A Merseyside town centre is set to be transformed with more than £10m being ploughed into the developments.
Southport is rapidly becoming a more developed town as money is ploughed into the tourist resort in an attempt to rejuvenate the Victorian town. The north Merseyside town has had plans shared for an all-new Marine Lake Events Centre as well as a brand new Enterprise Arcade in a bid to help new businesses.
Funding is now looking to be secured for "Transformations de Southport" which is currently open for consultation as Sefton Council looks to breathe another breath of fresh air through the town. Looking ahead to the Sefton Council annual meeting, a report has been published outlining the funding wanted for the development.
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The report, written by the Executive Director of CorporateResources and customer Services, has claimed that the supposed developments in infrastructure will cost an estimated £12.75m, with £2.5m being sourced from the £37.5m Town Deal that was awarded to Southport to use on a range of projects.
While it is still unclear what exactly the funding will be spent on due to the consultation still being ongoing, the first phase of the development will focus on the area between the railway station and the recently refurbished Southport Market. Further phases will change other parts of the town including Lord Street, Nevill Street and the Promenade, with all developments linking back to Southport Train Station.
The report says: "Southport has been allocated £37.5m for a range of projects under the government’s Town Deal funding programme. One of the projects included in the Town Investment Plan was Les Transformations de Southport.
"The provision of infrastructure to underpin economic growth was one of the three themes of the Town Investment Plan for Southport and this project provides the transport and public realm infrastructure needed to support the ambition of the town Fund and the changing patterns of travel demand and movement around the town. The overall project is expected to cost approximately £12.75m and £2.5m of funding has been allocated from the Town Deal to enable the delivery of the first phase of the project.
"Additional funding will be sought for the further stages of the project. The proposals for committing the Town Deal funding for delivery of the first phase of the project and the business case to be submitted to Government on behalf of the Town Deal Board was agreed by Cabinet in March.
"Council is recommended to approve a supplementary capital estimate of £2.75m for the Transformations de Southport project funded from the annual transportation capital programme (£0.25m), for the development of the scheme and the Town Deal (£2.5m) for the delivery of the first phase of the project."
Rob Fletcher, Chair of the Southport Town Deal board, said in March: "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."
