158-year-old Southport pub to be demolished and replaced with Co-op store

The George pub is an historic building on the corner of Duke Street and Cemetery Road (Southport) and has been subject to various proposals since its closure in February 2021.

The George is built in a Victorian Italianate style that was made popular in the 1850-60s and is located opposite Duke Street Cemetery. The area has a number of listed buildings dating back to the 19th century development of the seaside town.

According to the historic building survey for the December 2023 planning application, The George Hotel appears on the 1894 Ordinance Survey but the exact build date is unknown. The existing public house has been vacant for some time and the building is in poor condition.

The newly approved plans mean the building will be demolished and replaced with a new structure. The Sefton Council report notes the previous planning scheme sought to retain and convert the existing building, it is not statutorily listed and the local authority’s conservation team has no objections to the proposal.

The well-known pub was put up for sale in 2021 with a guide price of £500,000 on Right Move and a planning application to transform the pub into a Co-op was submitted in 2022. However, after initial works began, the project stalled after problems with a contractor and the ongoing deterioration of the building structure.

The future site will include two retail units with the larger space reserved for a Co-op convenience store. Furthermore, there will be four residential units created at first floor level with new shopfront, signage zones, reconfigured car park, residential amenity area and new secure outdoor space.

In a planning statement submitted to Sefton Council in 2023, Central Co-op said: “Specialist temporary works designers were appointed to design a propping solution to support the remaining structure. This was extremely complex due to the deterioration of the building, the required piled foundations and challenging ground conditions.

“Several options were investigated but it became apparent that the building was no longer safe to continue the conversion works. A project design team meeting was held with the outcome being the project could not continue safely.

“Due to the unsafe nature of continuing with the current permission, we unfortunately had no alternative but to submit a planning application to demolish the existing structure and replace it with a new building.”