Southport Pier has been named as one of the major beneficiaries of the Chancellor’s Spending Review injecting £600bn into national infrastructure. Sefton Council is now set to work with local representatives and residents on restoring and reopening the attraction after more than two and a half years in the dark.
Two and a half years after Southport Pier was closed for safety reasons, Sefton Council has finally secured funding to restore and reopen the landmark, following Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ decision to name the project as one of the beneficiaries in a £600bn Spending Review.
The Growth Mission Fund will provide the investment necessary for the authority to undertake extensive repair work on the 165-year-old structure, with work now able to begin in earnest thanks to the recent approval of Listed Building Consent.
“The condition and closure of the Pier has been a huge source of concern for everyone in Southport over the last two and a half years, and the whole community shares the desire for the Pier to be reopened,” said Southport MP Damian Hurley.
“It is clear how powerful an emblem the Pier is for our town, and I could not be more pleased to know that it will now stand proud once again as the focal point of our coast.”
The campaign to reopen the pier has long been championed by Silcock’s Leisure, and operations manager Serena Silcock-Prince told Stand Up for Southport that the group was “absolutely thrilled” with the allocation of funding.
“It’s just the best news we could have wished for. It is an amazing boost for all the families and all the businesses here in Southport and across the Liverpool City Region. It’s wonderful news. Everyone in Southport will be celebrating! We’re all so elated. This is exactly what everyone in Southport wanted and deserved.”
“We’re also very grateful to the huge and constant support shown for the restoration of the Pier by the local community.”
Mayor of Liverpool City Region, Steve Rotheram, also expressed his appreciation, adding: “This hasn’t happened by chance. It’s the result of tireless work by people who’ve never stopped fighting for the town’s future.”
The Growth Mission Fund is specifically intended to “expedite local projects that are important for growth but have been forgotten,” and following the announcement the leader of Sefton Council, Marion Atkinson, said “we are ready to go.”
“We look forward to finding out more detail about the Growth Mission Fund in due course.”
And then there’s the Southport Family Jamieson, no longer lost in space…
It was the business at the epicentre of the Southport Pier closure debacle – the Jamieson family were lost in space the day the pier was closed. Now, after almost 30 months caged off and left hanging, there could be a landing of sorts for the pier arcade that almost lost everything.
Colin Jamieson, the face of the fall-out from Southport Pier – who runs the arcade and additional stalls and also operates the trains which run up and down the boarding – can finally raise a smile – and he owes much of that to the incredible support the town has given the campaign to save the pier.
Talking to Yahoo media, Jamieson said: “As a family, the Jamiesons have endured a harrowing nightmare for over two years. Our business of more than two decades was shut down with very little notice, leaving our entire workforce without jobs in an instant.
“We are absolutely elated to hear the positive news and that there is some light at the end of what has been a very bleak tunnel. We would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to the public and businesses of Southport and surrounding areas for really rallying behind us in recent months. Your support has shown just how important the pier is for the town, for the mental and physical health of so many, and for British heritage.”
And those people have been magnificent – the Stand Up for Southport social media operation has literally swamped the world with news from the town and the desperate battle for the Pier. Neighbours Silcock’s, too, never missed the opportunity to highlight the plight of the pier in almost every despatch it made. And the local MP – finally, a politician that fought for his town above his party. And that also did not go unnoticed.
Jamieson was determined to point out the political backing. “We are deeply grateful for all the help from local MPs over the last two years, particularly Patrick Hurley MP, for pushing the coastal growth fund and highlighting our plight in parliament. Here’s hoping for a concrete plan moving forward and a speedy reopening.”
The road to recovery for the Jamieson family is going to be another long journey, but at least this time it will have a destination – a return ticket to a revitalised Southport Pier.
