Sefton Council chooses preferred contractor – a £1.1bn-turnover Northern Ireland firm – to build its £73m Marine Lake Events Centre in Southport. Tony McDonough reports
Northern Ireland-based building giant GRAHAM has been announced as the preferred contractor to build the £73m Marine Lake Events Centre (MLEC) in Southport.
A £1.1bn-turnover business that delivers major projects across the UK, GRAHAM is expected to begin building the MLEC later this year. Demolition of the previous Southport Theatre and Convention Centre, which closed in 2020, is now complete.
MLEC will be a major events venue featuring a theatre and auditorium and an exhibition centre equipped with advanced production facilities, retail concessions, café and restaurant.
Once open it will see the creation of 290 jobs and bring an estimated extra 500,000 people to Southport every year. It is one of a number of schemes being developed as a result of the successful bid for £37.5m of Town Deal funding for Southport.
Liverpool City Region Combined Authority has approved £17.7m of funding for the centre. This was on top of £2.3m the CA had already committed to the pre-development work.
Watch a time-lapse video of the demolition of the previous building
LBN reported in August 2022 that Sefton Council announced California-based ASM as its preferred partner to run the facility and that partnership was confirmed in December 2023.
A pre-construction services agreement is now in place between GRAHAM and Sefton Council, with the project team working towards a full contract in the coming months.
Peter Reavey, regional director at GRAHAM, said: “The Marine Lake Events Centre will not only transform Southport’s cultural offering, but also act as a catalyst for economic growth in the region.
“Our commitment to delivering high-quality construction projects that benefit communities aligns perfectly with the vision for MLEC, and we look forward to bringing this exciting development to life with Sefton Council.”
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Following the demolition work by another contractor, DSM, sheet piling works will begin shortly. This will help prepare the site for the construction phase of the project.
Cllr Paulette Lappin, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Economy and Skills, added: “We are delighted that construction work can get under way. They (GRAHAM) are a major contractor with proven experience of working on projects of this scale and complexity.
“Proper procurement for the Marine Lake Events Centre is vital and our teams have been working exceptionally hard behind the scenes to ensure we have a team of the very best partners and contractors.”