Royal Birkdale, Gusto Trattoria and 29 more Southport venues were rated 5 in September. Lower scores publish weeks later, as August's 15 below-5s show.
Thirty-one Southport food businesses were given the top hygiene rating of 5 in September. They range from the clubhouse at Royal Birkdale to a pizza stall in the Market Hall. All 70 September inspections published so far across Sefton scored 5. (Food Standards Agency register, checked by Southport Today on 6 October)
That clean sheet will not last, and the reason is how the register works. A 5 goes online as soon as the council uploads it. A rating of 0 to 4 is held back for 3 to 5 weeks after the inspection, so the business has time to appeal. (Food Standards Agency, guidance for businesses)
So any September venue that scored lower will appear on the register later this month or early in November.
Southport’s September fives
The published Southport inspections run from 2 to 30 September. Among them:
| Venue | Address | Inspected |
|---|---|---|
| Royal Birkdale Golf Club | Waterloo Road, Birkdale | 2 Sep |
| Sandbrook Chippy | 156 Sandbrook Road, Ainsdale | 2 Sep |
| The Squirrel Tea Room | 666b Liverpool Road, Ainsdale | 8 Sep |
| Cafe Dale | 47 Tulketh Street | 9 Sep |
| Italian Street Food | Unit 8, Market Hall, King Street | 9 Sep |
| Great Himalayas Nepalese Restaurant & Bar | 665 Lord Street | 10 Sep |
| Southport & Birkdale Sports Club | Trafalgar Road, Birkdale | 10 Sep |
| Crete Greek Taverna | 20A Gordon Street | 15 Sep |
| Pam’s Pantry | 13 Bold Street | 15 Sep |
| Dolce Vita Restaurant | 90 Station Road, Ainsdale | 16 Sep |
| Lansdowne Bistro | 22 Anchor Street | 16 Sep |
| Park Hotel | 36 Weld Road, Birkdale | 16 Sep |
| Turkish Delight Takeaway | 9 Coronation Walk | 16 Sep |
| Gusto Trattoria | 58-62 Lord Street | 17 Sep |
| Al-Lee’s Gluten Free Kitchen | 21 Stanley Street | 23 Sep |
| 600 Degrees | 66a Sandon Road, Birkdale | 23 Sep |
| Café Nova | 273-277 Lord Street | 23 Sep |
| Thai Rice | 20B Bold Street | 24 Sep |
| The Nook | 1 Hoghton Place | 24 Sep |
The other 12 include the Domino’s on Virginia Street, the McDonald’s, B&M and Boots at the Central 12 retail park, the Guest House pub on Union Street, and the school kitchen at St Philip’s CE Primary on Hampton Road.
Formby’s September fives
Formby had nine venues rated 5 in September. They include:
- Sorrento, 29 Three Tuns Lane
- Waitrose, Three Tuns Lane
- Crispy Cod, 11 Queens Road
- Formby Lawn Tennis Club, 90 Gores Lane
- Green Beach Coffee and Spoon Desserts, a mobile caterer at Lifeboat Road
What happened to August’s “clean sweep”
On 1 September we reported that every published August rating in Sefton was a 5: 34 inspections, all scoring the top mark. We said then the sweep could still be broken. It was.
The register now holds 60 August inspections, dated 4 to 28 August. Fifteen of them scored below 5:
- 9 were rated 4
- 2 were rated 3
- 2 were rated 2
- 2 were rated 1
None of the 15 is in Southport or Formby. They are in Bootle, Litherland, Seaforth, Waterloo, Crosby, Netherton and Maghull, all in the south of the borough and at least ten miles from Southport. All 23 August inspections in Southport’s PR8 and PR9 postcodes were rated 5.
The four lowest August scores were:
| Venue | Where | Rating | Inspected |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dover Road Post Office & News | 11 Dover Road, Maghull | 2 | 5 Aug |
| Activity for All CIC | Bootle Stadium Sports Centre, Maguire Avenue, Bootle | 1 | 26 Aug |
| Sonning Supermarket | 68-70 Sonning Avenue, Litherland | 2 | 27 Aug |
| Rock N Rogue Catering | 3 Arctic Road, Bootle | 1 | 28 Aug |
A rating of 1 means major improvement is necessary, and a 2 means improvement is necessary. Each business can appeal, publish a right of reply on the register, and ask for a re-inspection once it has made improvements. A low rating records the day of the visit, not a permanent verdict. (Food Standards Agency)
Southport against the rest of the borough
Southport’s venues score better than the rest of Sefton. The register lists 852 rated food businesses with a Southport PR8 or PR9 postcode, and 803 of them hold a 5. That is 94%.
Across the rest of the borough, 1,003 of 1,294 rated businesses hold a 5, or 78%. For Sefton as a whole it is 1,806 of 2,146, or 84%.
Other figures from the same register:
- no business in Sefton currently holds a 0
- 16 are rated 1, three of them in Southport
- 19 are rated 2, three of them in Southport
- 100 are listed as awaiting inspection, 30 of them in Southport
- 26 have a new rating pending
What it means for you
A 5 appears straight away. A missing rating is not a good sign or a bad one. If a place you use was inspected in September and its new rating has not appeared, it may simply be inside the appeal window. Check again in November.
Look up any venue by name or postcode on the Food Standards Agency site. Every rating links to the inspection date, and some businesses add a right of reply.
If you run a food business and scored 5, you can display the sticker straight away. If you scored lower, the appeal deadline is 21 days from being told your rating, and you can ask Sefton Council in writing to publish your rating before the appeal period ends. (Food Standards Agency)
We publish a food hygiene round-up for Sefton at the start of each month. The October edition will show which September venues, if any, scored below 5.
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