Council offers free support for Southport businesses

Following the tragic events in Southport during the summer Sefton Council is now extending free support to businesses across the town. Tony McDonough reports

Sefton Council is to offer free support to Southport businesses as the town continues to recover from the tragic events in the summer.

Six-year-old Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe, aged seven, and nine-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar were killed in a knife attack on July 29. Eight children and two adults were also injured. Axel Rudakubana is due to stand trial on multiple charges in January.

In the weeks following the tragedy a Business Recovery Fund provided financial assistance to businesses and organisations located in the Hart Street and St Lukes Road areas of Southport. They had suffered from prolonged and enforced closure.

Now the council says extra support measures are being put in place to help businesses across the wider town. Free services available from December include:

In person planning advice from a senior officer for businesses and investors looking to develop in the town centre.
Free pre-planning applications for developments which make ‘positive contributions’ to the town centre and seafront.
Free support for food businesses to comply with hygiene legislation.
Free guidance on workplace health and safety in relation to commercial premises.

Cllr Paulette Lappin, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Economy and Skills, said: “We are acutely aware of how vital businesses are to ensuring Southport and the wider borough can recover from the tragic and shocking events of July.

“We know that they need help and we are doing all that we can to ensure there is help available. This includes looking at how much we can use the expert knowledge of our senior officers to support businesses and investors to make it easier to grow.

“Some of the best food hygiene standards in the country are in Sefton and Southport is rich in hospitality.

“However, rules and regulations change frequently and we want to ensure our businesses who do supply food and drink are in the best possible position to meet and exceed hygiene standards.”

More information about the free advice and support packages will be shared in due course.

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