Sefton Council Urged to Follow Wirral's Steps to Reclaim Southport Beach

According to opposition leader on Sefton, Cllr. John Pugh ( Liberal Democrat) doing nothing about it is not a credible option especially when neighbouring councils like Wirral have taken steps to reclaim their beaches. Currently Southport Leisure Beach is being allowed to turn into a grass infested muddy expanse. 

“ Calls at Council meetings to get the Council to spell out some sort of policy or plan of action have fallen on deaf ears. I could accuse the current Council leadership of sticking their hands in the sand, but unfortunately there is not enough left.

It is not unreasonable to propose mechanical clearance to clear an area in front of Pleasureland south of the Pier which would link up with the really decent sandy area beyond the end of the Pier. The sandy beach has migrated over time, but it is well worth making the effort to keep the traditional leisure beach area free from mud. 

It will have cost implications. Wirral are estimating that West Kirkby beach may require a maintenance budget of around 30K, but if it attracts people to the area that could be a sound investment. Sefton are spending £72M on a conference centre to boost tourism why spoil it by making our beach a blot on the landscape ? 

Considerable progress has been made in recent years by the Chinese in controlling and eliminating beech grasses without obvious environmental detriment and modern science here may yet come to our help, but in the meanwhile there seems no obvious reason why Sefton cannot follow the Wirral strategy”.