Construction due to begin on £1.4million station for Southport's Independent Lifeboats

THE Trustee Directors of the Southport Lifeboat are delighted to announce that a lease for the site of the new £1.4 million Lifeboat Station House has been signed and building work is due to commence on the Station in the coming weeks.

Despite a lot of the funds being in place and having obtained planning permission in August 2015, the Trust have been working with Sefton Council and Natural England to meet the conditions necessary for approval to be granted for signing over of the land.

Trustee Nicola Goldup said:- "We're delighted that we have been able overcome this hurdle and are excited for the building work to get underway. Whilst it has taken longer than all parties had hoped, we have been able to tick all the boxes necessary to satisfy all parties and can move forward in delivering an iconic building for our seafront, which will serve as an operational base and training centre for all of our crew and lifesaving equipment for generations to come."

Construction on what will be the largest Lifeboat Station House in the North West is due to begin in the coming weeks with the Station expected to be completed in early 2019.

A larger, purpose built Station not only means that both lifeboats and their respective launch vehicles can remain coupled together, but will also allow room for the much needed facilities our crew have been lacking for so many years; all at a location closer to the beach.

The current boathouse was built in 1886 and has served Southport's independent crew loyally since our establishment in 1987. Inevitably, the facilities are now dated, with the Station suffering from a lack of washing provisions, heating and space; meaning crew often go home cold and wet, with kit that can still be damp 3 days after being used.  Nicola continued:- "We would like to thank everyone who has helped so far; the trust would not be in this position without the kind support of the people of Southport. Wholeheartedly, we thank you."

The hard work is not over, despite having the funds to build the station, the Trust still need your help and support as they look to raise funds to furnish the inside of the building once it has been completed.

The dream of a new lifeboat house has been in the pipeline for nearly 20 years, however, the National Lottery rejected a proposal for a new Station in 2000 leaving the Trust to raise the necessary funds itself. The lifeboat house project unfortunately had to be shelved as other appeals, including that for a new lifeboat, took priority.

Since the purchase of the current Lifeboat in 2007, our fundraising efforts have been focused towards the new Lifeboat House, whilst simultaneously covering the annual running costs of the boat and continuing to improve on the quality of service provided.

New Inshore Lifeboat for Southport

A ceremony and parade has taken place on Saturday, 21 April 2018. at the Waterside Lodge, on Southport's Marine Lake, to officially name and bless the "Christopher Taylor" Lifeboat, The D-Class IB1 Lifeboat has been named memory of a 21 year old Southport man, who sadly lost his life in the River Avon, Bath, in 2014.  Now named, the independent Lifeboat service, Southport Offshore Rescue Trust, will be using it as it's primarily, as their current primarily Southport Lifeboat "Heather White" is away for refit. 

After the naming, the Southport Offshore Rescue Trust have publicly announced that work will now start on a custom built, building to house all the new equipment and boats, very soon, after Sefton Council granted them the use of the land required to build it, opposite the current Lifeboat Station's location.  More information about the plans can be seen in the other report on this page.

More photographs and a full report about this event will be in next weeks edition.  Also we are adding video of the naming event to our YouTube Channel by Monday, 23 April 2018.  For more information about the Southport Offshore Rescue Trust and how you can help keep them afloat, please visit the Trust's website.  Also please note that they do not get any funding from the RNLI as they are fully independent of them.