Sefton will run a competition for the Esplanade park and ride land. A sale would likely move the Eco Centre and could affect fireworks and Flower Show parking.

Sefton Council is to look for a development partner for the former park and ride site on the Esplanade, the land once earmarked for the Cove Resort. The Cove Resort is no longer the only option on the table.

A report to the council’s Cabinet asks members to approve “an appropriate process to identify a partner to develop this site (and potentially other nearby sites)”. It is on the agenda for Thursday 1 October. (Sefton Council, Cabinet report, Former Park and Ride Site, Esplanade, Southport)

The report is plain about one consequence. Selling the site “would likely require closure and relocation of the current Eco Centre offering”.

What the report asks Cabinet to do

There are four recommendations. Cabinet is asked to:

  • note the “in-bound interest” in development and partnership opportunities across Sefton, including in Southport
  • note the new place strategies being drawn up for Southport and Bootle
  • approve a process to find a partner for this site, and possibly other nearby sites, led by the Executive Director for Regeneration, Economy and Assets with the Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Economy and Skills
  • receive a future report recommending an approach and a partner

That final step matters. Nothing is being sold on 1 October. Any disposal would come back to Cabinet for approval, the report says.

Where this leaves the Cove Resort

The Cove Resort developers had “a two-year period of exclusivity between 2023 and 2025” to work up proposals for the site, according to the report. That agreement did not commit the council to selling the land.

The report says the Cove Resort “remains a credible potential option”. It also says the council now has “confidence that breadth of interest in the asset(s) is much wider and warrants full evaluation”.

Past expressions of interest named in the report include the Cove Resort and “a new wind turbine”. Earlier bidders can take part in the new process.

The council says interest has grown because of its own spending nearby. It points to the Marine Lake Events Centre and Southport Pier, both with main works under way, and to the Town Hall Gardens scheme heading for a planning application this autumn. It also credits the Open at Royal Birkdale in July, when councillors and staff “worked particularly” to host potential private sector partners.

What it could mean on the Esplanade

The report lists the knock-on effects of a sale. It says a disposal:

  • would likely require the Eco Centre to close and relocate
  • could affect events parking
  • could affect the location of the British Musical Fireworks Championships
  • would have implications for the Southport Flower Show and its parking on the site

It says these impacts “will be considered fully and collaboratively as part of the options evaluation process, at an early stage”. On the Eco Centre, it adds that relocation “will be managed collaboratively with the service to ensure continuity of the operation, for staff and for service users”.

The report does not say where the Eco Centre would go, or when.

The money

An independent “Red Book” valuation has set a benchmark for what the land is worth under current planning policy. The report does not publish the figure.

Any sale must meet the council’s legal duty to achieve “best consideration”. The report says value will be judged “economically, socially and environmentally” as well as financially. It says legal advice will cover delivery milestones, overage and long-stop dates, so a buyer cannot sit on the land.

One oddity in the paperwork: the report’s cover page marks this as a key decision, but its conclusion says “there is no key decision requested of Cabinet at this time”. It describes the item as “a positive update on potential interest”.

What it means for you

If you use the Eco Centre, nothing changes yet. The report says any move would be planned with the service, but it gives no timetable.

If you go to the fireworks or the Flower Show, the parking and the fireworks site are both named as things a sale could affect. The council has not said what would replace them.

If you want a say, the report says “public consultation and engagement will be undertaken as part of any proposed development”. That comes later, once a partner is chosen.

Cabinet meets at 10am on Thursday 1 October in the Assembly Hall at Bootle Town Hall. The papers are on the meeting page. The site sits in Dukes ward, and your ward councillors are listed on the council’s councillor pages.

Our Southport planning news page tracks what happens next, and our round-up of Sefton Cabinet on 1 October covers the rest of the agenda. For parking in town while the Esplanade question is open, see parking in Southport.

Sources