Labour’s Liz hails new multi-million pound fund as great news for Southport

Labour’s Liz hails new multi-million pound fund as great news for Southport 

Labour’s Parliamentary candidate for Southport, Liz Savage, has welcomed a new scheme aimed at supporting town centres across the region.

Speaking at a major conference today, Steve Rotheram, Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor, will announce a £5 million Town Centre Fund to support the long-term success of the city region’s town centres.

Highlighting the progress made since the city region formed a combined authority, signed a devolution agreement and elected a metro mayor, Steve Rotheram says:

“Liverpool city centre is the economic engine of our city region but across our region so many of our towns have untapped potential.

“Our high streets face new challenges, with new technologies and changing customer habits, and must change in order to survive.

“That is why I am announcing the formation of a new City Region Town Centre Commission.The Commission will work with our local authorities to produce long-term investment plans for how each area’s towns can thrive over the next 20 years.

“I can also announce that I am pre-allocating £5m of funding, up to £1m for each borough with a town centre, to the first round of a Metro Mayor’s Town Centre Fund. This is a clear signal that I will ensure that the benefits of devolution really are passed on to every part of our city region.”

Liz Savage says its “great news that’s very positive” and it shows the vital role that the local authority and LCR have to play in Southport’s development:

“We have long said that the way forward for Southport is through close cooperation with our colleagues in the borough and the metro mayors in both LCR and Manchester and not through the endless pointless carping from some which has held the town back for too long. This type of planning and the work that Southport BID is trying to put together can only help.”

“We desperately need investment in Southport and only Labour are seriously looking at ways of achieving that, even in the face of the obstacles and devastating damage caused by the cuts of the Tories and Lib-Dems.”