Southport Theatre and Convention Centre is now being raze to the ground

THE demolition of part of the former Southport Theatre and Convention Centre (STCC) had already been under taken safely and now the main structure is being pulled down.

To do this Sefton Council have called in to play the impressive heavy duty machinery, operated by specialist demolition contractors DSM. This machinery includes:- a 50 tonne excavator that rolled into the Promenade site, on:- Thursday, 19 September 2024, as part of the preparation work ahead of building the new Marine Lake Events Centre.

Sefton Council says that both residents and local businesses will be kept regularly informed on the works and they will continue to hold face to face sessions for people nearby the decommissioned site, so that they can ask questions and raise any concerns.

Prior to the work, a number of historical heritage items were removed from the structure and are now being held in safe storage, and should be incorporated into the £73 million brand new, state of the art, Marine Lake Events Centre (MLEC) site for public viewing.

Sefton Council and its partners remain fully committed to an impressive social value project which gives back to the community in a number of ways and the team will be welcoming engineering and construction students from both:- Southport College and Hugh Baird College, to the site in the coming weeks.

Councillor Paulette Lappin, Sefton Council's Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Economy and Skills, said:- "It's great to see lots of work happening on site and the project is being managed in a very considerate way as to reduce a much disruption as possible to our neighbouring residents and businesses. With huge economic and tourism projects like the Marine Lake Events Centre, there are lots of things which need to happen behind the scenes that most will never be aware of so for people to be able to see physical demolition work taking place is great. Our social value work is a real credit to the kindness and generosity of our project partners and contractors and I would like to thank them again for their incredible kindness in supporting the community in and around Southport."

If you are unaware, the former Southport Theatre and Convention Centre was the biggest theatre in the borough of Sefton. In 2008 the complex was updated and incorporated a new development, with new hotel and leisure facilities, preserving the original art deco auditorium. The outside of the building itself was not all that impressive, but it had an amazing backdrop of the beautiful Marine Lake behind it.

The STCC was an integral part of Southport's economy throughout its working life and is loss has been one of many reasons why the Town's economy has not fully recovered from the Covid Lockdowns.

Located on The Promenade, the Art Deco style Floral Hall was the oldest part of the building, dating back to the 1930s. The newer section was the Theatre, which opened in 1973. Until its closure the combined venues were regarded as a fantastic asset to Sefton and the Merseyside area as a hole. The theatre boasted a seated capacity of over 1,600 which regularly attracted popular top musicals and plays from all over the world, played host to star acts including:- The Beatles, Kim Wilde and Les Dawson.

The theatre also hosted music concerts, showed films, it hosted many exhibitions, it hosted a TV show, staged international boxing matches, political party conference, union conference, and much more. The venue provided many thrillers and plenty of laughs, offering something for everyone to enjoy. Sadly, the fun came to an abrupt end when Covid19 hit. The STCC closed during the 1st lockdown and remained shut ever since. The operators Bliss went bust on 19 May 2020, handing the keys back to owners Sefton Council and appointed insolvency practice David Rubin and Partners to transfer the venue back to the Council. The Council then looked for viable options for the future of this important local asset, but in the process it was found that the building was in a poor state of repair.

It is hoped that the exciting £73 million new development due to be built plus an accompanying water and light show on the lake, is expected to bring over 500,000 new visitors to Southport each year, generating an annual £18m boost for the local economy.

What are your thoughts on this development project? Please do email us your thoughts to our Newsroom via:- News24@SouthportReporter.Com or send us a message on:-  Mastodon, Facebook, or Twitter.

Work begins at Liverpool's Paddington South scheme

LIVERPOOL City Council has begun work on Paddington South, the next phase in the City's flagship, mixed-use £1bn Knowledge Quarter Liverpool (KQ Liverpool) development, in collaboration with the University of Liverpool.

Morgan Sindall Construction has been selected to undertake masterplanning and enabling works to ensure the City centre site is plot-ready for future developments.

