Southport's Surfing Cove and Tower of Hope: Distant Memories or Viable Reality?

As the prospects of a Surfing Cove next to Kings Gardens and a 43 storey Tower of Hope on Lord St recede and become a distant memory, opposition leader on Sefton, Cllr John Pugh, is urging the council to “get real” and think laterally, concentrating on the clearly achievable.

"It costs a developer a pittance to sketch out a development proposal compared with the cost of actually doing it, ”  he says.

However, dangling exciting but possibly unrealisable prospects in front of the Southport public leaves people mystified, cynical and often disappointed. Meanwhile the assets we have in the 'here and now' get overlooked and deteriorate. Time is lost and opportunities to proceed with more modest proposals are missed. "

The Council is still in negotiation with the firm that wanted to build an inland surfing development (Southport Cove) beyond Kings Gardens. The firm got Go Surf Limited changed its name to GSL Developments Ltd in 2022. 

Sefton claimed  back in 2020

"This project will, in many ways, bring back a viable facility with all year-round broad visitor appeal, and strike a balance between the memory of this well-loved former attraction and a new, modern, family-oriented offer that will be unique to the region.”
Creating up to 120 new jobs and bringing more than £20 million per annum to the local economy with an expected 150,000 client visits a year, Southport Cove will complement the other exciting opportunities emerging in the town, as part of the Southport Town Deal and beyond. The £40 million project aligns well with Sefton Council’s vision for Southport’s visitor economy, increasing the number of reasons to visit and to stay, all year round. “  (1)

However, ominously the first “surf lagoon” built in Snowdonia has now closed.

The operators (Adventure Parc Snowdonia)  blamed high energy costs and mechanical issues stating

“ The sad reality is that despite the joy and adventure our waves brought to many as a world-first innovation, the machine has cost us a fortune in downtime, repairs and loss of business.” (2)

“ I am sure ,” says Cllr.Pugh that ,” engineering lessons have been learnt from the closure of the Snowdonia venture, but soaring energy costs alone add appreciable risk to a parallel project in Southport. I cannot convince myself that it’s a runner. I have no objection to people having big dreams, but the history of Southport is littered with examples of grand schemes delaying work on more modest and realistic improvements. Investment in Pleasureland was held back while Sefton earmarked land for a major development nearby that never happened.”

I can’t help thinking that Sefton can be a little naive at times."