Sefton Council Accused of Deliberately Neglecting Pier Restoration

KEEPING THE PIER CLOSED IS “A DELIBERATE CHOICE”
Council Criticised for “Micawber” attitude. Call for funded plan.
Sefton’s decision not to get on with restoring the Pier has been described as a 'deliberate choice' by opposition council leader, John Pugh.
The Liberal Democrat councillor has compared Sefton to the Dickens' character Mr Micawber who is always waiting unrealistically for funds to turn up.
"The official Sefton policy is to take the begging bowl to government and demand they pay for on-going maintenance, to wait for the cash to turn up” says Cllr Pugh. "The problem with that is it allows further deterioration and escalating costs in the meanwhile” .
The Pier is capable of sectional repair and bringing either landward or seaward parts back into use. That can be done without Sefton being over-stretched financially. The council is nowhere near its prudential borrowing limits and has already found and earmarked substantial funds for the things it wants to do.
£32 M was found overnight through a loan from Public Works Loan Board to buy the Strand Shopping Centre, £8M working capital has been given by Sefton to Sandway Homes and £20m is being borrowed to help meet the £72M of the new conference centre next to the Pier.
It might be that reopening the Pier is not in the priority plans of the Council leadership, but it’s nonsense to claim that we have no option but to watch it rot until something turns up.
It would be great if the Treasury make a substantial contribution, but it would be surprising too as there must be a lot of other towns with piers in the queue.
Sefton, like Mr Micawber in David Copperfield, might be cheerily optimistic that something will turn up and I’d be delighted if it did. It’s just not a very wise way to look after your assets. We need a funded plan now that enables some progress to be made.”