Southport Pier restoration plans win planning consent as:- 'a focal part of the town and part of its identity'

SOUTHPORT Pier has taken another step towards restoration after being granted Listed Building consent for the works to take place.

Extensive plans for how work would take place were submitted by Sefton Tourism 2024, having been drawn up working alongside established Southport firm RAL Architects.

They have now been officially approved by the local authority's Planning department, with Chief Planning Officer Derek McKenzie saying in his report: "The pier is a focal point of the town, part of its identity and a significant tourist attraction".

Having Listed Building Consent in place will now support Sefton in its ambitions to seek sufficient public funding for repairs either through the Government, or national bodies such as the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

On Friday, 31 January 2025, over 400 members of the public, local businesses and local politicians packed in Silcock's Pier Family Restaurant for an Open Meeting about Southport Pier, which showed the huge public support for the historic attraction to reopen.

Earlier this year, a poll of over 1,700 people on the Stand Up For Southport Facebook group showed 97% of respondents wanting Southport Pier to be restored.

In a report outlining the reasons for granting approval, Sefton Council Chief Planning Officer Derek McKenzie said:- "Many changes have been undertaken with the pier over time with the only original physical fabric left, being the cast iron columns and its aesthetic and architectural reproduction of elements such as the lattice trusses which has that have been incorporated into each revised iteration. The main visual changes would be the change from lattice work to thicker steel sections and beams with hexagonal cut outs. In terms of the public benefits, these comprise the public use and long-term maintenance of a Grade II Listed structure, which is of significant historic value to Southport, having been in situ for over 150 years. The pier is a focal point of the town, part of its identity and a significant tourist attraction. The benefits of the works are that they will enable the pier to be brought back into use, the associated regeneration and economic benefits that it brings to Southport and its businesses who heavily rely on tourism."

The replacement and repair works at Southport Pier would involve the decking and supporting steelwork.

It would also include the refurbishment and reinstatement of handrails and seating pavilions.

Southport Pier is a Grade II Listed Building.

It is one of Britain's longest standing pleasure piers and is more than 3,600ft in length, making it the second longest in the UK.

The Pier opened in 1860, and celebrates its 165th Birthday this year.

Its current appearance has evolved as the result of various works and repairs over its extensive life.

Following extreme weather, the Pier was closed for safety reasons in December 2022 owing to the need for structural repairs.

The proposed development consists of extensive replacement and repair works to the decked level of Southport Pier and its supporting steel super-structure, which sits on top of the main pier columns, which would remain in place).

The repair and replacement works are being proposed for the entire length of Southport Pier.

The proposed works would be carried out in sectional phases to minimise disruption and would concentrate on the construction working area at any one time, to limit any potential impacts from construction noise and activity.

Works would be started at the eastern end of Southport Pier 1st, at its entrance on the Promenade, working westwardly, working one section at a time.

In November last year, a spokesperson for Sefton Council said:- "Following an intensive survey and design period, we applied for Listed Building Consent for the future refurbishment works needed to re-open Southport Pier. By making this submission it enables Sefton Council and the Southport Pier team to have all necessary approvals in place for when funding is identified, allowing for works to commence quickly and efficiently."

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Match Day Parking Zone to be introduced around Everton FC's new Stadium

LIVERPOOL City Council is to introduce a:- 'Football Match Parking Zone' around Everton Football Club's new Stadium, at Bramley-Moore Dock.

A raft of new parking measures are to be implemented surrounding the 52,888 seater Stadium, similar to what is already in place around Goodison Park and Anfield.

More than 4,000 residents and 3,000 businesses are now being invited to apply for the relevant parking permits ahead of the zone going live under an Experimental Traffic Road Order (ETRO) to coincide with the historic first test game at the �500m venue.

The ETRO will run for up to 18 months and during that period will then be reviewed by the Council Highways and Transportation team.

Residents will be able to apply for a permit for each vehicle registered at their address, plus one visitor permit, for which there will be no fee. Businesses will be charged an annual fee of �50 per vehicle, up to a maximum of 10.

The focus of the proposed parking zone covers the area within a 30 minute walk of Everton Stadium, which is serviced by the City's historic:- "Dock Road" and will encompass the surrounding Ten Streets district, into the City Centre and up to Great Homer Street in Everton.

The new parking zone requirements, which were subject to a public consultation in late 2022, includes:-

New resident parking areas.
New taxi ranks.
New match day bus stands
New parking restrictions.
New hours of operation for existing parking zones for the Great Homer Street area.
New hours of operation for existing parking zones for the Ten Streets and Love Lane areas.
New industrial parking zone south of Boundary Street.
New industrial parking zone north of Boundary Street.
The overall aim of the new Parking Zone is to reduce congestion, improve air quality and safety to and from the Stadium.

The proposals have also been designed to complement the planned modernisation of parking across the City Centre.

The Council's Highways and Transportation team has already begun the process of installing new signage ahead of Everton's 1st "test match" at the waterfront Stadium, situated within Liverpool Waters, which will be held on:- Monday, 17 February 2025.

Scheduled to open for the 2025/26 season, Everton's new home has already been picked as a venue for the UEFA European Championships in 2028, and will also be capable of hosting major non-footballing events.

Liverpool City Council has invested more than �20m in the highways infrastructure around Bramley-Moore Dock, including a permanent segregated cycle lane running from the City Centre up to Liverpool's Northern border at Bootle in Sefton, which passes right in front of the new Stadium.

The Council is also working with Sefton Council and the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority on a New Town bid which could see more than 10,000 new homes created from the Stadium through to Bootle and Walton.

� The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority is also working with Merseyrail, Network Rail and Everton FC on the development of a new crowd management zone and an additional entrance at Sandhills Station. The aim is to primarily support fans and event goers accessing public transport on their way to and from the new Stadium.

Councillor Dan Barrington, Liverpool City Council's Cabinet Member for Transport and Connectivity, said:- "Everton Stadium is going to be transformational especially for the surrounding Ten Streets district and the wider Kirkdale community. As well as the economic benefit, the vast volume of people the Stadium will attract; and how they arrive and depart; needs to be carefully managed. The North Docks area has never had to cope with such large numbers of people in such concentrated time periods, but fortunately the City has the experience and knowledge thanks to Goodison Park and Anfield. By creating this new match day parking zone, we'll be looking to adopt and incorporate those controls which so effectively move tens of thousands on a weekly basis. Bramley-Moore Dock is also a unique location given its very close proximity to the City Centre and the fact the surrounding transport infrastructure is well developed. There's more to be done but all the partners are talking to make those improvements. We'll also be looking to encourage as many active travel options as possible for those attending the games or other events there, which is a win-win for everyone in terms of managing congestion and air quality and promoting healthy habits. There's lots of residents and businesses, as well as Everton fans, who will be affected by this new zone and thanks to their feedback we've been able to formulate a plan which accommodates their needs."

News reports located on this page = 2.

Southport Pier restoration plans win planning consent as:- 'a focal part of the town and part of its identity'

Match Day Parking Zone to be introduced around Everton FC's new Stadium