Bootle and Southport frameworks go before council
Two frameworks, both recommended for approval, are to be discussed at Sefton Council’s Cabinet meeting this Thursday as the local authority looks to stimulate investment in Southport and Bootle town centres.
The Southport Development Framework has been created by Nexus Planning, supported by Broadway Malyan. It seeks to reconnect the beachfront with Lord Street, “the jewel in the crown,” which could be revitalised with improved public realm and events space.
Some of the key points in the report completed by Nexus include the need to develop a Southport offer to meet the needs of today’s family leisure market. It speaks of the need to nurture a hub environment for creative businesses and link in with Southport College, the need to develop proposals capable of attracting inward investment, and the necessity for a town that is more coherent to visitors needing to quickly understand how to access key assets and move around.
Peter Tooher, executive director at Nexus Planning, said: “Southport is a classic seaside town that has real potential to build substantially on its brand, enhancing its profile and contribution to economic growth in the region, not least through the visitor economy.”
Lambert Smith Hampton has developed the Bootle Town Centre Investment Framework, which focuses on how to make more of Bootle’s key assets: Hugh Baird College, Bootle Strand, the Leeds-Liverpool Canal and proximity to both Liverpool city centre and the Port of Liverpool.
Issues highlighted by LSH include the need to improve leisure assets and build a night-time economy and to put the canal at the heart of the town centre.
Cllr Marion Atkinson, Sefton Council’s cabinet member for regeneration and skills, said: “Both reports are vitally important as a guide to future development in both Southport and Bootle. They are two completely different towns with their own strengths and opportunities. We commissioned two separate frameworks in order to ensure that these two towns have the best opportunity to develop and reach their potential.”
Too many charity shops on Lord Street these days…..Says so much!
By Schwyz
Lors street was once the finest thoroughfare in the North of England. A sad, depressing decline.
By Elephant
Southport needs to go down the culture route much more, The Atkinson is making a major contribution, need to build on that..
Similarly for Bootle, even if that seems counter intuitive.. Bootle’s museum treasures were transferred to Southport, Sefton needs to put something back! The old Balliol Road baths as well as the old museum should become cultural and community resource centres.. There is still quite a bit left of Bootle’s old civic centre, and yes the canalside should have been exploited long ago. Integrate Bootle with the emerging strategy for north Liverpool and make it a major centre providing 21st century facilities for the area. Bootle looked ahead in the 60s… it needs to do the same now… not to compete with Liverpool centre, it couldn’t, but to complement it as a decent place to live with the best facilities for its people.
By Alfie