Southport BID CEO Rachel Fitzgerald has welcomed today’s announcement of £37.5million Town Deal funding for Southport.

The BID had a place on the Town Deal Board which submitted multi-million pound proposals for investment in Southport to the Government.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak today announced a total of £1billion in Town Deal funding for a total of 45 UK towns through the Towns Fund, including Southport.

Central to Southport’s successful bid was the creation of a new waterside events centre, after Southport Theatre & Convention Centre closed in March last year when the operator entered liquidation.

Also included are exciting plans for a new light and water show on the Marine Lake; incubator and start-up space for local businesses; and public realm improvements.

Advance funding through the Southport Town Deal has already seen £100,000 being invested in the Southport BID initiative to provide lighting along Lord Street, which is now nearing completion.

A further £900,000 in Town Deal funding has gone towards the £1.4million redevelopment of Southport Market as an exciting food, drink and events hub.

Southport BID CEO Rachel Fitzgerald said: “I am delighted to see such substantial funding for Southport through the Town Deal.

“The BID was part of the Town Deal board which submitted its multi-million pound proposals to the Government.

“A huge amount of work has gone into preparing the submission over the past 12 months.

“Southport BID has worked hard along the Southport MP, Sefton Council, Southport College, local business leaders and board members from the public sector to ensure that we secured this vital investment.

“I hope it now gives confidence to the private sector that Southport is an ambitious town looking towards a positive future, and that our forward thinking resort is a great place to invest and do business.

“Southport BID will continue to do all we can to attract vital investment into Southport.”

Rob Fletcher, Chair of the Town Deal Board said: “The hard work of the Town Deal Board has been rewarded in this funding announcement. The Board has ensured that the views of the many have been included in the submission.

“We are pleased with the announcement and are now looking forward to continuing to work with Sefton Council, which will be responsible for delivering a remarkable range of projects which will support our communities, business and young people and make Southport the place to be.”

Southport MP Damien Moore said: “I’m delighted the Chancellor announced in his Budget today the largest direct investment in Southport in a generation: £37.5million.

"This funding is an opportunity to present a vision not only of what we want for Southport now, but where we want to be in the future.”

Sefton Council Leader Cllr Ian Maher said: “After an incredibly hard year for the town’s businesses and residents, the announcement of this funding is a really positive way to start 2021. The council, working with the Town Deal Board and its partners, are ready to get started on many of the key projects as soon as we can.

“We will continue to seek further public and private investment to the town to ensure the Town Deal is the catalyst to unlock many new opportunities.”