Southport’s Lord Street Verandahs

Having first raised this issue with the Council last year I am pleased to announce that work has commenced on restoring the Verandahs along Lord Street. Since I was elected last year I have been in negotiations with the Conservation and Tourism departments on a continuous basis to negotiate the refurbishment work necessary to improve and maintain the appearance of these distinguished works of architecture. Having met with and speaking at length to the Council Officers on site together we have managed to secure a new temporary Heritage Officer to deal with and negotiate the rectification of the Verandahs’ appearance with the owners and leaseholders of the Verandahs overhanging the Western cross- section of Lord Street. I would therefore like to thank all the council officers involved for their continued support on this ongoing project.

Subject to the programme of enforcement work being a slow process requiring much time and resources including the added complexities of ownership and responsibility in some cases workload has had to be prioritised therefore a revised programme has been initiated targeting the twenty Verandahs in the poorest condition. The reasoning behind the Verandahs requiring such a lengthy schedule as far as refurbishment is concerned can be shown evidently from this previous case where extensive work was undertaken. Firstly the gutters must be cleared of weeds and debris. Any repair of guttering must be seen to whilst making watertight. It must then be ensured that water is able to pass through unobstructed down spouts into functioning drains. Any cracked or broken glazing must be removed while thoroughly clearing the canopy of any debris and vegetation. Any missing timber panel must be reinstated to the side. Wherever rusting is evident, the columns must be scraped down and other cast iron/ wrought iron elements to bare metal by means of a compressed air needle gun and/ or a blow lamp and scraper. This is finished with a wire brush. No sand blasting is to be used at any point on site. Stripping must not be carried out in wet or humid conditions and no iron is to be left unprimed at the end of the working day. Following this a proprietary paint system specifically formulated for use on cast and wrought iron is to be applied. This must be applied in strict accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. No bare iron is to be left unprimed at the end of the working day. Finally any broken or cracked glazing is to be replaced on a like-for-like basis using Georgian wired glass.

Whereas previously the Council had been in a position to be able to offer grants in the past, this is no longer an option due to multiple owners and tenants having become reliant over time on this periodic availability of grant funding, rather than accepting the responsibility to maintain their Verandahs themselves. It has therefore been unanimously agreed that for those owners who do not improve the condition of their Verandahs, the most appropriate enforcement action will be considered and taken on a case by case basis.
I would therefore like to thank all the owners and leaseholders who have already started working together with Sefton Council for the greater good of our local community as we strive to regenerate our resort town for local residents and visitors to enjoy.