Sefton Council Slammed for Proposed Taxes on New Developments

Southport Conservatives Slam Labour’s Latest Southport Tax

Sefton Council’s proposals to tax new developments in Southport town centre and along the seafront have been slammed by Conservative Group Leader on Sefron Council, Mike Prendergast.

The proposals involve charging developers £2,680 per 100m2 within the new Southport Seafront and Southport Central Area and also includes hotels, B&B’s and other holiday accommodation in the wider Southport area. After a challenging time, Conservatives in Southport say this is simply going to drive away investment.

Councillor Prendergast said, “This proposal is a Southport Investment Tax and will simply drive investment elsewhere. In their own press release, Sefton Council acknowledge that Southport is “Sefton’s key Tourism and Visitor location”. How on earth does this proposal encourage investment into our town centre?”

“Southport relies heavily on its tourism, hospitality and leisure sectors and they are already grappling with increases in the minimum wage and massive increases in National Insurance by the Labour national government. At a local level, local businesses already pay their Business Rates and many in the town centre pay more to contribute to Southport BID. Car parking charges are high and Labour in Sefton have flatly refused to review these.”

“Local businesses are already suffering; Labour can’t just keep squeezing them for more money, locally as well as nationally, you can’t tax your way to growth. These proposals should have been rejected by Sefton Labour but instead, once again, Southport is being used as a cash cow.”

“We want to encourage investment in our Southport, not put people off. Sefton Council is in the process of spending £73.5 million on the new MLEC facility and we want to draw investment in on the back of that. Taxing developers more will drive potential investors to go elsewhere and jeopardise the viability of the new centre in the longer term. Without good hotels being built in the area, how can a brand-new convention centre last?”

“Outside of the town centre, this will also catch other potential development. In Ainsdale, we want to see the area around The Sands and Pontins improved, the likelihood of that incorporating any kind of new hotel or holiday accommodation is now reduced because of this new tax.”

“This latest tax on Southport needs to be dropped and we need policies that encourage investment, not drive it away. Southport is a wonderful place to live, work and visit and we could make it so much better if we create the environment for businesses to thrive and draw people in.”