2024 was another year of disappointment for those campaigning for the reopening of Southport Pier
Southport Beach and Pier(Image: Colin Lane)
This year, one of Merseyside’s most iconic structures will celebrate its 165th birthday. However, the Grade II listed Southport Pier remains closed after being shut down in 2022 by Sefton Council. For many Sandgrounders and visitors to the seaside town, the best possible birthday present for Southport would be the reopening of the pier.
It was closed in December 2022 on the advice of engineers after a period of extreme weather. Subsequent analysis of the pier’s structure determined the popular attraction was no longer safe to use and it has been closed off for the last two years. During this period, Southport residents and visitors have been eager for the pier to reopen while many local business owners say they are depending on it for survival.
Southport Pier has endured a turbulent history and the latest closure is not the first time its safety has been called into question. Indeed, the pier has suffered a number of closures since it first opened.
The first official closure of Southport Pier happened during the Second World War so searchlights could be installed. These lights would allow coastal defence systems to destroy Nazi bombers on their way to Liverpool and other industrial towns of the north.
In 1959, a fire destroyed an area of 5,000 square feet of wooden decking and reduced the pier’s length by almost 20%. A storm in 1989 caused such severe damage, Sefton Council applied to have the pier demolished due to escalating repair costs. The motion was defeated by a single vote.
The pier was again closed for safety reasons in 1998, leading to a multi-million-pound restoration project lasting three years. However, a report published after the pier’s 2022 closure, cited ‘inherent latent defects’ resulting from the 2002 refurbishment which continue to denigrate the structure.
Southport Pier, the second-longest pier in Britain, will remain closed for the foreseeable future(Image: James Maloney/Lancs Live)
According to local residents, the 2022 pier closure has significantly affected Southport’s leisure and tourism offer. However, due to the financial costs of the refurbishment, any possible reopening has been placed in limbo.
Colin Jamieson is the owner of Southport Pier Pavilion. He said his business has suffered ever since it closed in 2022. Colin is very clear on the impact the closure has had on him and his peers and said in May: “The town is suffering without the pier being open and all the other businesses say so.
“My businesses on the pier have been devastated by the closure with no help from the council to keep us afloat All we can hope for is they get the money as soon as possible and get the pier reopened by next April.”
However, the potential for a reopening in April looks increasingly unlikely as the project to restore Southport Pier seems to have hit a stalemate. Sefton councillor Paulette Lappin, Cabinet Member for Economy, Regeneration and Skills, said: “We continue to do everything we can so that when funding is secured to repair the pier we will be in a position to start work straight away.
“We continue to speak with various organisations about what support they may be able to provide but at the moment there is no further news on this.”
In October, Sefton Council submitted a planning application for the replacement and repair works to the pier’s deck and supporting steelwork – including refurbishment and reinstatement of handrails and seating pavilions. As part of the application, the local authority has requested an assessment from Historic England (HE) who subsequently approved the plans and they are consistent with the tradition and quality of the pier’s structure.
Nonetheless, as plans progress through planning and the council works to find investment, the fact remains that 2024 was another year of disappointment for those campaigning for the re-opening of Southport Pier. Sefton’s Liberal Democrat councillor for Cambridge ward, Mike Sammon posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, about the ongoing closure of Southport Pier: “Everyone of all ages and backgrounds wants to see it reopened, whether they were born Sandgrounders living here all their lives or have moved here to settle from abroad.
“Sefton Council and the Government need to make it happen.”