Digz'n Lidz Cafe is now open!

THE latest attraction in Southport's Town Centre is a brand new radio controlled construction vehicle experience called:- 'Digz'n Lidz' Cafe. This is a very exciting new business that hopes to keep innovating, and it isn't just for the kids! Owners Danny Melia and Mark Gaudie opened the doors on:- Wednesday, 2 September 2026, to an excited audience of kids and adults within the former Debenhams building. Watching the adults and kids, we couldn't decided who where having the most fun controlling the many:- diggers, dump trucks, articulated trucks, wheel loaders, or tower cranes. Opening hours will be:- 11 am to 6 pm on:- Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday, and:- 11am to 8pm on:- Friday and Saturday.

These are a few pictures of the venue now it is opened. Please note that this attraction can be loud, as we discovered trying to do interviews on the 1st day, and when we returned 2 days later to what was a far quieter venue, for take 2, the sound was sound was still very loud. But, do not let this put you off, and it is also worth adding that they will be doing:- "low noise" events for people who are noise sensitive, like those who are autistic, very soon. Please keep an eye on the venue's Digz'n Lidz website.

If you have visited the venue, please do let us know what you think of it by emailing our Newsroom at:- News24@SouthportReporter.Com or sending us a message on:- Mastodon, Facebook, or Twitter.

Wirral Street Cleaner Immortalised by Latest New Brighton Mural

A new mural has been added to the OpenAIR Gallery:- the open air street art collection that spans the Victoria Quarter, located within New Brighton, celebrating Kenneth ("Kenny") Dunn, a street cleaner who has quietly kept the Town's streets and promenade in good order for over 10 years.

The piece is the 1st in a new series, "Unsung Heroes" initiated by internationally recognised London based artist Dotmasters (real name:- Leon Seesix), in partnership with:- Daniel Davies of Rockpoint Leisure and New Brighton Creative Futures CIC ("NBCF"), which stewards and hosts the OpenAIR Gallery. The series honours the people whose everyday work shapes a place, but rarely gets its own moment.

Kenny; usually recognisable in his orange Biffa hi-vis with a bin bag in hand; was nominated for the 1st piece by Daniel Davies of Rockpoint Leisure, the regeneration led company whose work in the Victoria Quarter originated New Brighton's street art scene in 2017.

Daniel Davies said:- "Nominating Kenny was easy; he's been on these streets for over 10 years, he does the graft, everyone in New Brighton knows him and everyone likes him. If any place is going to celebrate the people who make it tick, this 1 should. Dot and I have been working together up here since 2018, and this piece is 1 of the best things we've done. Massive thanks to Dot for coming back up to paint it, and to Kenny for saying yes. There'll be more."

Dotmasters has been contributing work to the New Brighton mural scene in partnership with Daniel Davies and Rockpoint Leisure since 2018; well before NBCF was formalised as the CIC that now stewards the Gallery. Kenny's portrait sits within Dotmasters' existing body of work in the Victoria Quarter and continues that near 7 year collaboration into a new format.

The piece, painted this month in the Victoria Quarter; the OpenAIR Gallery footprint in the heart of New Brighton's regenerated Victoria Road / Union Terrace area; shows Kenny in his work uniform against a bold deep blue damask pattern on a black wall, signed by Dotmasters and now part of the gallery. Dotmasters shared the finished mural on his Instagram on:- 24 August 2026, describing Kenny as:- "a local hero" and "the main reason to take the trip up to New Brighton."

Kenny himself came down to watch the piece being painted. Dan Davies rang him personally to tell him the mural was going up and invited him to see it in progress. He watched the whole thing being made and, in his own words:- "thoroughly enjoyed" it. Asked what has changed in the ten years he has worked the Town, Kenny credits the Victoria Quarter regeneration directly:- "It's gone a lot better, especially down Victoria Road, where Danny spent all that money and brought the place back to life."

Biffa, the national waste management company Kenny works for, has responded warmly to the mural. Peter Murphy, area supervisor at Biffa, visited New Brighton to acknowledge Kenny and the piece. Peter said:- "I am delighted to see Kenny's hard work and enthusiasm being recognised in such a spectacular way. He not only contributes to keeping New Brighton clean, he's the go-to person for a friendly comforting chat and local knowledge."

Rory Wilmer of New Brighton Creative Futures CIC said:- "The credit for Unsung Heroes belongs to Dotmasters; it's his series, his idea, and Kenny is exactly the right person to start it with. Kenny has quietly done 1 of the most important jobs in this town for years, and having him on the wall permanently is exactly why this gallery exists. Huge thanks to Dot, to Dan for the nomination, and to Peter and the team at Biffa for coming to see us. More heroes to come."

Visit:- HelloNewBrighton.Com to find out how you can get involved in New Brighton�s street art project.

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Digz'n Lidz Cafe is now open!

Wirral Street Cleaner Immortalised by Latest New Brighton Mural