Light Show to attract ‘300,000 extra visitors per year’
CREATING a spectacular new Water and Light Show on the Marine Lake in Southport would “strengthen Southport’s role as a key visitor destination” and attract nearly 300,000 additional visitors to the town every year.
People would be able to enjoy watching light shows incorporating lasers and moving searchlights choreographed to music.
The £3.3 million attraction would be next to, and would complement, the new Marine Lake Events Centre which is proposed to replace the former Southport Theatre and Convention Centre, which closed in March 2020.
The proposal is for six daily shows each up to 8-minutes long between 5pm and 10.30pm.
“In addition to the daily shows, up to 12 extended shows per year would be held for special occasions, this would include up to three shows per year finishing no later than 1am and up to nine shows which finish at 11pm.
There would be no more than six extended shows in any given month.
To mitigate the impact on the area’s wildlife, a floating raft would be constructed to the north of the northern-most island in the Marine Lake to provide an alternative habitat screened from the noise and light disturbance
The Marine Lake Events Centre and Water & Light Show project, the most substantial in Southport for a generation, will come before Sefton Council’s Planning Committee meeting this week.
The meeting will be held at The Waterfront Hotel, Promenade, Southport from 6.30pm on Thursday, April 27. All are welcome to attend, as space allows.
In his report to councillors, Sefton Council Chief Planning Officer Derek McKenzie wrote that among the benefits of the scheme would be: “Repositioning Southport town centre and strengthening its role as a key visitor destination in the authority, creating a new attraction in the form of the Water & Light Show, which has potential to attract 288,000 visitors a year.”
Describing how it would operate, he said: “The lighting would be positioned east of the south island in the Marine Lake, and directed towards the development, with a water / mist screen projected mid-way between the island and the development.
“When the water and light show is in operation, understandably given its use of lasers and search lights, this is expected to produce a substantial amount of sky glow.
“However, this would be kept to a minimum by limiting the number and timing of shows, which would be six daily shows each up to eight-minutes long between 5pm to 10.30pm.
“In addition to the daily shows, up to 12 extended shows per year would be held for special occasions, this would include up to three shows finishing no later than 1am and up to nine shows which finish at 11pm.
“The extended shows would be limited by condition.
“Furthermore, the water and light show will be designed to ensure there will be a negligible direct visual impact on drivers and that it is not considered that there would be any negative impact on road safety.
“Once completed the water and light show with its synchronised music is envisaged to result in visual and aural disturbance to wintering birds using the southern island in the Marine Lake.
“The increased number of visitors to the area also has the potential to have an adverse effect.
“To mitigate this, the applicant proposes to construct a floating raft to the north of the northern most island to provide an alternative habitat screened from the noise and light disturbance.
“A condition could secure a
Lighting Control Strategy and Management Plan, this would secure suitable control systems to ensure that the water and light show adheres to the parameters set out in the submitted lighting documents, as well as monitoring to check that the water and light show is not having significant impact to Special Protection Area bird species well as a review mechanism to adapt the light show if significant effects are identified.”