What's happening in Southport? Town update, Floral Hall demolition, abandoned & new Southport shops!

[@barkerbiztv9837]

O thank you,,I was so nice to see Southport& Lord street again,im 62 happy 1970s memories,in in st,helens,& as a kid thought it was something really special for us to drive to Southport every Saturday through the summer,,I saw the Sooty show at the theatre,I could see the old building where the baths used to be,,I remember the outdoor organist,,its only a few years since I was last at the Theatre,I hate so called progress,,but youve made me want to visit again,,even in winter,I'll ask my friend who can drive,we'll make a day of it,,thanks again for the Video,brought backs so many memories,,I met Les Dawson on a mini golf,that was at side of theatre,,that became a car park,

[@andrewemmerson]

Thank you so much for sharing your memories, sounds like an idyllic time! I can just about remember Southport in the 70s, but more so in the 80s, when we used to drive to the beach from Art College in Leigh!

[@brighton59]

Sefton Council have ruined trade in Southport because of the excessive parking fees, they should allow people to park free for the first hour to encourage people to nip in the shops and they also need to get rid of the ridiculous cycling lanes on Houghton Street and allow vehicles to park nearer the shops.

[@andrewemmerson]

I agree on both points, charging for parking is a false economy it just keeps shoppers out of town, also those cycle lanes are useless

[@bex2910]

What about the esplanade? It was £1 to park all day and the bus took you into the centre with numerous drops along the way. Has that gone?

[@brighton59]

@@bex2910 The park and ride for a pound stopped a few years ago and won't be reintroduced.

[@bex2910]

something else that was good and has now gone. 😞​@@brighton59

[@rickypeacock659]

Thanks for the update. I was born in S'port. Lived there for 40yrs. Worked in the Floral Hall as a summer job. Shame to see it demolished.

[@andrewemmerson]

Yes sad to see it go, the original did look the best!

[@davidrabbit2239]

The last time I went to Southport was in the 70’s and it was a very attractive town, but now it looks pretty depressing

[@andrewemmerson]

Looks better in summer

[@alfresco8442]

Southport suffers because of the forces of nature, as much as anything else. The promenade was, in fact, the promenade when all those Victorian/Edwardian hotels were built on it. That's why the pier starts where it does. Longshore drift, stripping away Formby's sand dunes tends to dump it all at Southport, so the sea is forever receding. Long as it is, the pier only has its toes in the water for an hour or two every day now; and an effective elevated walkway doesn't have quite the same appeal as something that can take you right out to sea without the aid of a boat. The Marine drive starting at the 'cockle-picker' roundabout at the end of the coast road, had only the isolated clump of grass on the seaward side of it when I was younger. Now it looks like Kansas; and you're lucky to see the sea at all.

[@andrewemmerson]

Good point but I’ve walked on the pier many times and it’s always over the sea

[@paulfildes5489]

My best friend's mum used to take us in her Austin 1100 to Southport in the 1960's as a treat to play on the dunes while she went shopping. It was a 90 minute drive each way but it was well worth it! My elderly Aunt Lucy lived there in a lovely old Victorian terraced house (with a black cast iron fireplace) and I always tried to pop in to see her on our way home. Many happy memories.

[@andrewemmerson]

That sounds idyllic, thank you for sharing your memories 🙏

[@andyarmstrong1175]

Nice one! However speaking as a former Southport resident it made grim viewing! 👍🇬🇧

[@andrewemmerson]

Thanks 🙏 I get you though I does looks bit grim with many closed shops

[@jojoflowermilady1791]

Yes it used to be an Italian restaurant. A couple I looked after used to go regularly to eat, I noticed a few months ago that it had gone. Some of the other long standing restaurants are still going, near to the Bold Hotel. Hesketh Park we visit regularly and it’s had a large sum of money left for renovation, work has begun, worth a visit. I still love Southport, it’s just about hanging in there 🙏👏🙌

[@andrewemmerson]

Ah thanks for letting me know 🙏

[@ecko]

I live not far, I grew up visiting this area very often as a child and into my teens. Every since they sold Southport Fair it's all just faded away, the council is to blame for this one.

[@andrewemmerson]

It seems a lot has been drained from Southport, even Lord St is no longer a red road, which was unique to the town.

