Author: Martin Driver

With its coastline expected to be very busy over the coming days as temperatures soar, Sefton Council is urging people to plan their journeys to avoid queues hours spent in a boiling hot car and disruption for local residents.

Sefton’s beaches are in easy walking distance from Merseyrail stations such as Southport, Birkdale, Hillside, Ainsdale, Freshfield, Formby, Hall Road, Blundellsands & Crosby and Waterloo. People can plan their journeys and find timetables and service updates at www.merseyrail.org.

And with the two National Trust sites at Formby often filling up first, meaning the car parks have to be closed, the Council is also suggesting people consider other destinations instead.

All within minutes of Formby

Southport, Ainsdale and Crosby beach are all RNLI lifeguarded beaches with natural beauty and fantastic facilities, all within minutes of Formby.

Ainsdale Beach can be found just two stops on Merseyrail or 16 minutes’ drive from Formby, using a satnav at postcode PR8 2QA. Southport beach, five stops on Merseyrail or a 20-minute drive is at postcode PR8 1SB. And Crosby Coastal Park is three stations or 29 minutes’ drive from Formby

Sefton Council is asking those who do drive to its coast to park responsibly and considerately away from residential areas and to make sure there is access for residents and emergency service vehicles at all times.

Parking

There is beach parking available with 2,000 spaces at Ainsdale and 400 at Southport, although high tides mean Southport beach parking will be closed from Friday 12th to Tuesday 16th August.

Also, dry sand in which vehicles can get stuck, andthe high tides mean there will only be around 500 spaces available at Ainsdale over the same period, which means it could be full by mid-morning over the weekend.

There are over 1,000 parking spaces close to Southport Beach at Esplanade Park and Ride, which people can find using a Sat Nav at postcode PR8 1RX. Costs are just £2 per day per car Monday to Saturday, including free bus service into Southport Town Centre.

On Sundays, the Esplanade site is a Car Park costing £5 all day. The Park and Ride Service on Sundays runs from Fairways at postcode PR9 0LA. The cost is £2 all day per car.

Seven hundred spaces are also available adjacent to the beach, on Marine Drive.

Beach parking costs just £8 per day per cars at Southport beach and £10 per day per cars at Ainsdale. Half price parking is available after 4pm subject to availability. Annual season tickets cost only £30 for Sefton residents and electric or hybrid vehicle users. Season tickets for non-Sefton residents cost £60.

Facilities

The facilities at Ainsdale beach include men’s, women’s, and disabled toilets. A daily cleaning regime is in place, ensuring the amenities are kept clean and replenished during busy periods through the summer. Accessible toilets are also available at Crosby Coastal Park.

There are also fantastic food and drink outlets on offer at Crosby and Ainsdale beaches, providing much-needed refreshments in the hot weather, and everything you could need for a great day out in Southport.

 Staying safe and well

With high temperatures forecast for the coming days, people can find information about staying safe and well at www.sefton.gov.uk/heatwave

The hot weather also brings greater fire risk, so we would encourage to people to use the outlets rather than lighting fires or bringing their own barbeques, which are strictly not allowed anywhere long the Sefton Coast

You can find information to help you enjoy their day out on Sefton Coasts here.

Having last week agreed business case approval for its planned new Marine Lake Events Centre in Southport, Sefton Council is about to start investigatory works to finalise the Venue’s design and development.

Letters have been sent to local residents to inform them that investigatory works on the existing Southport Theatre and Convention Centre site and the Upper Promenade, will start on Monday 8th August.

Progress

Expected to take around four weeks, Monday to Friday, from 8am to 6pm, the investigations will involve assessing the underground conditions to progress the design further. Measures will be in place to minimise disruption to local residents, businesses and neighbours.

After approving the business case for the Marine Lake Events Centre & Water and Light Show project in Southport, Sefton Council is now keen to progress the scheme as quickly as possible.

Exciting and important

Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Skills, Cllr Marion Atkinson said: “The Marine Lake Events Centre is a hugely exciting and hugely important scheme for Southport and Sefton.

“The Centre is forecast to attract more than half a million visitors to Southport year on year and generating an annual £18 million for the local economy so I am pleased to see work to progress getting underway so soon after receiving Council Cabinet backing.

“We now need the Government to release the funding we need to make the Centre a reality as soon as possible.”

Agreed

Plans to procure a Design & Build contractor and an Operating Partner for the venue were also agreed at the recent Sefton Council Cabinet meeting. A detailed planning application has already been submitted.

The Marine Lake Events Centre is one of the schemes being develop as a result of the successful bid for £37.5m of Town Deal funding for Southport. It will see Southport’s Theatre and Convention Centre transformed into a high-quality entertainment and business events venue

The new Centre will be complemented by the UK’s first light, water and sound show in the town’s Marine Lake.

Milestone

Cllr Atkinson also talked about the work that has gone into getting the scheme to this stage. She said: “I would like to thank all the Sefton Council staff involved for the huge efforts that has gone into reaching this important milestone for the Southport Marine Lake Events Centre, and my Cabinet colleagues for their support.

“This and the other Town Deal schemes will be a game-changers for the economy of Southport and Sefton and will provide a huge boost for local businesses as well as opportunities for new ones.

“It’s critical that we can now get on and deliver for the residents of Sefton.”

Deal

Another key scheme made possible through the Town Deal are the Enterprise Arcade, which will see Crown Buildings refurbished to create new business incubator space, supporting Southport’s emerging creative, digital and tech sector.

Also, Les Transformations de Southport, will see the development of high-quality public spaces and an accessible and well-connected transport network, providing priority for walking and cycling in support of clean growth.

All of the schemes will be supported by a comprehensive programme of work to ensure visitors to Sefton, and the town’s residents enjoy across-the-board, high-quality Customer service.

You can find the July Cabinet Meeting papers here.

Sefton Council’s commitment to delivering high-quality services to residents, workers or visitors to Sefton means we regularly consult our communities when making decisions about our services.

We engaging our communities when making changes to the delivery of existing services and inform them of the changes that take place as a result of them giving their views.

You can find out more about Sefton Council’s commitment to consultation here.

By doing this the Council aims to: 

• support our communities to get involved in the public services they receive;
• know and work with our communities and understand their needs;
• hear from those who may experience discrimination or who are vulnerable; 
• make sure we involve our communities in identifying issues that are important to them; 
• ask our communities whether or not we have achieved the things that are important to them;
• work with other partners when we want to speak with or listen to our communities.

At the moment there are two public consultations that people and organisations can use to have their say.

These are:

• The Sefton Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment Survey (closes Sunday 11^th September)
• Climate Change Engagement Consultation (closes Friday 30^th September)

You can find our  more about these consultations and have your say here.