Southport tourism set for boost with developer contributions

Southport’s iconic visitor attractions could benefit from a major funding boost as new businesses investing in the town are set to contribute towards the upkeep of key tourism infrastructure.

Sefton Council is introducing a new Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) titled ‘Developer Contributions to Southport Visitor Infrastructure’, which would see businesses in key areas of the town centre and seafront contribute financially to maintain and enhance the tourism offer in Southport.

It would see new developments being created within the Southport town centre and seafront areas, plus  hotels and visitor accommodation in Southport, asked to pay £2,680 (2024/25 prices) per 100m2 gross additional new or converted floorspace for qualifying schemes of 100m2 or more.

The funds would go towards the upkeep of historic attractions such as Southport Pier, Southport Marine Lake, Victoria Park, King’s Gardens and Marine Gardens, and more. 

In a report, Sefton Chief Planning Officer Derek McKenzie said: 

“Southport is Sefton’s key Tourism and Visitor location. Tourism generates a significant amount of jobs and investment in the town but also puts huge strain on its infrastructure, much of which is managed by the Council. 

“Therefore, it is considered appropriate that development which benefits from investment in and the upkeep of infrastructure that supports the tourism and visitor economy, contributes to it. 

“To that end, the Council is proposing a Supplementary Planning Document to seek developer contributions from certain types of developments towards visitor infrastructure in Southport. 

“The area that this SPD will apply to is the Southport Central Area and Southport Seafront. The only exception is that the charge will apply to hotels and other visitor accommodation in the wider Southport area.  

“As a result of the high number of visitors, the Council-maintained visitor infrastructure in Southport is put under huge pressure due to ‘wear and tear’ through intensive use. 

“The maintenance of this infrastructure is necessary to support the tourism industry. However, at a time of stretched Council budgets, infrastructure cannot always be repaired or maintained to the level the Council would ideally like. 

“The Council is therefore exploring a number of ways to secure additional funding to contribute to the ongoing maintenance of existing, and provision of new, visitor infrastructure. 

“As new businesses benefit from investment in the visitor infrastructure, as it helps to attract and retain visitors (i.e. customers), it is considered justified to require them to make a proportionate contribution to that infrastructure. 

“Southport has a range of infrastructure that supports and encourages visitors and the visitor experience. Many of these are provided and maintained by the Council at significant expense.

“As a result of Council financial constraints, it is not always possible that this infrastructure can be maintained to the level the Council would wish. 

“To reduce potential further harm to the tourism and visitor economy in Southport, the Council is looking to new development to mitigate further unacceptable pressures on this infrastructure.” 

The new funds could enhance Southport visitor infrastructure including:  

• Parks and gardens (including buildings, furniture and structures within them) and other open spaces. These include Victoria Park, King’s Gardens and Marine Gardens) 
• Street trees  
• Public toilets  
• Public highways and surrounding public realm, cycleways and footpaths  
• Public car parking (including electric vehicle charging infrastructure) and public transport hubs  
• Southport Pier  
• Southport Marine Lake and infrastructure  
• Southport Promenade  
• Publicly maintained buildings, structures and heritage assets that contribute (or could contribute) to Southport as a visitor attraction  
• Public information boards and signage  
• Public artwork.

The types of development that are proposed to be subject to the charge are:  

• hotels, bed & breakfast accommodation, short stay lets and other holiday accommodation (all sizes) in all parts of Southport  
• Bars, restaurants and hot food takeaways, including outside seating areas outside of these premises (all sizes) in Southport Central and Seafront areas only  
• Theatres, cinemas, nightclubs, exhibition centres, concert halls, live music venues, comedy clubs, bingo halls, casinos (all sizes) in Southport Central and Seafront areas only  
• Arts and cultural attractions (all sizes) in Southport Central and Seafront areas only
• Other visitor attractions that would predominantly rely on large numbers of non-residents visiting to be viable (all sizes) in Southport Central and Seafront areas only  
• New large retail uses (500m2 gross floorspace or more) outside of the Primary Shopping Area (but within the wider Central and Seafront areas) with an associated car park of 25 spaces or more 

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