Wetherspoon will run the Lord Street pub as a hotel and has applied to change its licence. Representations close Friday 21 August. What is actually changing.

The Sir Henry Segrave on Lord Street is to operate as a hotel, and JD Wetherspoon plc has applied to change its premises licence to suit.

The company has made an application under section 34 of the Licensing Act 2003 to vary the licence for the pub at 93-97 Lord Street, PR8 1RH. The statutory notice sets out two changes, and gives the reason for the second in plain terms.

The application asks to:

  • vary the plan attached to the premises licence
  • remove the children’s hours conditions in Annex 2 of the licence, “as the premises will be operating as a hotel”

The notice adds that there are no other changes to the premises licence (public notice, Licensing Act 2003). It is dated 24 July 2026.

The deadline is Friday

Anyone who wants to comment has until the end of this week. Representations must be in writing and must reach the licensing authority no later than Friday 21 August 2026. The address given on the notice is:

Licensing Authority, Sefton MBC, Magdalen House, 30 Trinity Road, Bootle, L20 3NJ

A representation has to state the grounds it is made on. The notice also carries the standard warning that knowingly or recklessly making a false statement in connection with a licensing application is an offence, and that the maximum fine on summary conviction is unlimited.

The notice says the application can be inspected in person at Magdalen House on weekdays between 9am and 3pm by appointment, or on Sefton Council’s website. We could not find a public register of current licensing applications on the council’s site when we checked on 18 August: the licensing pages we tried returned “page not found”. For anyone wanting to read the application before Friday, the appointment route and the postal address above are the reliable ones.

What removing the children’s hours condition means

The children’s hours conditions in Annex 2 of a premises licence are the restrictions on when under-18s may be on the premises and in what circumstances. Wetherspoon’s stated reason for wanting them removed is that the building will be operating as a hotel, where guests, including families, are resident rather than visiting a pub for the evening.

This is a licensing application, not a decision. The licensing authority considers any representations received by the deadline before it determines the application.

What it means for you

  • If you live or run a business near 93-97 Lord Street, this is your window. Friday 21 August is the cut-off, and it applies to supporters and objectors alike.
  • If you drink there, the notice describes no change to the pub’s hours or its licensable activities. The two changes on the application are the licence plan and the children’s hours conditions.
  • If you are looking for a room in Southport, do not book yet. The Sir Henry Segrave does not appear on Wetherspoon’s hotels website, which lists over 50 hotels across England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales and currently shows no property in Merseyside (Wetherspoon Hotels). The company’s own page for the pub makes no mention of rooms either (JD Wetherspoon).

The pub, and the man on the sign

The pub takes its name from a piece of genuine Southport history. Wetherspoon’s own page for the site records that Sir Henry Segrave “raised the land-speed record to 152mph in his 350hp 4.5-litre Sunbeam” in 1926, and that the record was set on local sands, at a time when the beaches here were a serious venue for motor racing. Segrave was knighted and died in 1930 after setting a water speed record.

The address sits in Duke’s ward, in the heart of the Lord Street conservation streetscape and the Southport parliamentary constituency (checked against Ordnance Survey and ONS data via postcodes.io).

You can find the pub, along with the rest of the town’s pubs, restaurants and shops, in our Southport business directory.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Sir Henry Segrave in Southport closing?

No. The notice describes a variation to the premises licence, not a closure or a change of licensable activities. Wetherspoon states the premises will be operating as a hotel and asks to vary the licence plan and remove the children’s hours conditions.

When is the deadline to comment on the application?

Friday 21 August 2026. Representations must be in writing and lodged with the Licensing Authority at Sefton MBC, Magdalen House, 30 Trinity Road, Bootle, L20 3NJ, stating the grounds on which they are made.

Does the Sir Henry Segrave have hotel rooms now?

Not according to Wetherspoon’s own websites. The pub does not appear on the company’s hotels site, which lists over 50 hotels and no Merseyside property, and the pub’s own page does not mention accommodation.

What are children’s hours conditions on a premises licence?

They are the conditions in Annex 2 of a premises licence that restrict when under-18s may be on the premises and on what terms. Wetherspoon’s application asks for them to be removed because the building will operate as a hotel.

Who decides the application?

Sefton Council as the licensing authority under the Licensing Act 2003. It considers any representations received by the deadline before determining the application.

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