Tragedy of Hesketh Centre demolition plan one year after fire
Attention now turns to what comes next after historic building is razed
Hello and welcome to the 88th edition of The Southport Lead
Southport, like many towns and cities, faces an ongoing challenge to both honour its past and look forward to a different future. We can see this in the town centre, with the market being repurposed into a food and drink space; upper floors of Lord Street buildings being turned into housing; and the broader shift from retail to leisure seen in plans like opening an indoor climbing centre on Lord Street and the country’s first football skills park at Ocean Plaza.
At the same time, important schemes such as Southport’s Townscape Heritage project are actively restoring our Victorian buildings to showcase their past. Balancing the past and future is key to maintaining a sense of identity.
Today’s edition takes a look at another example of change - albeit a more enforced one. One year ago today, an arson attack caused a huge fire which gutted the former Hesketh Centre and left it beyond viable repair. Now, we have confirmation that its new owner intends to tear it down and build housing in its place.
Today’s edition looks at these plans in more detail as well as what came before and why it’s important to remember the past.
Southport briefing
🚓 Merseyside Police says it will review the full transcipts of evidence heard at the Southport Inquiry and may consider a fresh investigation into the parents of Axel Rudakubana. A spokesperson said: “We will obtain full transcripts from the inquiry and assess whether new information was provided that wasn’t known.
“A file wasn’t submitted to the CPS because the evidence held at that time didn’t pass the police threshold meaning there was insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of a conviction for any offence.” The move has been welcomed by the victims’ families.
🏫 Southport MP Patrick Hurley has met with ministers at the Department for Education to call on them to act urgently to repair crumbling buildings at Christ The King High School. The Labour MP asked both for help with an immediate solution to provide temporary space during essential repairs and rebuilding and for the school to be included in further allocations of the School Rebuilding Programme.
Hurley said: “Schools across the country have been left to crumble after the Tories cut the Building Schools for the Future scheme in 2010, leaving Christ the King with a serious and urgent need for repairs. This week, I have called on ministers to work with the school to ensure they receive support to keep their buildings open, to reduce the disruption this could have on the education of Southport’s young people.”
🚒 A man has been charged after a Transit van was set on fire in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Emergency services were called to Bright Street at 3.10am and 31-year-old Ryan Burgess, of Bath Street, was arrested and later charged with arson and possession of cannabis.
Hesketh Centre plans unveiled with housing to replace historic buildings
By Jamie Lopez
The loss of the fire-damaged building which had been occupied by the Hesketh Centre and a Victorian-era luxury hotel has been described as an “absolute tragedy”.
Plans to fully demolish the Albert Road buildings have been formally submitted to Sefton Council and could see housing replace the historic but dangerous structures one year after a devastating arson attack.
In the early hours of November 16 last year, a huge fire struck the buildings on Albert Road and fire crews spent days battling its impact. Cordons were erected on the surrounding roads and while they blocked traffic, they also provided a viewpoint for shocked crowds who watched on and witnessed the building’s demise.
By lunchtime, the main body of the fire had been extinguished but the building was already being described as partially collapsed. Investigations concluded the fire was caused by arson and Merseyside Police this week confirmed to The Southport Lead that CCTV enquiries were carried out but no arrests have been made.
Reports submitted with a planning application describe the structural condition of what remains as being “catastrophically impacted” by the fire and having been made worse by subsequent vandalism and water ingress as well as the theft of lead and slate tiles.
As such, it is not considered financially viable to attempt to repair the historic buildings. Instead, developer Kingswood Homes wants to clear the site and build 22 houses and a block of eight apartments.
Hotel, school and hospital
While best known to many as the Hesketh Centre - a facility providing mental health services - the site comprises multiple buildings and has a varied history of public use and its origins date back to the creation of Hesketh Park.
As explained in a heritage report submitted with the application, the Reverend Hesketh bequeathed 30 acres of land which had formally been sand dunes to the town of Southport for the creation of a municipal park in 1864. Designed by landscape designer Edward Kemp, this became Hesketh Park at a cost of £12,000.
In the following decades, villas were built on the development site and it is believed that one - Rockley House - was built as a home but would soon be used as a school led by Church of England clergyman Edmund W. Hobson.
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