Sefton's Lord St Living Project: A Potential Solution to Housing Crisis

While praising Sefton for seeking develop quality flats above shops , opposition leader on Sefton , Liberal Democrat Cllr. John Pugh, has called for more support and resources for the scheme.

It is widely accepted that areas like Lord St ,Southport can be revived by turning unused space above shops into residential accommodation. 

“It not only provides badly needed homes without encroaching on green belt,” he points out ,” but it brings footfall to beleaguered town centres. Sefton is to be congratulated on setting up the 'Lord St Living Project’ https://lordstreetliving.org/ to do just that. There is terrific potential in much of Lord St - acres of unused space above street level. Lord St has always been a unique blend of retail and residential.”

However, Cllr Pugh fears the project is under-resourced. “  It may seem a 'no brainer’ but it’s difficult to make it happen when dealing with absentee landlords, tricky parking situations and access problems. The council officers running the project have other duties and very limited funds. 

It would help to have the active involvement of the council’s own housing company, Sandway Homes.https://sandwayhomes.co.uk/.  They have experienced, commercially-minded staff and a multi-million pound budget and can navigate the world of complex site assembly. In some circumstances the legal power of compulsory purchase may be needed. 

Building homes above shops must be one of the least controversial ways of meeting the government’s housing targets, but it’s not a simple matter and my fear is that Sefton is not being totally realistic about what it takes to do it. 

The Council has lent £8M to Sandway Homes for new build, but the officers charged with transforming Lord St are operating on a shoe string.”

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