One man is on a mission to turn Southport back into the best British seaside resort – and it all starts with a chainsaw!
Pleasureland boss Norman Wallis has been one of the most active figures in the on-going regeneration of Southport since he took over the promenade based amusement park in 2007, but it is his latest project that is seeing him steam ahead.
Having bought out the Lakeside Miniature Railway and surrounding land on the Marine Lake, Norman and a team of contractors from Southport based Brian Parkinson Maintenance, have been wielding chainsaws and strimmers in an effort to clear away overgrown trees and bushes that have blighted the otherwise postcard picturesque gem in Southport’s crown.
Previously the view of the Marine Lake and the iconic resort promenade has been obstructed from view from the Ocean Plaza and coast road side of the town – meaning tourists have been essentially ‘cut off’ from an otherwise breath-taking view.
“Some don’t even know we have this fantastic view,” Norman enthused as he lifted up a chainsaw saying “Let’s remove the deadwood from Southport and make our town shine”.
“For over 30 years this bank of trees and overgrown shrubbery have been nothing but a menace and it’s sad to see, that for reasons out of anyone’s control, the land has been neglected.
“It was a place where people would camp out and sleep rough. Over time tonnes and tonnes of rubbish built up and the only attraction was to vandals..
“Now we’ve cleared away nearly half a mile of litter, dead trees, needles and more to make this area safe and to expose fabulous views of our incredible Southport.”
But the task is nowhere near finished as Norman and his team prepare for the next stage of the Lakeside
Norman continued: ““This is the oldest miniature railway in England and in fact the oldest of its type in the world. It is of great cultural and historical value for our town and I don’t want any generation to miss out or forget it’s there.
“It was originally created to bring people from the Pier to the rides which were actually based on the King Edward Gardens where the bowling greens are now situated.
“Some of these rides were actually operated by the Wallis family! So it is very humbling and important for me to bring this back.”
Officially opened in May 1911, the railway was known as a ‘mile of merriment’ covering an 800 yard stretch across the North West of the Marine Lake and has seen a plethora of owners take over and continue its running for the last 105 years.
Norman continued: “Unfortunately over the last few years it has been neglected but now we are loving it again and want to make it bigger and better than ever before.
“We are also looking at extending it on the Pleasureland side to bring the track closer to the park so we can integrate more of the town as a whole.
“That’s one of the reasons why were are making changes to the railway embankment as well.
“There are Sandgrounders who have lived here all their lives and not even realised we have such a great view hiding away. During the restoration work we’ve even uncovered steelwork for signs nobody even knew were there because it was so overgrown.
“There’s also a miniature station halfway along the route which was closed down in 1947 when the track was extended which we want to renovate.
“All the old fashioned livery and engines will be used – it will look absolutely beautiful and be even better than the original presenting another attraction that Southport can be proud of.
Norman added that he’s very keen that people appreciate the town of Southport, all it has to offer and it’s fantastic potential.
He said: “What we need as a town is for the people to think what they can do to make it even greater and act.
“It’s not all down to the BID or the Council, we also have to help ourselves!”
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