A two-year campaign to restore Southport’s iconic town centre verandahs has led to 95 per cent being fully or partially restored.
The initiative was launched by Cllr David Barton, a leading campaigner for the restoration and rejuvenation of the town.
Cllr Barton, who represents Dukes Ward on Sefton council, has now revealed that the community conservation campaign has hit the 70% threshold for completed full restoration; 75% for mostly complete restoration and 95% for partial restoration of the 313 internationally acclaimed canopies.
He said that many of the improvements had been completed after he had worked to build constructive relationships with property owners, including saving up to 18 of them from receiving a FPN (Fixed Penalty Notice) building improvement enforcement fine from the council.
He said: “No grants have been received by Sefton Council, despite much of the restoration already having been undertaken and all work that has been done has been undertaken at the property owner’s private expense. Many of the Property Owners and Contractors I have had the pleasure of liaising with believe this success achieved to date has been strengthened by my continued approach of working on a mutual basis of respect and sincerity and as positively and constructively as possible.”
Among the successes of the last 12 months, many of the signature abacus heads at shops such as Corridor, Kevin Clark, Wright’s The Jewellers, Stalliano Leather, Gallery One and Claire house have been repainted in correct black colour for the first time since 1985.
Cllr Barton added: “In multiple instances we have managed to secure joint partnership restoration of consecutive units wherever possible to maintain the uniform sequence in paints used such as at Pavers Shoes, PDSA, Rebecca’s The Jewellers and Sally, Grapetree, Ernest Jones & H Samuel.
“We have used many local contractors and I am presently negotiating with several property owners along the high street such as the Ribble Buildings to return their “lost” verandahs across the length of the high street and welcome their support for preserving the conservation area.
“I am also requesting all outstanding property owners to join my ongoing “community conservation campaign” in the hope that we can collectively seek to attract new high-quality retailers to occupy the formerly highly sought after premises such as Lord Street Central that have been empty since 2014.”
Cllr Barton said Verandah work has also led to many property owners improving other aspects of their buildings, such as bay windows, gables or rooftops.
He said: “I am requesting the remaining property owners to get back in touch in the hope I can provide further support and would like to relay my appreciation to everyone who has been so thorough and cooperative in their own restorative works so far.”
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