Hello and welcome to The Southport Lead.
The demise of Brewers Fayre has been widely reported – including in this newsletter. Thanks to changes from owner Whitbread, more than 200 restaurants under the Brewers Fayre and Beefeater brands are closing down later this year as the company essentially argues it has better ways to make money.
A lot of those changes will lead to the creation of more bedrooms in the attached hotels but not in Southport – today’s newsletter looks at the alternative plan for the Ocean Plaza site.
🧑⚖️ The son of an elderly farmer who was shot dead has denied murdering him. Adam Olverson, appeared at Preston Crown Court on Tuesday morning and issued not guilty pleas to murder, manslaughter, and possessing a shotgun without a licence. His father, 75-year-old Thomas Olverson, was killed while working in the fields of the family farm in Scarisbrick on July 25, 2024. Adam Olverson, 31, was arrested but released on bail and not charged until almost two years later. At the plea hearing, he was granted bail with conditions to attend a police station three days a week, hand his passport in and observe an overnight curfew at his home on Pinfold Lane.
🔎 Opposition Sefton councils have promised to keep pushing for answers on the spiralling cost of building the Marine Lake Events Centre (MLEC). The development is the key part of Southport’s regeneration plan which was made possible by the awarding of £37.5m of Town Deal funding from the previous government and will result in a modern replacement for Southport Theatre and Convention Centre. However, it has been plagued by delays and rising costs and is now forecast to cost more than £100m having previously been estimated at £72m. Other than cabinet members, councillors have been unable to see a 280 page report detailing the latest contract award and the Lib Dems are now attempting to use Freedom of Information Act in a bid to force the council to share more details. Opposition leader Cllr John Pugh said: “There are key details about what has happened and is happening with this development which all councillors ought to know, have a right to know but which the current Labour cabinet does not want us to see. It may not be that this is to hide their blushes, but ordinary councillors ought not to be expected simply to believe that the Sefton Cabinet knows best, particularly as they seem to have got their sums so spectacularly wrong in the past. We need to understand whether the cabinet’s chopping and changing builders and the delay that that has caused has added significant cost to the process. The snail-like pace of this development has certainly bumped up the cost.” The council has repeatedly rejected any claims of secrecy and said it must keep commercially sensitive information private.
🏪 The former Mercedes-Benz car showroom in Birkdale could be replaced by a new convenience store, plus two new shops and a fitness studio. The firm behind the scheme says it has a national retailer lined up to run the store and that there has been no interest in reopening the site in its previous form. The application states: “The Mercedes garage ceased trading in April 2025, following an extended period of trading difficulties and a change in strategy by Mercedes. The site was put on the market at that point, with no evidence of demand for another motor trade use. The proposed convenience store and other commercial uses provide the opportunity to deliver more employment and a broader range of goods and services for the local area.” There is currently a Spar, Tesco Express and Aldi supermarket on the same road within a few hundred metres in either direction.
📆 Southport Heritage Open Days will host an expanded number of events as it returns for 2026. Each September, thousands of volunteers across England organise free events to celebrate the history and culture of where they live, offering a chance to see hidden places and try out new experiences – all of which are free to explore. This year’s theme is Everyday Histories and among the venues opening their doors are the former Southport Magistrates’ Court building on Albert Road and St Cuthbert’s Church in Churchtown – the oldest in the town. There will also be a series of talks, including one by Dr Julia Paul called ‘Behind The Headlines Of Southport’s Newspapers’ at The Atkinson. More than 20 events are available on the Heritage Open Days website and more will be confirmed online soon.
Brewers Fayre. Pic: The Southport Lead
By Jamie Lopez
The Brewers Fayre restaurant at Ocean Plaza will stay open to the public – if a buyer is found.
Whitbread, which owns the Brewers Fayre brand among a huge portfolio, confirmed this week that it will close all of the restaurants in the coming month as it switches to a more profitable business model which involves more bedrooms and a smaller, guest-only dining option.
In most cases, that means the restaurants are being converted but a spokesperson for Whitbread confirmed to The Southport Lead that the Ocean Plaza site is instead being sold and the guest dining facility will be created within the existing footprint of the hotel.
The restaurant is popular with families due its low prices and play area and also enjoys strong trade from locals and tourists with its beer garden in good use throughout the summer and during events like the Southport Air Show.
Whitbread plans to close the restaurant on September 7 but work is already under way to find a new owner for the venue. It is currently listed for sale with Christie and Co with a price tag of £750,000 and the option to include all existing fixtures and fittings.
The property comes with central area with space for 108 covers, a function room which can house another 30, outdoor seating at the front and rear of the building, and three residential units – a three-bedroom flat, a one-bedroom flat and a studio apartment – which could be staff accommodation or rental units.
