AFTER Pleasureland was shut down two years ago, Sefton Council chief executive Graham Haywood told a crowd of people at Southport Area Committee that losing the fairground that had stood in Southport since the 1920s was not necessarily bad news.
“It provides a great opportunity,� he said, assuring everyone present that the authority would seek “a high quality leisure operator which can provide a permanent attraction�.
Last Thursday was the day of reckoning as Sefton Council finally whittled down the list of contenders eager to develop the North West’s largest prime coastal site to one winner: Urban Splash.
Some aspects sound promising - state-of-the-art botanical gardens, 25-acre eco-park, winter gardens, an artificial beach and ‘sea’, £40million investment. Two new hotels could also be built.
Despite the decision being the biggest to affect Southport for many years, the whole process has so far been conducted in clandestine secrecy. Few know the identity of any bidders other than Urban Splash. Therefore few know what options were ever on the table, the public have no idea what may have been.
Have we chosen the best option? At the cabinet meeting last week the decision to select from the whittled-down shortlist of four was made behind closed doors. The Visiter was barred from attending.
“Exciting times for Southport – the development will provide a fantastic opportunity which will last for generations to come,� is the promise which has been made.
Let’s hope so – the future of Southport should belong to the people who live here, and they have been kept very much in the dark so far.
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