Sefton Council leader Cllr Marion Atkinson has insisted that plans to regenerate Southport’s Town Hall Gardens as a beautiful space to in memory of Alice, Elsie and Bebe will not be delayed because of protesters disrupting a recent Council meeting.

Hot seat

Appearing on BBC Radio Merseyside’s Hot Seat session on Friday (18th July), Cllr Atkinson confirmed the £10 million scheme that was due to be approved at the postponed meeting would go ahead as planned.

She said: “We won’t let what happened stop what we need to do.”

You can find about the plans for Southport’s Town Hall Gardens here.

Ready to go on pier

In her BBC interview, Cllr Atkinson also confirmed that Sefton Council is ‘ready to go’ with work to refurbish Southport Pier as soon as it has details of the Government funding for the work, which was announced in June.

Cllr Atkinson said she thought the work to restore the pier could take 12 to 14 months to complete. She said the work would focus on making the pier stronger, but that it would reflect the pier. 

Measles

The current rise in cases of measles was another subject discussed, with Cllr Atkinson reminding listeners of the importance of getting children vaccinated. She encouraged people to take advantage of the Living Well bus visits to Sefton and holiday clinics for primary and secondary school children who have missed vaccinations.

Find out more about MMR vaccinations here.

Salt and Tar and Bootle Strand

The popularity of the new Salt and Tar venue, created as part of Sefton Council’s scheme to revitalise Bootle town centre was also discussed during the interview.

Cllr Atkinson said that most of the concerts planned for this summer, headlined by Sugababes, Billy Ocean, Ocean Colour Scene and The Ks, are sold out. She also said the Council was hearing that other artists are wanting to come and pay at Salt and Tar as it establishes itself as a popular venue.

Find out more about Salt and tar and book remaining tickets for this summer’s concerts here.

She also stressed the initiatives involving the local community that take place at Salt and Tar.

The Council leader also confirmed that while demolition work taking place as part of the redevelopment of Bootle Strand, alongside the Salt and Tar site, the shopping centre’s shops are still very much open for business.

You can find out more about the regeneration of Bootle Strand here.

Dunnings Bridge Road

Speaking about the current works to improve Dunnings Bridge Road as part of the Maritime Corridor Improvement Scheme, Cllr Atkinson said the Council had been working at night to clean up the area and had removed 390 tons of ‘muck’.

She also talked about the new active travel lane along the route, which would improve conditions for people to walk, cycle and wheel.

Use this link to find out more about the Maritime Corridor Improvement Scheme.

Fly-tipping

On the subject of litter and waste, Cllr Atkinson talked about fly-tipping, which she said really wound her up and that the Council won’t tolerate it.

She said that in 2024/25 the Council had removed close to 5,000 tons of fly-tipped rubbish and that the issue is costing Sefton Council Taxpayers £1/2 million per year.

Sefton Council is, she said, ‘going hard’ on fly-tipping, with a targeted approach with the people responsible for it being fined.

You can read about he latest prosecution for fly-tipping here.

Abuse of female politicians

Cllr Atkinson talked about how she her female politician colleagues are subject to abuse, particularly by social media but in person too. 

She said more women are needed in politics and advised any women thinking of doing so should not be put off and that she gets these insults all the time, but she doesn’t let them get to her.

“Let’s not let them win,’ she said.

You can listen to the show here (interview starts 2hrs and 7 mins in).