Sefton Council has submitted a £50m bid to the government to regenerate Southport, which includes an events centre and workspace for the digital and creative sector.
The bid is part of the government’s Town Deals Fund initiative to provide funding for key regeneration projects across the regions.
Plans include a new 1,200-seat events and convention centre to replace the Southport Theatre and Convention Centre which closed earlier this year due to the impact of Covid-19. The new centre would also include a café, exhibition halls and co-working space.
The bid also includes restoring the town’s grand boulevard, and workspace in one of Southport’s former shopping arcades for the town’s digital and creative businesses.
A former department store would also be turned into office space for growing businesses under the plans.
The news follows on from the council’s announcement last week it had entered into an exclusivity agreement with GoSurf to create a £40m surf wave pool scheme in the town.
Sefton Council chief executive Dwayne Johnson said: “The Town Deal process has raised the profile of Southport with investors and we can already see the positive effect it is having.”
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