Beale's closure another hammer blow to Town Centre

THE closure of Beales that has recently been announced is another hammer blow to Lord Street and the Town Centre claim local Liberal Democrats. Beale's closure is the latest in a line of big closures with the BHS building in Chapel St and Debenhams in Lord St as reminders of Southport's retail decline. Following the opening of their out of Town store, Sainsburys' are destined to withdraw too.

"There is simply no plan to protect Lord Street, and no funding to address the decline. What was once a legendary asset for the Town is now neglected. No Council time or officer energy is going into maintaining a quality retail offer." says LibDem Cllr John Pugh,

The Liberal Democrat candidate in the forthcoming general election Erin Harvey who is campaigning to abolish the current business rates system accuses the Labour run Council of losing focus.

Erin Harvey said:- "Council investment is pouring into the Strand Shopping Centre in Bootle, but with all due respect, it is not a heritage asset at risk like Lord Street. There seems to be a terribly naive assumption that Sefton's planned £73M on a new Lakeside Events Centre to replace the Theatre and Floral Hall complex will be a silver bullet for the Town"

That's not how other seaside Towns have pursued regeneration. In Margate, somewhere which also received Town Deal money from the Government, they linked investment projects with boosting the retail sector and attracting quality, independent retailers.

Over 15 years ago Sefton considered stimulating residential development above shops, guaranteeing a permanent footfall in the Town Centre.

"There is much we can do to do save Lord St for future generations, including the use of compulsory purchase powers and making owners maintain the verandahs and canopies has simply been parked. There is no up to date retail survey done of Town Centre business, but out of Town developments are waved through. It's a really hard task reviving Lord St. It's piecemeal, time consuming and difficult but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be done. It is tragic though that the current Sefton administration seem to be turning a blind eye to the problem." says Cllr Pugh.

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Aldi shoppers in Merseyside help raise £2,500 for Teenage Cancer Trust

ALDI shoppers in Merseyside have helped the supermarket raise around £2,300 for its dedicated charity partner, Teenage Cancer Trust.

Last month, shoppers were given the chance to purchase a £1 raffle ticket from the till at participating stores to be entered into a draw, with all proceeds going to the charity.

One winner from each store was selected at random to win a £100 gift card, with the Washington Parade store in Bootle selling the most raffle tickets across the Region.

The customer raffle was all part of Aldi's celebrations after it raised £10 million for Teenage Cancer Trust since partnering with the charity back in 2017.

Liz Fox, National Sustainability Director at Aldi UK, said:- "We would like to extend a huge thank you to all those who took part in our charity raffle to support Teenage Cancer Trust last month. The invaluable work they do for young people up and down the country cannot be underestimated and we will continue to do all we can to support them as we work towards our new fundraising target of £15 million by 2027."

Kate Collins, Chief Executive at Teenage Cancer Trust, added:- "It is amazing that Aldi shoppers across the country purchased over 74,000 raffle tickets for Teenage Cancer Trust in this charity raffle. We're very grateful to all those that took part and these vital funds will help us to make sure that young people with cancer have the best possible care that they need and deserve."