The Southport Lead's review of 2025 - and what's to come next
Looking back at our first year reporting on the town
Hello and welcome to the final 2025 edition of The Southport Lead.
When we launched this newsletter back in January, we set about to offer something different to audiences in Southport. As a former Southport Visiter reporter and someone who spent more than a decade in local news, I know exactly how important it is for people to be informed of what is going on in their hometown and what a role news plays in the community.
Today’s newsletters allows us reflect on what has happened in the past 12 months as well as look forward to 2026, a year which promises much for the town.
In terms of this newsletter, we’d love to open it up to more voices and contributors so if you have ideas you’d like to share, please get in touch using southport@thelead.uk
Throughout the year, I’ve been hugely grateful for the kind words, encouragement and support received. The reality is that creating independent, local journalism which is free from clickbait and intrusive adverts can only happen with your backing. To those who have already taken a paid subscription: thank you.
To those who haven’t, please consider it. The monthly payment is similar to what you’d pay for pint or a coffee and will help enable us to keep people informed of the issues which matter.
The Southport Lead’s review of 2025
January
This newsletter launched in early January and began by looking at the futures of some of the town’s best known buildings and businesses which appeared to be stuck in arrested development - including Broadhursts, BHS and the historic George pub and hotel.
January also saw the sentencing of Axel Rudakubana, who had waited until his trial was due to begin before finally admitting his evil crimes. The Southport Lead was among the dozens of press who attended Liverpool Crown Court and, on a day in which the petulant, self-pitying and shameless killer did all he could to disrupt proceedings, the families of the victims took their chance to tell their stories. It was those words which our coverage focused on.
February
In February, we reported on a lack of action in two situations where the public would have hoped to have seen more done. Three months on from the arson attack that has already been highlighted as a reason why the historic Hesketh Centre must be torn down, police confirmed that no arrests have been made or are ever likely to be. We also exposed how Network Rail has quietly dropped a promise to improve safety measures at a level crossing where two people had lost their lives.
Plans to sell one of Southport’s oldest churches allowed us to take a broader look at the town’s shifting relationship with religion, while we were also the first to report on contentious plans for golf facilities to be extended onto public land at Birkdale Common at the request of the organisers of The Open.
It was a different type of story that attracted particular attention (and I’m told an awful lot of enquiries) as we published about the darts club which hosts dozens of kids every week.
March
In March, The Southport Lead was the only outlet to attend the first day of The Convention of the North in Preston and that allowed us to exclusively reveal Andy Burnham’s comments as he spoke about plans to bring Southport into the publicly-owned Bee Network transport system. In a pre-cursor to a major announcement a few months down the line, we looked at the ability of Southport Hospital to host a children’s A&E department again, heard from the Imam of Southport Mosque as he spoke about the support received from across the community after the riots, examined big losses at Sefton Council’s hospitality business.
We also revealed how Southport would finally be getting its first full-size football pitch at Birkdale High School. However, nine months have passed without a decision on that planning application - far longer than it should typically take - so you can expect to read more about that in this newsletter soon.
April
April saw the publication of a report into how cold weather left Merseyrail unable to run any trains and how there was every chance it could happen again. As Britannia Hotels again recorded big profits, we asked questions of its relationship with a town where it has three landmark hotels and the closed Pontins site.
Other important subjects included a rejection of the ‘two tier policing’ conspiracy which followed the riots and pleas for change from the families of two women who were killed by an irresponsible driver whose eyesight was so bad he could barely see past his steering wheel.
May
May saw the beginning of our coverage into the investigations into The 79th Group - the Southport-based investment firm which operated worldwide but came crumbling down after police raids. Southport MP Patrick Hurley wrote directly to Southport Lead readers about why he couldn’t support the assisted dying bill, even having witnessed the painful and death of his wife.
As a result of our reporting, Channel 4 apologised for using a mugshot of Axel Rudakubana in Facebook ads. The ads, which saw his face pushed into people’s feeds alongside the slogan ‘more of the shows you love’, was slammed as a ‘sick joke’.
