Proposal for Council Czar for Lord St Rejected

Liberal Democrat, John Pugh, has expressed disappointment that his proposal that there should be  “a  Council Czar for Lord St “  fell on deaf ears at last night's Council meeting when the Sefton budget was set.

 “ It made no difference to the overall budget, simply utilising existing funds, but it could make a real difference to Lord St. I regard Lord St as Southport’s greatest asset and biggest problem - a treasure we neglect at our peril. There are many council departments involved with Lord St, but no-one in daily charge of bringing all the various initiatives together and progressing them exclusively with vigour.” 

 Cllr Pugh’s proposal to have a Town Centre Development Officer was voted down by Labour members but supported by all other opposition parties.

Cllr Pugh added,  "It’s not an easy problem regenerating Lord St and I applaud every effort to do so, but I am convinced that it can only be done over time through a laser like focus and dogged persistence - piece by piece, shop unit by shop unit. If it was an easy problem, it would have been solved by now’.

The fact that every Sefton officer concerned with it has other and major cross-borough responsibilities dilutes the attention Lord St gets. It's a complex problem with a diverse set of owners, tenants and organisations involved and mass of conservation and development issues. 

My view is that it’s not just another road or shopping precinct in Sefton so let’s stop pretending it is.

It’s an asset that will remain more crucial to Southport's future than any conference centre so let’s treat is as such. My proposal for a regeneration post specifically for Lord St and the town centre, replicating what we had in the past when the Council was hung, wasn’t put forward to embarrass the Labour Party administration.

 I simply think it’s a practical step to ensure that good schemes already running, like trying to create homes above the shops, actually work and get the attention they deserve. 

 The Council needs someone to drill down daily on the problem not dabble and get distracted by other matters.”