Mersey Reporter - #Merseybites #News

SEFTON Council has selected a contractor to lead on Southport Pier refurbishment of Southport's most iconic attraction, the Pier, Since its temporary closure was announced, Sefton Council has used a collective of industry leading experts to assess what has to be done to reopen it. Their work will ensure the delivery of Southport Pier's refurbishment is in the best possible position once funding is available, which Sefton Council is continually working tirelessly to identify. It is estimated that the full refurbishment required to ensure the Pier can open safely again could exceed £13 million, more than £10 million over the £3m that the Council has already agreed to borrow to fund decking replacement.

A E Yates has now been chosen as the contractor to support the next phase of design and planning works required following the firm's recent detailed exploratory and investigation works on Southport Pier

The selection of A E Yates, who have a successful C.V. and track record of working on large scale refurbishment projects, follows on from their detailed explorations of the Pier’s steel structure.

This helped to set out the scale of challenges faced by Sefton Council as it continues to seek additional funding to restore the Pier to its former glory.

An A E Yates spokesperson said:- "We are delighted to be selected by Sefton Council under a pre-construction services agreement to be part of this important and prestigious project in the center of Southport. The Pier is such a well known attraction in the North West and we are excited to be an integral part of the team helping to bring it back to life for locals and visitors alike.”

It's not only A E Yates who are working hard to bring Southport Pier back into use once again.

Sefton Council has assembled a team of industry experts to oversee and manage the Pier project including:- Southport based RAL Architects, Project and Cost Managers Gardiner and Theobald, Structural engineers Fairhurst, Steve A Hunt and Associates, and Pegasus Planning.

Phil Porter, Chief Executive of Sefton Council, said:- "I'm delighted that we have so many expert people working together towards our shared goal of refurbishing Southport Pier. We held an intensive tender process to ensure we have the best of the best working on the Pier and we are confident A E Yates are the partners for us. Many will already be aware of A E Yates for carrying out the recent intensive exploratory and investigation works, which have built on previous structural surveys. They have given the Council a more accurate picture of steelwork installed over 22 years ago. A E Yates and our project team will now work to finalise all drawings, construction details, and a program of future works including detailed costings. Sefton Council has and will continue to invest resources and funds into the Southport Pier project, and I have seen first-hand the incredible depth of planning that is being done to put us in the best possible position to begin the refurbishment once vital funding is secured. We continue to engage with a range of central and regional government departments and other parties over identifying funding for the refurbishment and longer-term maintenance of Southport Pier."

A report will now be drafted and all options and next steps will be outlined.

Liverpool (Gladstone)

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