GROT SPOTS CAMPAIGN

Sefton Council, either in its own name or in one of its various guises such as "The South Sefton Partnership or "The Southport Partnership", has been spending many millions of £££'s in recent years on major projects throughout the entire Borough. Many of these have been in Southport, such as the Eco Centre, the new Marine Parade Bridge and the Eastern Park & Ride cum Chapel Street Pedestrianisation scheme.
It is possible to criticise some of these expensive projects for such reasons as :
Lack of meaningful consultation with the people of Southport;
Unwillingness of the Council to have any trial period (Chapel Street pedestrianisation);
Unsuitability of the chosen design for the specified location (Marine Parade Bridge);
Choice of contractor (Eastbank Street upgrading, Pier train and other older schemes too numerous to mention),
but, you cannot doubt the fact that Sefton Council is at last beginning to recognise, however reluctantly, that our once proud "Classic Resort" has suffered from serious neglect for too many years since the disastrous Local Government Reorganisation of 1974 which joined us to towns with which we have nothing in common.

However, the several schemes that Sefton SHOULD be doing to allow our visitors to enjoy their stay and encourage them to return, are sadly being ignored. Many toilets have been neglected and closed, important tourist features are being allowed to rot, litter is left uncollected and weeds are encroaching pathways in many areas.

The Southport Party therefore collected over 2000 names for a petition requesting that Sefton Council rid us of the numerous "Grot Spots" that continue to blight this town. We could have carried on collecting to any desired number but felt that this was sufficient to make the point. Very few people were unprepared to sign our petition.
This was handed over on 27th September 2005 to Environmental Officer Mr David Packard and Steve Sheridan on behalf of the Council. The poor public toilet provision and lack of general cleaning were some of the highlighted areas amongst our concerns, with members stating that our tourism is badly affected when the resort looks so scruffy and neglected.
Photographic proof of examples of the numerous grot spots around the Promenade area were also handed in when the petition was presented on the Town Hall steps. In receiving the petition the officers promised to alert the appropriate departments and pass on the concern highlighted by The Southport Party.

Ex-Councillor Margaret Brown presenting petition to Steve Sheridan (left) and Environmental Officer Mr David Packard (right), witnessed by Ann Cobham. (photo courtesy of Phil Rodwell, OnTheSpot at Southport GB)

Southport Party members Brenda John, (ex-councillor) Margaret Brown, Denise Smart and Ann Cobham. with some of the photographs handed to council officers. (photo courtesy of Phil Rodwell, OnTheSpot at Southport GB)

The text of the petition was as follows:

SOUTHPORT - CLASSIC RESORT OR GROT SPOT?
A petition conducted by The Southport Party
We agree with The Southport Party that Sefton Council needs to rid Southport of "grot-spots", improve toilet provision and introduce a regular and effective leaning programme for the town in order that this town can once again become a genuine Classic Resort.

Our leaflet which was distributed around selected areas of Southport:

A few scenes from around the Marine Lake area are shown below:

Ornamental Lake plus algae and bicycle wheel;

Bird droppings and unsightly weeds;

Overflowing litter bins;

Piles of rubbish under and around seating;

Graffiti and dereliction;

Old "County Borough of Southport" features such as these lamps, replaced with "Iron Cross" Sefton lamps.
Both types being neglected.

Semi-derelict building at south end of Marine Lake.

Weeds given unrestricted growth along both sides of the Venetian Bridge across Marine Lake.

The magnificent ornamental woodwork on the bridge hasn't been painted for many years.