[@michaelhalliday6501]

Thanks for the update on the theatre it’s a real mess. This area the sooner they get new one up the better and invest in the town get Southport back to way it used to be but some how I can’t see council investing any more cash. It’s same all over the country I’m afraid people won’t come places if they don’t improve

[@andrewemmerson]

Absolutely right 👍

[@sharonboult4042]

My grandma used go southport for the 🌼 🌸 🌻 🌹 🏵 🌼 flower show

[@andrewemmerson]

Thanks for sharing, hope you enjoyed the video 👍

[@bex2910]

I'm only a minute into the vlog & had to comment. Southport is my hometown, in fact I grew up across the road from the floral hall gardens in the 70's as my Mum & Dad owned the Cumberland Hotel (now the Victoria). My Grandad had a gift shop on Scarisbrick Avenue & my great aunty Hilda and Blanch owned the newsagents on Neville Street. My younger days would be spent pestering everyone backstage at the Theatre which in the 70's had the biggest acts headlining. The summer season was amazing with people from all over the UK holidaying there along with the foreign exchange students that arrived yearly for the summer. The original Italian restaurant, Marios was to the side of Woolworths on Lord St back then and did the best canelloni & lasagna. It was a regular lunchtime treat for my Mum & I. Mario would always make a fuss of me as I was a child that loved his cooking, especially when smothered in parmesan cheese 😂 Southport was the place to be in the summer of '76. The outdoor swimming pool was heaving with lobster coloured people including me. The original Victorian baths at the top of Neville street was where I learnt to swim with its floor to ceiling tiles & the wooden changing rooms. Happy memories! The onset of foreign travel helped kill off Southport helped along with the boundery change from Lancashire to Merseyside & the bad management by Sefton council. Its heartbreaking to see the difference in Southport now and theres no reason for it to be like this. Thank you for helping me remember the old Southport.

[@andrewemmerson]

Thank you for sharing such wonderful memories of Southport. I hope it can return to better days!

[@ronvalente65]

We went to watch Frankie Vali and the 4 seasons at the floral hall! and my nwife went to the Southport Flower show there.

[@andrewemmerson]

Thanks for sharing 🙏

[@johnthompson3504]

I was in Southport on a Fri early Sept and have to say it was very busy.Granted the weather was very good but got the impression Southport was on its way back slowly but surely.

[@andrewemmerson]

I agree, the town is very busy most days!

[@therespectedlex9794]

The Pier was reopened at the end of the nineties, or by 2000, I think. Its future had been in jeopardy in the nineties. A quarter century later, here we are again.

[@andrewemmerson]

I remember when it was renovated in the 90s I was impressed at the time and thought we’d saved a local treasure, how did it get to this point again? Is the town that broke?

[@dazalttheory8965]

Outstanding Vlog that has made me subscribe to this channel.

[@andrewemmerson]

Thank you so much 🙏

[@alanoliver2197]

The pier was never looked after by Sefton council ,all the other piers are open i.e,Blackpools and St Anne's ,can't understand ,they say it the structure I don't think so,Southport should have stayed with Lancashire .

[@andrewemmerson]

Good point, couldn’t agree more! We need Southport back in its rightful home!

[@davidflynn4967]

@@andrewemmersonWhy don’t you both move to West Lancs if it’s so great there and quit griping.😢

[@tsr207]

@@andrewemmerson As someone who lived in the town that argument is based on snobbery rather than economical reasons (not wanting anything to do with Liverpool) - despite the fact that the Formby bypass is like a racetrack with people travelling to Liverpool to Work ! The PR postal code guarantees low house insurance anyway.

[@frankward8336]

Every council in the country has been stripped of funds for decades.

[@leddystreams3986]

Shoutout me in this video, Caffe Nero master race.

[@andrewemmerson]

Thanks for being In the video, Nero is the best!!!

