A £1.5m Liverpool city region start-up hub project will see an historic building converted into a 15,000 sq ft high tech facility for entrepreneurs. Tony McDonough reports
A 15,000 sq ft hub for start-up businesses is to be created in one of Southport’s most historic buildings in a £1.5m project.
Next week Sefton Council is expect to formally give the go-ahead for the town’s first ever purpose built workspace for new business ventures. It will see the transformation of Crown Buildings in the town centre a high-tech hub.
Backed by the Southport Town Deal fund, the Enterprise Arcade hub will create space for freelancers, enterprises, and independent professionals who are taking their first steps into setting up their own business.
The Enterprise Arcade project is yet another cornerstone in the Southport Town Deal programme. It aims to kickstart the previously untapped digital, creative and technological sectors within the resort.
Cllr Marion Atkinson, Sefton Council’s Labour Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Skills, said: “This is a key project for the regeneration and economic diversification of Southport’s economy.
“The Enterprise Arcade will incorporate Crown Buildings, vacant retail units on the ground floor of Eastbank Street and adjoining office space above. Nationally we are seeing a move away from traditional working environments and more and more people are embracing flexible and hybrid work opportunities.
“Our Enterprise Arcade will be the ideal location for a whole host of start-up and growing businesses and individuals, whether they be in the early incubator stages of developing their brand or simply in need of flexibility and an agile approach to their working practices.
“Furthermore the Enterprise Arcade will be able to collaborate and integrate with the already exceptional cultural and educational services provided at The Atkinson, promoting and supporting the development of a focused creative and digital sector in the heart of Southport town centre.”
Liverpool-based architects K2 have been appointed to develop the feasibility designs for the Enterprise Arcade space. Procurement for detailed design work will commence later this year. Sefton Council’s Cabinet will meet on Thursday, October 7, to discuss the proposals and next steps for the project.