Paddington South is the next phase of the multi award winning Paddington Village development, which currently includes:- the WELL Platinum standard rated Spine Building, which provides Grade A office space, a clean energy multi-storey car park, and the Novotel Liverpool Paddington Village Hotel.

The ambition for the Paddington South masterplan will be to super charge the City's research, development and innovation sector, whilst creating a vibrant new neighbourhood for the area, embedded in sustainable development principles.

Central to the development will be a revamped public green space around Grove Street, with the aim of improving biodiversity by 10% as part of the City's wider urban green up programme.

The City Council received a multi-million pound package from Government in spring to accelerate innovation-led economic growth. This funding enabled the acquisition of the former Smithdown Lane Police Station, which is expected to be demolished in the 1st quarter of 2025.

Once complete, the new green space will be aligned with the Liverpool Public Realm, and Design for Access for All Strategic Planning Documents with the aim of achieving zero carbon in operation, aligning with the Council's 2030 net zero ambitions and assisting the University in its 2035 net zero campus aim.

Morgan Sindall will also explore further sustainability initiatives throughout the development, such as the reuse of materials and reducing site waste.

Throughout the delivery of Paddington South, Morgan Sindall will continue to maximise the amount of social value generated. To date, the team has offered 296 apprenticeship opportunities, 126 work experience placements and has delivered numerous educational talks and tours, resulting in a social value legacy of £122 million across Paddington Village.

The City Council owned Paddington Village site has earned numerous industry awards including:- 8 Considerate Construction Awards including:- "Most Considerate Site," an Innovation Award from the BCO for The Spine and 3 Constructing Excellence North West Awards for The Spine.

Councillor Nick Small, Liverpool City Council's Cabinet member for Growth and Economy, said:- "The start of work at Paddington South is a landmark moment in our journey to ensuring Liverpool becomes one of Europe's leading R&D centres in science innovation. An expanded Paddington Village is vital to the City's future economic growth and to creating a conveyor belt of high skilled jobs. Once delivered, this former brownfield site will become the engine room for the delivery of our wider Investment Zone plans for the coming decade and beyond. I'm delighted that sustainability and creating a new green lung in the City is a key focus of this world-class development and I look forward to seeing the masterplan for the site take shape and develop."

Professor Richard Black, Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of Liverpool, said:- "We are excited about the important opportunities offered by the development of Paddington South to enable a step-change in our research and development activities in areas where we are already rated as world-leading. We are particularly passionate about the important benefits the development will have for our City in terms of jobs, reputation, wealth generation and more."

Steven Gregory, Area Director for Morgan Sindall in the North West, said:- "From start to finish, Paddington Village has, and will continue to be, a resounding endorsement of early engagement, sustainable innovation, and Social Value. Through our collaboration with Liverpool City Council we have been able to create high performing, future proofed facilities and green spaces that will serve the community and the wider economy for years to come. The importance of providing biodiverse, net zero facilities is ever-increasing, and large cities are often bereft of high quality green spaces. We are excited to be involved in this phase of works that will add not only green space to the community, but also encourage carbon efficient commuting and biodiversity for wildlife to thrive in, which is central to Morgan Sindall's ethos. We look forward to delivering this phase, and to continuing our relationship with Liverpool City Council into the future."

Emily Robson, Assistant Chief Executive of Knowledge Quarter Liverpool, said:- "Paddington Village is intrinsic to the future success of the KQ Liverpool innovation district, with the capability to help create upwards of 10,000 new, highly-skilled jobs in the City Region, building on our existing strengths in life sciences, robotics engineering and materials chemistry. The provision of green space and other amenities is crucial in creating a genuine sense of place and attracting people to live and work here. We look forward to supporting Morgan Sindall and the City Council in their efforts to complete this next phase of work; taking us a step closer to realising the enormous potential of Paddington Village."