[@NicholasRobb-b9p]

I last went to Southport in the early/mid 80's. It was a nice place to go and quite posh....what a dump it's become. Much like the rest of the country

[@andrewemmerson]

Worse but not beyond redemption

[@sensemaya1]

I'm just about to start watching this but feel I want to post a comment now. My heart weeps with what Southport has become - the same applies to Wigan to a certain extent- and I can't really believe Broadbents (Beales) has closed. I used to love walking along Lord Street where each shop was worth going into. I remember Yves Rocher and that old Wimpey as a couple of examples. I don't wish to keep moaning on though. I park on Tulketh Street ( opp the multi storey ) and always dine at Westminster Tea Rooms.

[@andrewemmerson]

Well said! So at least the Westminster Tea Rooms is still there. Many empty shops now, just like in Wigan as you say.

[@hookywookywithmalarkyman704]

Must be needed nothing lasts forever with the sands & wind blasting thus i am sure for the better ey, i left 23 years ago for thailand "land of smiles" cheers John lloyd.

[@andrewemmerson]

Hope your enjoying Thailand

[@luf8699]

I hope Southport remains an elegant seaside town. It’s actually nice. On a cloudy day, everywhere looks gloomy. Problem with Southport is that over the years Lord St has lost shops such as Russell & Bromley, Laura Ashley & and couple of Department stores. The fair used to be good back in the day, now it’s changed and lost its big rides. The Zoo closed. The Pier even when open was a damp fish. Walk to the end for what? Sadly, the sea doesn’t come anywhere close for it to attract visitors. So then you think, why visit Southport? what is there to do there? It starts becoming like most towns… empty shops (why oh why?) charity shops, tacky shops with hideous signage, poor or expensive parking, pedestrian town centre - huge mistake!! If you make something, anything look nice and pretty, people will gravitate towards it. Southport needs a reason for people to visit all year round and not just in the summer when families visit or the coaches come for the day. It has to find its unique selling point. York & Edinburgh are booming due to Harry Potter… lovely Southport needs to play on its once elegant wealthy Lord St and attract some good named shops and modernise other parts of the town. Perhaps make one part of the town Arts, another part the book quarter, food quarter etc. Without a reason to go, people shopping online, pubs being demolished and shops closing… England is at risk of losing its identity - we all need to get out there and start spending in our town and villages.

[@andrewemmerson]

Some really good points there. Southport used to be good value a few years ago, back before 2019, you could wander round and eat for bargain prices, not anymore, everything is expensive now and the quality has mostly gone down, so it’s stuck between a cheap day out and having no good quality shops. It’s neither one thing or another in the town centre. The pier was good for a walk along and a coffee at the end with a good vintage old fashioned penny arcade, however the cafe got modernised and the prices also went up. Your right in the point it doesn’t have a particular draw such as Harry Potter or an iconic building such as a tower to increase visitors, if it’s going to become a high end destination it certainly has a long way to go!

[@catherineclark4484]

It breaks my heart, I've been going, to that theatre since I was a little girl, and then took my own children

[@andrewemmerson]

There will be a new one 😪

[@brighton59]

Italian restaurant used to be called Mario & Roberto's Spaghetti House and was very popular in its day.

[@andrewemmerson]

Ah ok 👌 thanks 🙏 that’s interesting

[@TheMichaelWilcock2016Railways]

Such a decline! I worked in Liverpool and lived in Southport back in the 1990s ( for 10 years) Excellent train service to L'pool. All shops were busy and excellent eating places too. Now in 2024 so many people shop on the internet, retailers are finding it difficult to trade and rents/rates are high. It's not a holiday place anymore, maybe just a daily visit and just buy an ice cream !

[@andrewemmerson]

Some good points there , definitely rent and rates are too high, otherwise the shops would be filled

[@johnbatch9276]

The pier needs to be functioning with footfall on it southport isnt the same without it 😢

[@andrewemmerson]

Right 👍

[@pleasantville4529]

Every day is like Sunday, Everything is silent and grey. The coastal town That they forgot to clise down.

[@andrewemmerson]

Love Morrisey 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[@TanDog-Video-and-Sounds]

A similar story all over the UK, what Southport needs {and the whole of the UK for that matter) are some people with spare money in their pockets

[@andrewemmerson]

Very true !

