Sefton Council appoints contractor to start work on £1.5m Enterprise Arcade tech hub in Southport and reveals when it will be open for business. Tony McDonough reports

Sefton Council has appointed Liverpool firm Skyline Property Solutions to create the £1.5m Enterprise Arcade in Southport town centre.

Paid for by Southport’s Town Deal funding, the Crown Buildings facility will comprise almost 10,000 sq ft of space for start-up businesses and entrepreneurs, focused on the digital and creative sectors.

Skyline will begin work on the Eastbank Street project in January 2024 with tenants expected to start moving into the building by the end of the year.

In July 2022 Sefton named Liverpool-based Baltic Creative, which has been instrumental in the rebirth of the Baltic Triangle district in the city, as the preferred operator for the Enterprise Arcade.

However, in May this year the authority revealed it had changed its mind and would instead manage the facility itself.

Leading North West digital expert Jon Corner, who helped drive technology sector businesses to Media City in Salford, will also be joining the Enterprise Arcade project team.

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 and retail units on the ground floor of Eastbank Street.

“The new, repurposed workspace will join Southport’s regenerated and already successful market in demonstrating how new life can be brought back to these fantastic buildings, encouraging more investment and helping secure a positive future for the town.

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“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.”

David Castell, owner and managing director of Skyline, added: “As a proud Southport resident myself I am overjoyed and we are tremendously looking forward to creating this incredible digital space for creatives in the region.”