Southport: Reimaging the seaside Town of the future
Towns Fund proposals for e-sports gaming events at a new convention centre in Southport © Sefton Council, Towns Deal bid video still, 2020
Southport is reimagining the seaside Town of the future. At the heart of the Town’s approach is a commitment to listen to young people. The Town Deal Youth Shadow Board have already inspired plans to fully equip the new convention centre for state-of-the-art e-sports events, and ambitions to shape Southport into a place of 21st century entertainment and leisure. These relationships nurtured through the Town Deal Board and Southport College have amplified calls for diverse learning and employment opportunities to attract young people from Southport to stay and build a fulfilling life in their Town.
Listening to young people
Southport is a large coastal town situated in the Liverpool City Region, on the shores of the Irish Sea. The Town blossomed in the 19th century serving local sea bathers and holiday makers, and when the railway arrived in the 1840s, Southport became a Town of national renown. The Victorian architecture that remains is a reminder of the Town’s historic glory years. Southport Pleasureland Theme Park opened in 1912, and over 100 years later the seaside resort of Southport welcomes over 8 million visitors a year seeking entertainment and leisure. However, Southport has experienced decline since its heyday and its story echoes that of seaside Towns up and down the country.
“A lot of people just come here to retire,” says Amelia Louise, HND Travel and Tourism student at Southport College and Youth Shadow Board member.
“The Town is not really young people-orientated at the moment. Lord Street is full of charity shops and a few coffee shops. There are nice walks and you've got all the beaches and coastline, which is one good thing about Southport and the surrounding area that brings people to us. But there is nothing else in Southport and not a lot of young people just want to go on a walk.”
Amelia grew up in Southport and attends Southport College. She dreams of travelling the world and does not currently imagine settling in Southport as an adult.
Addressing youth flight and encouraging the young to reach new heights
Youth flight is a significant challenge for Southport with many of the Town’s 18-21 year-olds leaving for higher education or job opportunities further afield and not coming back. The Town’s population of 18 to 24 year-olds has fallen by 21.8% over the last 30 years.
“We will not survive on hospitality, tourism and the visitor economy alone”, says Michelle Brabner, Principal CEO of Southport College and Town Deal Board member. “We need something that is underpinning these sectors, but we should never lose that focus of what makes Southport special.”
For Michelle, it is crucial to show that Southport is also a place of future opportunity.
“Young people in the area need to see that the Town is somewhere they can have a really ambitious and aspirational career, and it is not just a place of temporary seasonal work,” she says.
Hearing from a range of voices
Setting up the Youth Shadow Board and listening to young people in the schools and colleges across the Town throughout the Town Deal process, has signalled a clear intent to bring the voices of young people into the conversation from the outset. The process has been a chance to connect the dots between education, skills and future employment. It has also established the mechanisms for keeping young people involved in decision-making right through to the delivery phases of the projects.
Southport Town Deal Board realised early on that in order to change the direction of the Town in a meaningful way for local people across multiple generations, it was important to hear from a wide range of voices. Andrew Booth runs Sefton Advocacy, an independent charity, supporting vulnerable people to make their voices heard. He is also Vice-Chair of the Town Deal Board and Chair of the Youth Shadow Board.
“The Town Investment Plan would have ended up being quite generic, and based on what we knew worked”, says Andrew. “Working with the groups of older people, people with learning disabilities and then the development of the Shadow Board, has made all the difference.”
Turning a theatre no longer fit for purpose into a new convention centre and e-sports venue for the future
Youth Shadow Board members Emma and Amelia are Travel and Tourism students at Southport College. Being involved in the Towns Fund programme and imagining the future of their Town has given them a new sense of confidence.
“We can share ideas to improve the Town,” says Amelia, “We have been talking about it with all our classmates and discussing the things we can improve on. It has been good for us.”
“I used to work at the Southport Theatre and it was my favourite job of all, it was incredible,” says Emma. “I had only worked there for three months and it shut down. I was devastated. Then they mentioned a plan to turn it into an e-sports centre, and I was just really interested in that.”
For Michelle and others in the Town who are actively looking at the curriculum of the future, the move to embrace e-sports in Southport was a welcome development from engaging young people in the Town Deal process.
“Because we were looking at the curriculum of the future, we were already looking at e-sports. When we talk to the school leavers coming through, it is a very real thing to them and a potential future career,” says Michelle. “I think it's things like that – the idea of what the event centre could be used for, that did generate new discussions, as a result of comments that were made by the students in the Shadow Board.”
Engaging widely and looking ahead
Andrew admits that when he first heard the idea of bringing e-sports to Southport, he was unaware of the massive potential involved in this rapidly expanding industry.
“I am looking at it from the point of view of a 60 year-old man who has played games. I am not looking at it from the perspective of a young person who wants a career in games development, or what can be done to pull more people into the Town.” Andrew’s insight highlights why it has been so vital to value the voices of Southport’s young people.
“The students and the other groups of young people are going to be really important in our learning,” says Andrew.
“I think the engagement of the broadest panorama of individuals, with a particular focus on those who we want to come back and continue to grow Southport was the mainstay of the board,'' says Andrew.
“Unless we do it this way, we'll end up with something that's already been done. So, I am really happy that the Board took that, ran with it and actively invested in supporting it.”
For Southport, the key to imagining what their Town can be in the future has been to really listen to young people. To be open about what ideas can be taken forward, but equally to give clear communication around what is not possible and why. This is an approach taken by Andrew in all his advocacy work. This youth-focused approach is the cornerstone for working with the Youth Shadow Board and wider community to collectively shape a seaside resort fit for the 21st century.
This story was written from conversations with Andrew Booth, Chief Executive Officer, Sefton Advocacy; Emma and Amelia, HND Travel and Tourism students at Southport College; and a conversation with Michelle Brabner, Principal CEO Southport College.
Southport is one of 101 places invited by the Government to develop Town Deal proposals to deliver long-term economic recovery, clean growth, jobs and prosperity as part of the £3.6 billion Towns Fund. Southport has submitted a successful Town Investment Plan and secured a Town Deal of up to £37.5 million.