Southport's Youth Shining Bright in Marine Lake Events Centre Project
Dozens of primary school children are celebrating their own futures as part of the Marine Lake Events Centre project.
Twenty two pupils from a number of primary schools in the resort came together to unveil their inspirational drawings which have been printed on the hoardings surrounding the Marine Lake Events Centre (MLEC) site.
The schoolchildren were also joined by peers from Meols Cop and Greenbank High School who have been working as ‘career champions’ to ensure the MLEC project provides a strong and stable foundation for future job opportunities for local youngsters.
Earlier this year Sefton Council and its partners held a competition for primary school pupils to submit illustrations on the themes of:
• What I Love About Southport
• The Jobs I See When Thinking About Construction
• The Things I Love About Nature and the Environment in Southport
The talent and range of illustrations submitted left judges stunned and the panel struggled to limit the amount of entries.
Cllr Paulette Lappin, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Skills said: “It might be a big site but we only had so much space on our hoardings. As far as I am concerned everyone was a winner such was the scale of talented drawings we saw.”
Winning entries were picked from Marshside, St John’s Ainsdale, St Philip’s and Farnborough Road primary schools.
Cllr Lappin continued: “The illustrated hoardings are just one part of this fantastic transformational project for Southport and Sefton.
“Every pupil who took in the event was an absolute credit to their school and it was lovely to meet so many of the winners.
“Without exception every single student was engaged, interested and passionate about our work on the Marine Lake Events Centre because they know it can potentially play a huge role in their future careers.”
Marcel Ridyard, Associate Director of AFL Architects who are behind the MLEC design, presented certificates to the pupils.
He said: “AFL is thrilled to have supported this initiative, with special thanks to the Tourism team at Sefton, the Southport Learning Trust, and the teachers in Southport for making it such a success for all the primary school children involved.
“We are excited to see the winning designs finally unveiled.”
The unveiling comes as specialist demolition company, the DSM Group, began the first stages of demolition work inside the former Southport Theatre and Convention Centre.
Sefton Council have already announced the securing of ASM Global, who will manage the £73 million venue on the resort’s promenade.
When completed the Marine Lake Events Centre will join ASM Global’s network of more than 350 venues around the world, which collectively host a jaw dropping 20,000 events across sports, music, entertainment and business every year.