June
June saw something occur which is far from unusual as neighbours joined forces to battle against a nearby house being used as a children’s home. As well as reporting on the concerns of those petitioning against the idea, we also gave space to the reasons why such facilities are needed and looked at the impact that refusing them can have on children who have already suffered in life through no fault of their own.
The month also brought the desperately wanted news that Southport Pier’s repair will be funded by the government, while a further announcement outlined a £10m plan to redesign Town Hall Gardens in memory of Alice, Bebe and Elsie.
News covered in no other local outlets include plans to reduce the amount of free IVF available to Southport patients and a man who was found wrapped in layers and clothes and a blanket in a cold, dark flat after his landlord wrongly had his electricity supply cut off.
July
In July, we broke the news of proposals - the most serious in two decades - to return Children’s A&E services to Southport. More important than being first, we provided the most detailed and in-depth coverage and we will continue to do so throughout the next stages of the process.
We also looked at efforts to reduce Sefton Council’s commitment to support trans people and, with the first Saturday parade in more than a decade, examined Southport’s history and relationship with the Orange Lodge.
August
August saw one of the key organisers of the Southport riots lose a bid to have his jail sentence reduced; plans for new padel courts announced and The Open’s land expansion approved; and a bitter row break out over a war memorial in Scarisbrick which ended up with it fenced off from the public.
We published features on the lack of maintenance of the town’s cycle paths and a new dawn at Southport FC weeks after it almost went out of business and we were the first place you could hear about Sefton Council’s intention to purchase the Salfordian Hotel to use as temporary homeless accommodation.
August also saw Reform gain its first Sefton councillor as Mike Morris defected from the Conservatives. We exposed his history of posting hateful content on social media.
September
As summer came to a close, attention turned to the future of major landmarks across the town. After a small fire hit Southport Pier, promises were reiterated over the commitment to fund its repair. Sefton Council insisted the Marine Lake Events Centre will still be built despite the departure of a second lead contractor. And a new vision was released for the future of the Ainsdale gateway involving the planned demolition of Toad Hall - and hopefully Pontins.
Away from all that, we turned out attention to Spectrum Alliance Merseyside, a group which is given opportunities and confidence to adults across the town living with autism.
October
October saw big interest in the future of two historic sites as reported on plans which would completely transform them. Somewhat inevitably, developers are eyeing up the prospect of building housing on the former Kingsway nightclub spot. Meanwhile, lots of you took great interest in Starbucks planning to open its latest drive-through shop on the Scarisbrick plot which for decades played host to a business building headstones and various supplies for churches.
We reported exclusively from an event at the Labour Party Conference where Southport’s MP called for greater vigilance against the growth of the far-right, warning there is a network waiting to be “activated”. Weeks later, The Southport Lead witnessed as far-right protestors - including those waving Britain First banners - paraded through Southport and set about for a grim afternoon as they and counter-protestors exchanged chants across Lord Street.
Through a freedom of information request, we revealed the six-figure sum spent on security and maintenance at the soon-to-be-demolished Toad Hall over the past decade.
November
In November, we returned twice to investigations into The 79th Group, reporting developments which would later be picked up by much larger organisations without credit. Firstly, the fact that the company had never owned two development sites for which it sold loan notes and secondly that it completed a £1m investment after the police raid and shortly before calling in administrators.
A planning application seeking to knock down the Hesketh Centre and replace it with housing allowed us to look more closely into its storied past, while we also exposed the huge debt trail left by a failing care agency, and opened the newsletter to Hurley who wrote about how the town’s best days are ahead of it and why new cultural events will contribute to this.
We also began our focus on child poverty, including the devastating reality than one in three of Southport’s children are living in such circumstances and hearing from the people working to help families in need.
December
Moving into December, our reporting led to Northern Rail apologising to passengers on the Southport line who have had to put up with slow, delayed and cancelled services.
Our reporting of plans to convert the old pumping station on Promenade into a yoga studio led to various other outlets also covering the story and we also gave a voice to the pizzeria owner who suffered through a campaign of abuse, vandalism and expensive criminal damage by a complete stranger.
