Our premier tourist attraction and pride of Southport , Lord Street , should, in our opinion, always be well maintained as it draws millions of visitors each year to our town. It has to be a major contribution to the “Classic Resort” proposal the Council is trying to put forward, an image which many long-standing residents believe, even goes as far back as the mid 19th century.

So The Southport Party is saddened to see the now run-down appearance of the old Cheshire Lines clock tower with its closed shops and boarded-up windows where even the verandas have now become overgrown with grass; doorsteps too have been badly damaged by skateboard activities and the imposing tower clock has been stopped for nearly a decade.

Morrisons, the new storeowners, say it is “not their building”, but Sefton Council will know the owners, so it should not be too difficult to ask them to tidy it up, with perhaps even the Southport Civic Society adding their weight to the complaint. Certainly the area is fast becoming a real eyesore and now lowers the tone of our famous Lord Street .