Pressure is being placed upon the owners of one of central Southport's iconic buildings to repair it and get it back into use.

The Art ​D​eco facade of the upstairs floors above Leo​'​s Bar on the corner of Nevill Street​ and Bath Street​ has been falling off dangerously into the street. This led the Council last year to place plastic barriers on the pavement to protect the public from falling masonry.

Town Centre Councillor Tony Dawson is ​concerned both for public safety and also because this prominent site is one of the first things many visit​o​rs to Southport see ans they walk from Lord Street to the Pier and Kings Gardens. He is ​pressing the Council to take speedy enforcement action against the freeholder of this building and, if no speedy action is forthcoming, to do the remedial work itself and send the owner the bill.

Councillor Dawson says: "I inspected this building before Christmas with the ​Council's ​Director of ​Planning and was informed that the owner was being given a 'last chance' to get on with th​e​ remedial​ work​. I was also told that the facade had been 'made safe' by knocking off any bits of cement which presented a risk. All that has happened since​, sadly,​ is that the plastic barriers have blown all over the pavement in an ugly mess.

"If the building is really safe​ now​ then the barriers can be taken away. In the meantime, I have personally put the​ ones which fell over​ back up. Unfortunately, the weight of one sandbag for each barrier was not enough to cope with Storm Eleanor which has also brought down one of the Nevill Street Christmas decorations.

"With the present level of homelessness, the Council cannot allow useful buildings in good locations to be left empty for years. They have the powers to force these places back into use and they need to use them."

Has it taken the ward councillor 5 months to notice this?

It is a very dangerous eyesore. Bits have been falling off that building for years. I recall a chunk of concrete falling off and narrowly missing a passerby around 6 or 7 years ago.

The barriers are utterly useless. I've never seen them all upright. And the notion that there is safe passage to the entrances of the building is ridiculous.

I can only assume it is the owner's extensive knowledge of handshakes that has kept the council off his back.

The harsh reality is its value is so low the owners probably haven't prepared themselves for it.
Its "Art Deco" facade mainly windows is its biggest and most expensive problem.
The refurb cost would come near its value which leaves little for the owners if they sell.

Originally Posted by local

The harsh reality is its value is so low the owners probably haven't prepared themselves for it.
Its "Art Deco" facade mainly windows is its biggest and most expensive problem.
The refurb cost would come near its value which leaves little for the owners if they sell.

The existing timber windows are not Art Deco style and should never have got planning permission.

Look up

Absolute dive that place must admit whoever is running the bar did try and make it a little less grotty , proving you cant polish a turd but you can roll it in glitter .....

Originally Posted by local

Look up

If that's aimed at me it is the upper storey windows that I'm referring to. They are not Art Deco style.
The ground floor windows, frontage and interior are also an aberration.

Originally Posted by salus.populi

If that's aimed at me it is the upper storey windows that I'm referring to. They are not Art Deco style.
The ground floor windows, frontage and interior are also an aberration.

It is, its Moderne styling, a late type of the Art Deco design style which emerged during the 1930s.

The interior is even more recognisable you could look at the pictures in this d&a statement to get you up to speed on it;

http://pa.sefton.gov.uk/online-appli...ent-371732.pdf

And another is the Grand!!! How long before that is not worth any money being spent on it. It beggars believe what the "so called owners" hope to achieve leaving a supposed investment to go like these two.

Originally Posted by local

It is, its Moderne styling, a late type of the Art Deco design style which emerged during the 1930s.

The interior is even more recognisable you could look at the pictures in this d&a statement to get you up to speed on it;

http://pa.sefton.gov.uk/online-appli...ent-371732.pdf

Your link doesn't work but if that's the planning application from a few years ago it quite clearly states the existing timber windows are "a contrasting style which jars with the dynamism of Streamline Moderne" "which detract from the original design intent and proposes replacement with steel frames that "accentuate the horizontal lines of Art Deco/Moderne styling"

Originally Posted by salus.populi

Your link doesn't work but if that's the planning application from a few years ago it quite clearly states the existing timber windows are "a contrasting style which jars with the dynamism of Streamline Moderne" "which detract from the original design intent and proposes replacement with steel frames that "accentuate the horizontal lines of Art Deco/Moderne styling"

You posted ;

If that's aimed at me it is the upper storey windows that I'm referring to. They are not Art Deco style.
The ground floor windows, frontage and interior are also an aberration.

You have got mixed up,

I agree the ground floor windows would look better in a skip

The owner, John Ford, isn't exactly covering himself in glory on The Other Site's Facebook page.