The Southport Partnership
In recent years, the
seafront has attracted substantial investment and is continuing to
do so. However, further significant investment in its
infrastructure and facilities is needed in order to enhance its
appeal and to achieve Southport's wider tourism objectives which
are to create:
- A superb environment in which to live, work and play.
- A broad-based family resort offering attractions for both day
visitors and those on both short and longer breaks.
- An attractive place with excellent facilities in which to
organise and attend conferences, business, cultural and leisure
events.
- A high-quality 'fun' atmosphere bringing together the best
quality elements of a traditional seaside resort with dynamic
modern entertainments suited to the demands of the new
generation.
- Strong linkage between the seafront attractions and the retail
attractions of Lord Street and Southport's shopping centre.
- Effective transport provision and a network of highly developed
transport routes to underpin interaction between key attractions
and activities.
Against this background the
Southport Partnership and Sefton Council have commissioned the
Southport Seafront Masterplan in order to:
- Create a comprehensive framework for the
seafront area that will help to revitalise the social and economic
fabric of the area and promote the seafront as an investment
opportunity.
- Set down guidelines for development
proposals and provide a framework for creative and exciting public
realm projects.
- Develop a programme for the delivery of the individual
projects within the plan.
- Provide improved integration between
attractions on the seafront and those in the town
centre.
Several strategic regional initiatives
will play an important part in the implementation of the
masterplan:
- The Northwest Development Agency's Regional Economic Strategy
for the North West which is developing a vision for the coastal
resorts with the local authorities.
- The European Objective 1 programme for Merseyside which will
provide financial support for developing locations, businesses and
people in the seafront area.
- The Mersey Waterfront Regional Park concept which extends to
the Sefton coast where flagship and infrastructure development will
be targeted.
- Townscape Heritage Initiative funding which will strengthen and
enhance linkage between the town centre and seafront, increasing
economic activity in the area.
- The Local Transport Plan which will improve access in and
around the seafront and town centre.
The masterplan
provides a development strategy for the seafront area that focuses
on a number of key themes including:
- Transport - With the expected rise
in visitor numbers, new projects will need to focus on car parking
and moving people quickly, cheaply and effectively around the
seafront area.
- Urban design - to enhance the
image of the area, provide landmarks in the form of striking
architecture and act as gateways to particular spaces.
- Landscape - develop a unified landscaping strategy for the
seafront to include planting, paving, lighting and signage.
Key infrastructure developments in Southport over the next five
years are expected to include:
- The new Marine Parade bridge.
- The new Eco Visitor Centre.
- The Aquadome, a major new leisure
development.
- Princes Park - to be terra formed and
developed as a landscaped green space.
- Marine Lake - to be upgraded and more
leisure use encouraged through the introduction of new boardwalks
and sculpture trails.
- Esplanade and Fairways Park and Ride
facilities - to be improved to handle the expected increase in
visitor numbers.
- Eastern Park and Ride - the creation
of a new facility to satisfy traffic demands.
- The pedestrianisation of Chapel
Street, a key entry point into the resort.
- New hotel on Princes Park, to satisfy
the demand for more conference bed spaces.
- New hotel at the Floral Hall site -
to provide more conference and exhibition floorspace and additional
bed spaces.
- Pleasureland developments - the
expected introduction of major new rides and attractions.
- Funland developments - expected
remodelling of current facility link in with Marine Lake and
Southport Pier entrance developments
- Townscape Heritage Initiative -
substantial public realm and grant programme to improve the quality
of the built environment between Lord Street and the
Promenade.
- Victoria Park - potential major
investment in permanent exhibition facility.
These developments will be supported
by :
- Seafront Forum - a new partnership of all the key stakeholders
in the area.
- Labour market initiatives - to link Sefton residents to new
employment opportunities in Southport.
- Support for SMEs - to help local firms take advantage of the
new investment in the resort.
Please note - many of these projects
are indicative at this stage with the final mix of partner
organisations and funding packages still to be finalised. Some
projects - such as the hotels - will also be subject to market
forces.
Further information
More information is avaialble in the
Vision for Southport Seafront executive
summary.
Freqently asked questions
Southport is all about tourism, what
can my business get out of it ?
Southport has a wide and varied economy with a well developed
service and manufacturing sector not to mention its well known
thriving retail and residential business opportunities.
Last Updated on 2/18/2009