[@KeyMacGamingKeyz]

I'm sure the old Wimpy was further up, I'm thinking it's where DK watches is

[@andrewemmerson]

Ah you might be right about that 🤔

[@KeyMacGamingKeyz]

@andrewemmerson Wimpy was where David Search jewellers is now, just been reliably informed.👌

[@goldroversix]

Southport should capitalise on the amount of Scooter/MotorCycle visitors it gets, the way i see it ,there the only constant visitors and they have to congregate by the Carousel, they never stay overnight, it needs more low cost hotels

[@andrewemmerson]

You said yourself they never stay overnight

[@frankward8336]

The Air Show is now dreadful. Planes perform way out to sea, far from the crowd, and the best free public views are delberately obscured by hoardings. Last year the Red Arrows didn't even turn up, citing a 'wet runway.' Im not going again. 😢

[@andrewemmerson]

Yeah not as good as it used to be

[@sensemaya1]

I remember watching the Vulcan fly past. Loved the engine noise and the design. The Red Aroows made their apoerance too. We parked up on the beach. Not worth going now.

[@jamesdean4100]

cant see that pier ever opening again,i think sefton council will just have it dismantled,shame about wayfarers,there are similar arcades in leeds that are fully occupied maybe the powers that be in southport need to ask them to show them the ropes how to make it a success,as for the old debenhams store its been stop start for ages and ages another big let down

[@andrewemmerson]

I think you might be right sadly, I don’t see any movement on the pier at all, it’s just at a complete stop! Yeah I filmed the old Debenhams near the end but didn’t mention also that there been no progress that I can see for months!

[@therespectedlex9794]

@@jamesdean4100 Sefton can be bad. I don't think they're that bad.

[@davidsumner4335]

They are pulling down the theatre and Floral Hall but Sefton Council have not yet appointed a builder. The whole job was costed at £73m four years ago. I wonder what the full cost will be now.

[@alfresco8442]

True. As I wrote in another post, it's only a matter of time before it doesn't go out to sea at all...making it pretty useless as a pier. I'm pretty sure that the punitive parking charges that Sefton has always imposed has played a part in Southport's decline...not exactly welcoming. Even when the Floral Hall was still in full swing we had to pay just to pick my daughter up from the rear. She was in one of the local dance troupes that used to staff the pantos.

[@davidflynn4967]

Many, if not all sea side towns and high Street shopping areas are in decline not just Southport! The pier is a rusting useless relic and should be demolished it no longer serves the purpose it was intended to do when constructed. Sad but true🥲

[@brucebush5744]

Bit of a shame - spent many happy nights in the Floral Hall in the 1980s. Ahh well, time moves on.

[@andrewemmerson]

Sad to see it go but I hope the new one will be an improvement!

[@craigtooth4701]

Is the fun fair still open

[@andrewemmerson]

I think it closes for the winter

[@bernardmcphillips1564]

Ask people of Bootle Litherland Seaforth Waterloo Crosby what they think of Sefton council not many if any would favour it

[@andrewemmerson]

Most likely true that!

[@markswales762]

We’ve been visiting Southport for years and such good shops and sea front back 20 years ago and we stopped early in the year and couldn’t believe the number of shops shut on Lord Street and how run down its getting, The same in other sea front towns, The country is being destroyed with bad governments and companies being sold to foreigners and not to mention immigration draining the country. The younger generation have no money with high rents & mortgages.

[@andrewemmerson]

Some very good points there, Southport suffered badly in 2020/21 and has not fully recovered, though it does have investment it's taking a long time to see it, meanwhile more shops close.

[@anthonyhindley2095]

Mirror these comments, used to love southport. Just what DID happen to it

[@andrewemmerson]

Ran out of money

[@mattmason7657]

Just another seaside town … It’s happened all over the country,seaside towns in decline …

[@andrewemmerson]

Sad but true 🥲

[@davidmalone2580]

Awesome 👍 I was there today

[@andrewemmerson]

Hope you enjoyed it!

[@williamking1554]

more homes for gimmegrants

[@andrewemmerson]

Hope not

[@stevenbatley8666]

Beautiful Town in ruin's

[@andrewemmerson]

🥲

[@Ste2023]

Another crappy town

[@andrewemmerson]

Na Southport is great

[@Ste2023]

@andrewemmerson it Once was . ..in 80s. beautiful , shops full , Tories Labour Destroyed our Towns , cities . Shameful Traitors ..like all greedy people