For Sale - The Waterfront Southport Hotel is now on the market through Christie and Co and joint agent Savills

SPECIALIST hotel property adviser, Christie and Co and joint agent, Savills are pleased to bring to market the Waterfront Southport Hotel, on behalf of Paul Davies and Sandra Mundy of James Cowper Kreston, the Administrators of Waterfront Hotels (Southport) Limited and Waterfront Southport Properties Limited, the beneficial owners of the hotel.

Regarded as Southport's only 4 star hotel, the Southport Waterfront Hotel has recently undergone a multimillion pound refurbishment and now offers 131 bedrooms, a reception, lounge, bar and restaurant and function suites, as well as including:- a 120-space basement car park. The sale also includes a fully built c.50,000 sq ft development opportunity adjacent to the hotel with potential for a variety of alternative uses; subject to the necessary consents. In total, the hotel and development site extends to 2 acres.

The luxury hotel enjoys a waterfront position on Southport's promenade, next to the Marine Lakes Events Centre, and boasts views of the Marine Lake and Southport's coastline. The Marine Lake is set to benefit from a £75 million investment as part of Sefton Council's regeneration plan, which will deliver a 1st class theatre space, conference and exhibition centre, café and signature restaurant, and a water and light show installation located directly next to the hotel.

The hotel is also located within a 15-minute drive of 5 championship golf courses, including:- Royal Birkdale. The iconic Southport links is set to host the British Open in 2026, which will draw in a significant number of visitors looking for accommodation.

David Lee, Regional Director in Christie and Co's North and Midlands Hotels team comments:- "With its waterfront views and ideal position near Southport's many local attractions, the sale of the Southport Waterfront Hotel presents a prime opportunity to purchase a substantial, well-maintained hotel in a popular UK seaside town. The regeneration of the Marine Lake area is expected to attract over half a million visitors to Southport each year and Royal Birkdale playing host to the Open in 2026 is expected to bring over 250,000 visitors to the area, so there is significant scope for a new owner to grow the business and increase turnover in the next few years."

Tom Cunningham, Director in the Hotel Capital Markets team at Savills Manchester, adds:- "This is an exciting opportunity to acquire the long leasehold interest in a luxury seaside hotel. The property has benefited from a multimillion pound refurbishment and comes with outstanding asset management and development potential, subject to planning."

Offers are invited for the hotel on a long leasehold basis, with 235 years left on the lease. The day-to-day operations remain unaffected as the administrators are continuing to trade the business as a going concern.

300,000 households given new access to nature, new study of Northern Forest shows

MORE than 300,000 households; equivalent to roughly a City bigger than Liverpool; have been given access to nature they previously didn't have, a new Northern Forest study shows.

The report, commissioned by the Northern Forest Partnership and conducted by Liverpool John Moores University, looked to reveal the real impact of the 6 million plus trees that have so far been planted in the ambitious project to link Liverpool to Hull with trees.

The Northern Forest project kicked off in 2018. Among its aims were to increase the very low tree cover across the north of 7.6%, compared to the national average of 13% and way below most counties in the south, by establishing at least 50 million new trees by 2043, to help transform the landscape from Liverpool to the Yorkshire Coast.

It also aimed to lock up tonnes of carbon to fight climate change, reduce the risk of flooding and create more jobs.

It has since expanded through villages, towns and countryside, thanks to a core partnership involving the Woodland Trust and 4 community forests:- Manchester City of Trees, The Mersey Forest, Humber Forest and the White Rose Forest, and the Community Forest Trust.

Key points from the study show:-

• More than 4,000 football pitches of trees planted.
   

• 19,000 tonnes of carbon locked up by trees planted through Northern Forest.
   

• Additional 3,500 hectares of new habitat networks for wildlife.
   

• £43 million annual uplift flowing from the natural benefits.
   

• 7.5 million more visits to woodland each year.
   

• 87,500 households within deprived areas have access to woodland within 500 metres.
   

• 33% improvement in flood mitigation across planted sites.

The news comes during the political parties' autumn conference season where the Woodland Trust is calling on nature to be front and centre of future party manifestos.

The Northern Forest Partnership has hugely benefitted from the Government's Nature for Climate Fund, which has played a major part in funding the 6 million trees planted so far through the Nature for Climate Funded Grow Back Greener and Trees for Climate programmes. The Northern Forest partners have also secured a wide breath of other funding from corporate partners and other fundraising campaigns.

To keep the momentum growing, the Woodland Trust says renewed funding post 2025 needs to be committed.

Nick Sellwood, the Woodland Trust's Northern Forest Programme Director, said:- "The climate and nature crises demand our urgent, unswerving attention. A general election is coming and poll after poll shows that the environment is a top priority for voters. Every political party should be backing projects that can deliver real environmental and social benefits like the Northern Forest. The time is now for all parties to commit to tackling climate change and part of that is supporting schemes to get more trees in the ground and in terms of the Northern Forest we need new funds committed. The Northern Forest is a wonderful project which has brought together multiple agencies to make the North greener; and while there is still some way to go to reach the 50 million target of tree planting, the results so far are remarkable!"

Paul Nolan, Chair of England's Community Forests and Director of The Mersey Forest, said:- "Community Forests have a track record of working alongside our communities to establish new woodlands in and around our towns and cities, creating access to green spaces that generations of residents will benefit from. The Northern Forest is an ambitious project that is vital to help the North adapt to a changing climate, whilst improving people's health and wellbeing and our economies. Through our partnership approach we've seen great progress over the last 5 years, and we're excited to continue the good work through to our 2043 target."

Working with Mersey Forest, Huntington Parish Council has involved hundreds of people from the local community in planting 800 trees, creating a woodland that they will be able to watch grow every time they visit the village's Jubilee Park. The team recommended a mixed broadleaf woodland that would not only create a sanctuary for wildlife, but also help to reduce water logging on the field and provide a buffer to help reduce road noise and pollution from the nearby North Wales Expressway. Since then, scores of people have enjoyed the benefits of nature getting involved in activities such as green gym sessions and family nature sessions.

Louise Gibson, Clerk at Huntington Parish Council, said:- "Planting these trees has brought the whole community together for such a worthwhile environmental cause. We have had so much amazing feedback about the tree planting and how important it is for Huntington."

For more information about the Northern Forest go to:- TheNorthernForest.Org.UK.