Councillor says there are serious questions to answer over Promenade railings project

Councillor says there are serious questions to answer over Promenade railings project.

A leading campaigner for the restoration and regeneration of Southport has said a decision to replace rather than repair the town’s historic promenade railings would be a massive anti-climax after ten years of waiting.

Cllr David Barton has also called into question the use of Section 106 money, obtained by Sefton Council from building developers, to help fund any work on the project.

The corroded railings are a key part of Southport’s heritage, having existed since 1882 when the North promenade site was constructed.

Cllr Barton, who represents Dukes Ward, said that they should be repaired and backed the ten-year campaign for action. He originally raised the issue of the railings in the summer of 2015 and liaised extensively with the then Minister of State for Communities and Local Government Mark François MP.

Just weeks ago, £2million of grant funding from the Coastal communities Fund was announced, allowing Sefton Council to undertake a widespread refurbishment of the cast iron pier but there are fears that this will involve replacing the railings rather than repairing them.

Cllr Barton said: “In addition to lobbying the Minister and Central Government I have also worked with various local businesses and authority organisations such as Southport Business Watch to improve and make safer the area surrounding the promenade, thus strengthening our funding bid to the Government.

“I now feel disappointed on two levels. Replacement railings will likely be of a newer design and potentially involve loss of those original railings relatively well preserved to keep costs down. After more than a decade of waiting for this work to be done this is clearly a very grave anti-climax.

“This is also a serious waste of precious S106 money which could have been far better spent on other green space projects such as tree planting initiatives designed to combat a growing air quality issue across various parts of the seaside town.

“There are busy roads with dense traffic flow on a regular basis that have mass nitrogen oxide and green house gas emissions such as Cambridge Road and Manchester Road.”

Section 106 money is money provided by developers when undertaking building schemes and is outside normal Council budgets.

Cllr Sue McGuire has announced that all three Cambridge Ward councillors have worked together to contribute £35,000 from Section 106 money within their ward budget towards work on the the railings

But Cllr Barton said: “I fear this may be legally unsound given that S106 money is officially strictly designated for greenspace projects and this should be clarified before any funds are indeed to be dedicated from the district funds. I myself suggested a portion of district funds be used, however £35,000 is far in excess compared to the long-term best outcomes for the town and its community.

“Any decision should be checked with the local community first given the vast expenditure being proposed, especially when these railings should have been maintained properly by Sefton Council in the first place.

“I would call upon the Council to invest more into maintain its assets before making formal applications for additional funding for mass-scale restoration which is long-overdue and to take greater care in looking after its estate.”