We are relieved to know that, after years of campaigning, including our fact-finding visits to Blackpool 3 years ago to see their up-and-running Danfo/Council partnership, the Sefton administration has finally decided, belatedly, to do a similar deal with the same company in order to provide decent 21st century public toilets for our resort after neglecting them for more than 30 years.
The Southport Party, through its Councilwatch activities, is pleased to see this driving-up of standards after our efforts and those of other residents finally coming to fruition. These improvements will now be in keeping with our long-standing Classic Resort image after many delays and much frustration from tourists and residents alike.
If only the council had spent less on such things as consultation fees, ie £2.9million in a single year, then many improvements such as these could already have been in place. Even as we speak, there is still plenty to do, like restoring the multi-coloured lights on The Promenade which, for some obscure reason, have been recently taken down and not replaced.
The enclosed architects drawing of the proposed new toilet blocks appears to position them alongside the bandstand gardens. Unfortunately this is on the wrong side of the very busy Eastbank Street, as most of the elderly coach trippers, when dropped off outside the Tourist Office, may be in need of using the new facilities. A better location would be alongside the old underground toilets and built to blend in with the preservation area status of Lord Street and the ambience of its traditional buildings, rather than appearing as two clinical stainless steel boxes.
The Southport Party, through its Councilwatch activities, is pleased to see this driving-up of standards after our efforts and those of other residents finally coming to fruition. These improvements will now be in keeping with our long-standing Classic Resort image after many delays and much frustration from tourists and residents alike.
If only the council had spent less on such things as consultation fees, ie £2.9million in a single year, then many improvements such as these could already have been in place. Even as we speak, there is still plenty to do, like restoring the multi-coloured lights on The Promenade which, for some obscure reason, have been recently taken down and not replaced.
The enclosed architects drawing of the proposed new toilet blocks appears to position them alongside the bandstand gardens. Unfortunately this is on the wrong side of the very busy Eastbank Street, as most of the elderly coach trippers, when dropped off outside the Tourist Office, may be in need of using the new facilities. A better location would be alongside the old underground toilets and built to blend in with the preservation area status of Lord Street and the ambience of its traditional buildings, rather than appearing as two clinical stainless steel boxes.