Former town centre pumping station to be turned into a new restaurant

Southport town centre pumping station to be turned into a new restaurant

Sefton Council has today (July 7) granted Planning Permission for a change of use of a former pumping station in Southport to a restaurant.

The building, located on the Promenade by King’s Gardens, is situated in a prominent location at the southern end of the popular gardens and is within the promenade Conservation area.

The plans will convert the building into a restaurant and will bring back into use a historic building located in a key tourism area of Southport.

Cllr Darren Veidman, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member Planning and Building Control, said: “We believe this development will really build upon the recent investment in the King’s Gardens area.

“The restaurant will inject vitality and vibrancy into the area while at the same time respecting the historical nature of the building and surrounding area.

“This exciting development is a welcome investment in an important tourism area and Sefton Council looks forward to the project developing.”

Use

The building was previously used as a sewage pumping station but has since become surplus to requirements and is no longer required by Sefton Council, which currently uses the building for storage purposes. It is proposed that the building be converted for use as a restaurant, a use which is considered to be acceptable by Sefton Council for the proposed conversion.

Layout

The layout of the site will remain virtually unaltered as this application relates to the re-use of an existing building and site. Parking is to be arranged along the south boundary of the site along the route of the access road from the Promenade. A secure bicycle store will be provided to the west of the site. In terms of the building. The layout of the lower ground floor will consist of: Lower Ground Floor:

• Central seating area.

• WC’s, lift and store to the east.

• Kitchen, servery, kitchen store and office to the west.

• Spiral staircase to the south Upper Ground Floor:

• Central spiral staircase surrounded by large seating area.

• Lift to the east

• Bar to the west

Scale

The scale of the building is to remain as it currently exists and it is not proposed that the foot print or height of the existing building be increased.

Appearance

The appearance of the building following conversion is to be similar to that of the existing building at present. There is to be no extensions or additional floors added to the existing building, as previously proposed as this has since been omitted following an application for preapplication advice. An improvement in the buildings overall condition (currently poor) will contribute to an improved appearance of the building as repairs will be required to the concrete elements of the building. The introduction of modern components, i.e. full height aluminium framed glazing and aluminium facias will add a subtle contemporary element to the overall appearance of existing building. The existing columns are to be retained and the proposed glazing is to be set back from the front face of the columns all as recommended within the pre-application advice response.

You can read the full plans here.