The slow death of Southport
THERE has recently been various correspondence relating to the very poor state of retail and upkeep of a once beautiful Victorian town Southport.
The Lord Street retail situation is very close to a disaster as more and more shops close, hence the property takes a downturn and hardly any incentive for new companies coming into town.
I look at and visit towns like Harrogate which is booming with a very retail-friendly council, which assists reduced parking rates and new shops springing up very successfully – and this then attracts interest in retail to come to the town.
I also look at Southport Market Hall which had major refurbishment and again many tentants have gone, leaving an empty and sad experience to shop at the market.
There was a mention of Altrincham that was in a major downturn given the close proximity to Manchester and the Trafford Centre.
However the town has been turned around by opening up a market hall to small artisan stalls where chefs produce various types of Mexican/vegetarian/street food and use the centre of the market with trestle tables and seating, where people can meet and drink and eat in an informal enviroment
And what a success this has been in bringing new shops and breathing new life into the town.
I have witnessed the same in Lisbon and famously Lyon, of great economic success for the towns or cities which have taken this regeneration route.
The outcome is you are bringing people into the town and the likes of Sefton would have to take a serious look at car parking to assist this regeneration.
If nothing is done I suspect we will witness the demise of Southport and we will have lost an iconic town. Richard Lowe Southport
BUILD MORE HOUSES
A COMMENT on on your recent piece if I may.
In March 2014 I sent details of all the development sites included in the local plan in Formby to DEFRA and asked for an assessment ofthe flood risk.
None of the sites are on land drained by the pumping stations at Crossens or Almouth or any of the dozen or so satellite pumps dotted all over the moss.
Defra recognise two kinds of flooding, from rivers and the sea.
All sites rated low and surface rainfall, all sites rated low except a small corner of the Liverpool Road, site rated moderate.
The obvious solution is to put a drain under Liverpool Road across the fields to the Alt with a nonreturn flap on the end of it.
If more doctors and dentists are needed they will come.
They like living here just as much as the rest of us.
I suspect that the developers would be delighted if Sefton Council rejected their plans.
They would then be dealing with the Planning Inspectorate in Bristol (who were behind the local plan in the first place) rather than Sefton planning department, a notoriously difficult department to deal with.
No – we need to get on with building lots more houses of all types and price ranges so that our children and grandchildren have some hope of buying a house in their home town. John Nelson Formby
ALLERGY AND HEALTH
MANY young people age 16-24 live with an allergy, but when it comes to discussing it with friends they feel embarrassed and do not want to make a fuss.
This can lead to only frequenting places they know and not trying new venues.
It is affecting their social life and mental health.
The Food Standards Agency, The Anaphylaxis Campaign and Allergy UK have combined to produce an online campaign called easytoASK.
The word ASK is a mnemonic for Always ask about allergies, Speak up, Keep safe.
The posters are copyright free so why not download one from Facebook?
Look for the Food Standards Agency display it in your school, college, place of worship, youth club or any place where young people congregate.
If you sell loose food, train your staff about allergens and give them the skills to guide young people in making the right choices.
Everybody needs help, the young people are no different as they take the first steps on their journey of life. Bernard Powell Southport
NO PATH CAR PARKING
DRIVING over footpaths, or parking partially on the footpath, is wrong.
My street in Southport is over
100 years old.
Currently, 63% of the households drive over the footpath.
Most road parked vehicles are partially on the footpath.
Other local streets have received new kerbs and footpaths, with cut-price drive-ins fitted at the same time.
We have, old, wide footpaths with now-worn kerbs, for dwindling pedestrians.
What was a wide street for donkey carts is now narrow for current vehicles.
If drivers park correctly emergency and large vehicles and even residents’ vehicles will have difficulty negotiating the street.
Perhaps a reduced pro-rata charge, per participating household, for a communityorganised bulk order of driveways, along the same street(s)? For residents requiring, time to pay.
Offer interest-free repayment instalments, collected as agreed, alongside their monthly council tax?
Would we get new kerbs and footpaths, for free, equally, as other streets did?
(I suggest, part-flagged with a tarmac edge, to aid street parking).
Please, let common sense prevail. Robert Bowden Via email
BREXIT MEANS BREXIT
NO one said it would be easy – and the continuing Brexit negotiations show that it is far from so.
But we voted to leave the EU and leave we must, and not just in name but in reality.
We have to be able to make our own rules, control immigration and establish our own free trade agreements.
The EU has obviously not been keen to help with this as giving us a good deal could be seen as an encouragement for other member states to head for the door.
But now Brussels is actually offering us a Canada+++ deal and we should be biting their hand off.
Theresa May’s so-called Chequers deal is not the right solution and she must ditch it even if it does mean losing face.
A Canada-style deal does still leave the problem of the Irish border but it is not insuperable especially with the aid of current technology.
Mrs May talks the talk about Brexit meaning Brexit, and she really has to walk the walk and follow the Referendum mandate.
Paul Nuttall North West MEP UK Independence Party
NO NEED FOR STORE
SAINSBURY’S store in Meols Cop? Do we really need this store? What about changing the planning application for houses? David Andrew Via email
HAPPY DAYS
I RECONNECTED with an old school friend some time ago and we both were very nostalgic about our night at the Odeon to see The Beatles.
We were excited 14 year-olds from Formby and we had earned
BILLIONS UNCLAIMED
BETWEEN £10bn and £15bn in welfare benefits lie unclaimed, according to official figures published by the DWP.
That works out between £150 and £250 for every person in the UK!
Of course, no-one is going to tell you how to claim these benefits and finding out if you could be entitled can be difficult and time-consuming – until now!
Benefitanswers are offering a free check which will tell you if you could be entitled to a share of the billions in unclaimed benefits.
For your free check telephone 0330 223 4773. June Brain
DRIVERS RIPPED OFF
I AGREE with the AA’s findings that oil has gone up and it should come down.
After its findings were printed, petrol went up by 3-4p a litre (£1.37).
It’s like everything that goes on, the driver gets ripped off – tyres, petrol, insurance, MoT and waiting for your claim for potholes.
I have been waiting since the end of March and am still waiting.
It’s all about making money out of us. We won’t say or do anything, as we are like sheep.
David Stewart
BECOME MEAT-FREE
THE confirmed case of mad cow disease on a farm in Aberdeenshire is a stark reminder to consumers that it’s always better to be safe than sorry by keeping meat and dairy ‘products’ out of their kitchens.
The way to prevent future outbreaks of mad cow disease and other animal-borne diseases is to stop raising billions of animals for meat, eggs, and dairy ‘products.’
We must take responsibility for our actions, which have an impact not only on animals but also on humans, and we can all be part of the solution by making the only rational choice: to leave animals off