Sefton on hunt for team to map vision for Southport’s future
The council wants to appoint a multidisciplinary team to draw up a place strategy for the town aimed at harnessing “the power of Southport’s strengths”.
Sefton Council has launched a search for consultants to draft an overarching vision for Southport.
The strategy, for which the council has set a budget of £150,000, will “help establish the case for further investment, build advocacy, and express the destination’s ambition through a coherent brand”, according to tender documents for the opportunity.
Southport’s place strategy will be split into two phases. The first will define a brand for Southport that “express[es] the destination’s ambition” and the second will outline investment opportunities.
Overall, the strategy will underpin Southport’s approach to various sectors, including housing, tourism, and health and wellbeing and present to would-be investors Southport’s value proposition and its desired direction of travel in the hopes of securing investment in the town.
In a regeneration context, the plan will outline how the redevelopment of key sites, including Ainsdale-on-Sea, might be delivered.
The strategy is required to build on work already done to get the wheels of regeneration turning in Southport. The largest project currently underway in the town is the £37.5m Marine Lake Events Centre.
Late last year, Sefton Council began a search for a consultancy to draw up a 2025-2035 strategy that will underpin efforts to grow the borough’s visitor economy, which currently generates just shy of £700m a year.
Sefton again very big on strategies, masterplans, visions and artists’ impressions but still nothing happening beyond the incredibly slow progress on the Events Centre.
By Anonymous
What’s happening with Southport Cove
By Mike D
Sefton would be better served by focusing on the basics of delivery. Get the new Events Centre out of the ground and the pier re-opened.
By Anonymous
PLEASE CLean op LORD STREET ,help to fill shops
By Liz
Sefton need to do many things to put the town right… the railway station is one of the dankest I’ve had to use… Bite the bullet, move O2, EE etc. and knock the corner building down and build a more welcoming first impression to the town… As per Liz, cleanliness helps the feel and needs addressing. Whether its the bins or sand piled high on access steps, these are easy fixes to give the place a lift. Look to build more hotels to accommodate the extra visitors… whatever it is, speed is of the essence and that’s the worry…
By G McCain
Shouldn’t this have been done before demolishing the Floral Hall?
By Anonymous
£150,000 to make friends and come up with a logo. Great use of public money.
By 3D Chess Player
Let’s hope they employ local people……who understand what our beautiful town is about
By Aitch
Fix the basics first and don’t get ahead of yourselves Sefton Council – Also how come the budget for the Event Centre has suddenly dropped from c.£75M to £37.7M? Totally agree with G McCain too about the station and the town centre generally. The work going on in the Market quarter at the moment shouldn’t be done with the tourist season coming up – do that stuff off season.
By Lightmonger