£750,000 Proposals for Southport’s Green Spaces - Including Botanic Gardens

Fully costed plans have been announced by Southport Conservatives to invest £750,000 in the town’s green spaces.

The funding, which was put forward in response to Sefton Council’s budget last month, would allow a number of projects to be completed, including:

• Botanic Gardens - to dredge the lake and begin wider restoration projects across the gardens.
• Hesketh Park - for improvement works.
• Kings Gardens - to refurbish existing equipment and purchase new equipment.

£650,000 is earmarked from Sefton’s new homes bonus, and the rest would come from the re-instatement of on-street parking on Hoghton Street, which is currently blocked off due to the temporary cycle lanes in the area.

As the plans were voted down by Labour last month, Southport Conservatives are now seeking a mandate from voters to push the plans through.

Thomas de Freitas, who is standing to be the next Councillor in Meols Ward, explained:

‘A fantastic campaign is being run to restore the Botanic Gardens to its former glory, and tens of thousands of pounds have been raised so far.

‘I know all residents of our town will want to see wider works progress as soon as possible, which is why we have developed fully-costed plans to turbo-charge green space investment in Southport.

‘This issue cuts across all political divides. I know from my conversations with residents that former Labour, Lib Dem, and Green voters are all backing these proposals, and I hope that we can implement the plans as soon after the local elections on 5th May as possible.’