Deal consultation prior to the bid submission”.

 2 – Building Better Customer Experiences

Lord Street in Southport. Photo by Andrew Brown Media

This is a training programme for employers and employees across the town, aiming to help create a consistent level of exemplary service which can be associated with a ‘Southport Standard’. 

There will be a focus on understanding Southport and its assets, as well as specific product and service knowledge, and will incorporate a strong underpinning of diversity and equalities training that aligns with the overall objectives for Southport’s vision.

Disability awareness will be a vital aspect of this programme, which will support the elevation of the town’s brand in line with the original Town Deal consultation and bid submission.

A spokesperson for Southport Access for Everyone (SAFE), said: 

“We are pleased to have the ongoing opportunity to engage with the council on this and other projects to ensure that equality for people living with a disability is at the forefront of these projects”

 3 – The Enterprise Arcade

The site of the proposed Enterprise Arcade in Southport. Photo by Andrew Brown Media

Located within the Crown Buildings on Eastbank Street, this project will offer Southport’s first digital incubator space for start-up businesses and entrepreneurs, a co-working space creating a community for our existing and future talent in the sector. It will also create a new economic driver for the town centre, supporting economic diversification and resilience, and breathing new life into vacant buildings.

Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Skills, Councillor Marion Atkinson, said: 

“We are breathing life into an under-used asset in an exciting town centre location. The Enterprise Arcade will build on the fantastic digital assets and businesses in the town, supporting diversification and resilience in our economy in line with the key objectives of the Town Deal”.

How the new Marine Lake Events Centre venue in Southport could look

Submitting these business cases for approval is the key next stage in the Town Deal funding requirements and will soon be followed by the design and business case for the cornerstone of the Town Deal, the Marine Lake Events Centre and associated light and water show, dubbed “The Light Fantastic” which will be submitted this Summer. 

The new Events Centre is expected to draw more than 500,000 visitors per year to the town. 

The combined impact of all of these projects, overseen by the Southport Town Deal Board, will help Southport’s economic recovery and transformation programme.

Councillor Atkinson said: 

“This is a key next step in the delivery of Southport Town Deal.

“Sefton Council and our partners on the Town Deal Board want to see Southport transformed into a thriving, vibrant visitor destination. 

“We want to give people a reason to visit and stay for longer. 

“We believe that projects and attractions such as these, along with the recently completed Southport Market, will act as a catalyst for emerging private sector investment across the town centre and will create a genuinely unique visitor experience and will only serve to strengthen our visitor economy.

“We’re putting Southport back on the map!”

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