Demolition works to begin to make way for £73m Southport Marine Lake Events Centre
The state-of-the-art leisure facility is expected to bring £18m to the local economy each year.
Contractors are gearing up to demolish a Southport monument to pave the way for the creation of a £73million leisure centre.
Sefton Council were given the green light for the Marine Lake Events Centre project in 2023 and it is expected to bring more than half a million new visitors to Southport each year and generate an estimated £18m to the local economy annually.
The state-of-the-art venue is one of the schemes being developed as a result of the successful bid for £37.5m of Town Deal funding for Southport. A significant proportion of this funding is for the centre, as well as for the Light Fantastic, a water, light and sound show in the adjacent Marine Lake.
To make way for the impressive leisure facility, the former Southport Theatre and Convention Centre will be demolished. Preparatory works involving the creation of a bespoke bird raft for any disturbed wildlife and the diversion of underground pipework away from site have already been completed by contractors Dowhigh and more activity is expected on site this week.
Providing an update on Monday, Sefton Council said: “Within the existing project hoarding, you might start to see some activities and deliveries from our contractor to site over the weekend week (from June 24 2024).
“This is to enable the project team to gear-up for the demolition works to start on site. The team will be delivering welfare units to ensure the site is set up in readiness for the demolition works to commence.”
DSM Group, who will carry out the demolition, will contact residents prior to the main works commencing to ensure any disruption is kept to a minimum, with ongoing communications and engagement throughout. The main works will follow later this year and take approximately 24 months.
The £73 million venue on Southport’s promenade will be managed by ASM Global, the team behind the AO Arena in Manchester and The Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai.