Council-owned restaurant loses £150k due to same council building controversial 1km sea wall

Disruption caused by the building of a controversial sea wall has led to a council-owned restaurant losing nearly £150,000.

The Sail Loft, which is owned by Wirral Council, sits right on the waterfront in West Kirby which has been heavily disrupted by the construction of the 1.15km sea wall.

The sea wall is intended to protect a number of properties in the town as well as save 20 lives and protect more houses in the long run with predicted sea level rises due to global warming.

It has proved highly controversial amongst some residents and businesses who argue the construction has damaged the town’s economy.

Concerns have also been raised about the cost of the scheme which is now nearly £16m. This has driven by delays as well as the rising costs of construction materials according to a council report.

A Wirral Council report has now revealed the construction has been hurting its own businesses too with restaurant The Sail Loft losing nearly £150,000.

The restaurant, which is next to the town’s marine lake, had seen a drop of £149,000 in income between April and December 2022 as it “has been severely impacted by a demonstrable fall in customers as a consequence of the coastal works on the West Kirby Sea Defence wall.”

The report added: “The team have had some positive success in repositioning the venue as a private hire destination and reducing the opening hours during winter months to reduce costs.”

From April, a new partnership between the Sail Loft and Wirral Evolutions will be set up with council officers saying they will continue pushing the venue as one for private parties, hoping this will increase income once the wall is completed.

West Kirby councillor Jenny Johnson criticised the losses at a meeting asking the council to “maximise the income” going forward, adding: “This should be one of our greatest assets producing the greatest amount of money.”

The report follows the claim by a nearby fishmonger has lost £80,000 in business since construction began.

Guy Lawrenson, who owns the Seafood Shack, said: “Local people just stopped shopping in West Kirby and people assumed the lake was shut and that you couldn’t visit and you couldn’t park.”

Cllr Liz Grey, chair of Wirral Council’s environment committee, said while she sympathised with struggling businesess, other factors such as the cost of living and Brexit could have an impact.

She said: “It would be hard for anyone to know for sure what might be causing reduced footfall for any particular business and analysis would need to be made of their accounts in the years prior to the construction of the wall and compared with other similar businesses elsewhere in similar locations, otherwise we might conflate issues.”

These comments have prompted calls for Cllr Grey to apologise from Conservative councillors Tony Cox and Andrew Gardner.

Cllr Cox said: “Cllr Grey’s words are a disgrace and show zero compassion to hard working local business owners and the hardship her actions are causing them and their families.”

Cllr Gardner added: “There is no wriggling out of this, the council’s own loss making figures and explanation back up the traders’ statements of the last nine months. Cllr Grey has questioned the traders integrity and she should apologise and more than that, acknowledge the sea wall is a disaster of her and the Labour group’s making.”

Cllr Grey in response said: “As usual, local Conservative councillors are misrepresenting things. I actually expressed genuine sympathy for local businesses that have suffered reduced footfall and said I appreciated how stressful this must be.

“I am concerned they are ignoring the fact there is a real risk of conflating many issues and we need to be careful. I agreed the construction will have had an impact. However, that is temporary and, once completed, the wall is expected to protect residents and businesses from flood damage and the often irreparable trauma and expense this can cause.

“It is important to remember the wall is a result of our legal duty to protect residents from flood danger and it is mostly funded by Environment Agency money because they agree with the need for this flood scheme.”

She added: “If the local councillors are looking for an apology from anyone, it should be from the members of this Conservative Government who have made such a terrible job of running the economy, presiding over a spiralling cost of living crisis and a lack of building materials due to their failed import/export system.”

Funding for the scheme has predominantly come through the Environmental Agency with £2.4m coming directly from Wirral Council finances. It is expected the wall will be completed next month.