Southport Losing its Beach ?
Has Southport lost its beach as well as its Pier ?
John Pugh, Liberal Democrat opposition leader on Sefton Council believes that is nearly the case, but that the fate of the two attractions may be intertwined. At the forthcoming Sefton Council on Thursday he will ask the current Labour administration to clarify their policy on Southport and its status as a seaside town. https://youtu.be/y0gSSAIIFuU
“There is no doubt. “ he says ”, that the beach is largely being left to nature and there is no longer any doubt that former policies of trying to preserve a Leisure Beach south of the Pier have been quietly dropped. Nature is being allowed to take her course and that could mean the total greening of the Southport foreshore or letting it become an inaccessible mudflat plain- good for birds but not for holidaymakers !
This is all happening by default and not by decision, and if this is the policy, I want the Council to think through the consequences.”
"It’s a great shame as the attraction of a beach is that it’s one of the few places families can have fun without spending much money.
Sefton Council I know does not control nature and there is reluctance to spend money to stop the encroachment of spartina if at the end of the day you are fighting a losing battle. I am though unconvinced we have a thought-through, joined-up approach here. The better sandy areas of the beach are further out at the end of the Pier and beyond and potentially the Pier when restored and modified could become a major access point for beach activities.”
Cllr. Pugh is also asking for Sefton to clarify its stance on the funding of Pier restoration. “Currently the Sefton’s position stated in November 2023 is that they are expecting the government to foot the entire bill and pay for the ongoing maintenance of the Pier. I think we ought by now to know whether that is a runner. My view is that that is an unlikely outcome and it’s time to get real. Waiting for the Chancellor of the Exchequer to turn up with the funds is not just super-optimistic, it’s delaying the process of Pier repair.