Birkdale Village's historic signal box is due to be refurbished shortly following the news that Network Rail have submitted a planning application.

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The signal box, which is a grade II listed building, dates from 1905, and is regarded as "a good, rare surviving example of the hipped roof style of Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway signal box."

Birkdale Lib Dem councillors Iain Brodie Browne and Simon Shaw (pictured) have welcomed the news, and say that the deteriorating state of the building has been raised by a number of residents in recent years.

"It has been a big concern to residents and councillors alike, seeing the slow deterioration in the condition of what is one of just two listed buildings within the Birkdale Village Conservation Area - the other being the thatched cottage at 74 Liverpool Road," said Cllr Brodie Browne.

Cllr Shaw added: "This is part of our local heritage and I welcome the fact that Network Rail are facing up to their responsibilities."

"Having lived in Birkdale virtually my whole life I can still remember seeing the signal man in his box, spinning his wheel to open and shut the level crossing gates."

The signal box had a working life of nearly 90 years, being decommissioned in 1994, when the Merseyrail Northern Line moved to a signalling and level crossing Control Centre at Sandhills.

According to the official listing, the present, 1905 signal box replaced an earlier one dating from the 1870s when the line was operating as the Liverpool, Crosby and Southport Railway. In 1904 the line was absorbed into the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway which replaced the earlier signal box with one of its own design. These boxes were pre-fabricated at the company's engineering works in Horwich.