Construction work on the £73m Marine Lake Events Centre in Southport was due to begin this year but Sefton Council is now seeking a new contractor after the latest one pulled out. Tony McDonough reports
Sefton Council has pushed back the start of construction of its £73m Marine Lake Events Centre (MLEC) in Southport to 2026 as it seeks its third contractor.
Original contractor Kier pulled out in January and now its replacement, Graham, has also walked away after failing to agree a price. Inflation has pushed the projected cost higher than originally hoped.
Demolition of the former Southport Theatre and Convention Centre was completed earlier this year and the council was hoping work would begin by the end of the year. However, a new contractor may now not be appointed until March 2026.
In a statement Sefton Council said: “We are concluding the pre-construction services agreement with Graham Construction and would like to extend our thanks for their work over the past nine months… we will share further updates on the next stages of the project in due course.”
Once open it is predicted the MLEC will see the creation of 290 jobs and a facility that will bring an extra 500,000 people to Southport every year. It will comprise a 1,200-seat theatre and 2,400-capacity conference space.
Funding is coming from a number of sources. £33m of the £37.5m Town Deal funding for Southport is earmarked for the project. Liverpool City Region Combined Authority has approved £17.7m adding to £2.3m the CA had already committed to pre-development.
Sefton Council has also borrowed just under £20m so far and may have to provide extra funding to bridge the gap between the current budget and the cost demanded by the new contractor.
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It may also have to shell out more funding to override a restrictive covenant on the site dating back to the 19th century. According to Stand Up For Southport, the council’s lawyers have so far tried unsuccessfully to engage with the trustee of the Scarisbrick Estate, which has the covenant on the Southport seafront area.
They could instead decide to “appropriate the land for planning purposes” so it can proceed with the biggest public project to take place in Southport for decades. The Scarisbrick Estates and the administrators in charge of the Waterfront Southport Hotel site would both be entitled to financial compensation if that happens.