Ambitious plans to restore past glory
THE creation of new public events spaces and improved pedestrian and cycling routes are central to Southport’s bid for a £50m government investment.
A key proposal of the Southport Town Deal plan, which was recently submitted to the government, is a regeneration of Lord Street which leaders say would return it to the “grandeur” of its Victorian heyday.
Widely reported to have influenced Parisian streets, Lord Street was a key part of Southport’s offering when it was the country’s second most popular tourist destination.
Plans to return the iconic street to its glory days come as the retail sector faces yet more difficulty and creative new uses for high streets are desperately needed. The proposals included creating 30,000sqm of accessible, well-connected, high-quality public space and providing priority for walking and cycling in support of clean growth.
The first phase is included in the overall bid and would include a new civic events space on Lord Street as well as public realm enhancements in areas adjacent to the key strategic projects identified within the Town Deal bid.
The project has been dubbed “Les Transformations
de Southport” and aims to improve interconnectivity across the whole town centre, including improved pedestrian and cycling routes in the town centre and waterfront.
Leaders say the illumination of Lord Street will be a key feature of the project, which also aims to address connectivity and congestion issues between the seafront area, the town centre and the railway station and includes improved signage and wayfinding around the town.
Cllr Marion Atkinson, Labour cabinet member for regeneration and skills, explained: “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.
“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, on Lord Street and beyond.
“When we carried out our extensive consultation on the Southport Town Deal bid, the connection between Lord Street and the Promenade, the need for maintenance of existing infrastructure to create safe spaces accessible for all emerged strongly as priorities.”
The recently launched Southport Townscape Project (a partnership between Sefton Council, Southport BID and the Heritage Lottery) highlighted the links between Lord Street and the Promenade as an area of priority investment.
The hope is that this project will deliver significant improvements on key routes, providing an improved visitor experience on arrival and in the town centre, resulting in increased focus and footfall for the town centre.
Cllr Atkinson continued: “The town centre is dominated by north-south movements, particularly by vehicles, resulting in relatively poor (east-west) connectivity between the seafront area and the town centre and there are many competing demands for highway space which can be difficult to accommodate.
“The post Covid-19 decline in public transport use may also create additional pressure on the highway network to accommodate private vehicles.
“If we can address these issues, provide infrastructure along with the associated health and well-being outcomes, it will provide an entirely different proposition for visitors, strengthening Southport’s vibrancy.”