Govt signs off Les Transformations de Southport

The £2.5m project aims to improve the Merseyside town’s public space and travel routes.

Sefton Council is looking to begin work early next year on the first phase of Les Transformations de Southport, now that the government has signed off the project’s business case. Money for the project came from a successful Town Deal Fund bid.

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Les Transformations include proposals to plant trees, install new street lights, and upgrade street furniture in the town centre. The work is focused on three streets: Market Street, Eastbank Street and Chapel Street.

Additional phases of the project are being developed. Sefton Council said that they will be delivered as it acquires funding for them.

Curious about the Les Transformations name? Cllr Marion Atkinson, Sefton Council’s cabinet member for regeneration and skills, explained its origin.

“We all know the famous story that, while living in exile in Southport in 1838, Prince Louis Napoleon, later Emperor Napoleon III, was so inspired by the grandeur of Lord Street that he ordered Baron Haussmann to model the reconstruction of Paris on it,” she said.

“Les Transformations de Paris made the French capital the “Southport of the South”. Les Transformations de Southport will ensure we again fulfil the potential of our public realm spaces.”

Atkinson went on to describe the impact the project will have.

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

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

Here is a list of the proposed work in phase one of the scheme, as described in a press release:

Market Street

• Creation of a traffic-free section on Market Street alongside the market, from the junction of King Street.
• Increased space for additional footfall and event hosting provision.
• Conversion of the existing carriageway to a new paved surface that will provide level access for pedestrians as well as service vehicles.
• New tree planting and raised floral planters.
• New street lighting.
• Maintaining traffic provision from Market Street to Princes Street with a new two-way section.

King Street

• Introduction of a new one-way traffic flow arrangement on King Street, from Eastbank Street to the junction with Market Street.
• Widening of the pavement to provide more space for pedestrians and for use by businesses.

Eastbank Street

• Improved pedestrian crossing provision.
• Introduction of a 20mph speed limit along Eastbank Street from the junction with Virginia Street to the junction with Lord Street.
• Provision of a new, wider paved surface along sections of both sides of Eastbank Street.
• Installation of raised planters to enhance the street environment

Chapel Street

• Upgrades to street furniture.
• Investigation into potential improved lighting.
• Working with station property owners to encourage further improvements.