For our Christmas edition, we opened the newsletter to Richard Owens, CEO of Compassion Acts, to address our readers directly as he reflected on the issues facing the town and his hopes for 2026.
Progress expected on town’s major developments in 2026
By Elliot Jessett
After years of campaigning, the people of Southport were delighted to see funding secured to restore its iconic pier, and it was the one aspect of 2025, which really came to define the year for the seaside town. However, it was not the only significant update of the year, as millions of pounds are expected to be poured in Southport in 2026, whilst progress on other high profile projects and events are all expected in the next 12 months.
Over the last year, funding proposals have been set forth on several regeneration projects, and ground has been broken on the redevelopment of Market Street which is now completely transformed.
Plans have also progressed on a £10m communal garden in Southport town centre, which is being led by the families of Elsie Dot Stancombe, Alice Da Silva Aguiar, and Bebe King, whose shared love of dance, music and the arts has inspired a vision for a new town square that will be an inclusive community events space.
Additionally, in a much-anticipated boost to Southport’s leisure and tourism economy, the LDRS reported in September that £20m had been secured for the restoration of the pier. An announcement was made by the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves as she visited the seaside town during the Labour Conference.
The Grade II listed pier, which is the oldest iron pier in the country, was closed by Sefton Council in 2022 on the advice of structural engineers after a period of extreme weather. The closure of the pier has had a significant impact on the town’s leisure and tourism offer, with many residents and local business owners keen to see the pier re-opened.
However, due to the financial costs of the refurbishment, any possible re-opening had been in limbo. August also saw a fire dramatically take hold of the historic structure, believed to have been caused by an electrical fault.
The fire came just two months after the Chancellor said money would be issued to help with the restoration, although a figure or timeframe was not disclosed. Ms Reeves later confirmed as much as £20m will be made available to restore Southport pier, once the business case is approved, with HM Treasury explaining the project is already at an advanced stage.
However, there have also been some stumbling blocks in Southport’s regeneration plans, including a row between elected officials within Sefton Council over the Marine Lake Event Centre (MLEC) scheme, after questions were asked about the lack of progress and the use of millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money. Described as a ‘once-in-a-generation’ opportunity, MLEC is one of the most ambitious projects in the region, but there is mounting concern about its delivery.
MLEC was approved after a successful bid for £37.5m of Town Deal funding and has also benefited from an additional £17.7m from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. The site clearance is already well underway and it was expected that construction works would start at the end of this year.
The LDRS confirmed in a previous report that this is no longer the case. At the time of writing, there is still no confirmed schedule on when the project will be completed. However, the council confirmed a significant update would be announced shortly.
Reflecting on the last year, Sefton Council Leader Marion Atkinson said: “The Government has shown confidence in Sefton by giving us funding for major projects. These include the restoration of Southport Pier, improvements to Town Hall Gardens and the new the Marine Lake Events Centre.”
Cllr Atkinson continued: “Looking ahead to 2026, there’s even more to be excited about. Southport will be hosting a world class cultural events programme that kicks off in February and continues until October.
“And the world-famous Open Golf Championship will return to Royal Birkdale, bringing visitors from around the globe. Work will continue on the major regeneration projects in Southport and Bootle, and new public spaces.”
The 154th Open Championship will be played at Royal Birkdale in 2026. The iconic Southport links have previously hosted golf’s original championship on 10 occasions, the last of which was in 2017 when Jordan Spieth emerged victorious in a memorable final-round duel with Matt Kuchar to lift the Claret Jug for the first time.
The event is expected to draw thousands of visitors, from all over the world, and will serve as a timely economic boost for Southport and the surrounding areas.
In an address published via Sefton Council’s website, Cllr Atkinson added a personal message: “We want to thank all the amazing individuals and groups who have given their time to work with us on a vast range of schemes. And a big thank you once again to everyone who had donated so generously once again to the Mayor’s Toy Fund to provide gifts for children and young people across Sefton.
Adding: “Here’s to an exciting 2026 which sees us continuing to make Sefton a great place to live, work, do business and visit.”