Town centre to ‘grind to a halt’ amid road closures and rail misery

15th June 2022

Huge swathes of Southport Town Centre will close on Sunday June 26th for two major events, coincidentally clashing with a weekend of national rail strikes

OTS News has already reported that people are being warned to stay away from the rail network on the weekend of Saturday June 25th and Sunday 26th amid fears of a nationwide strike taking hold.

To make matters worse both Lord Street and Marine Drive will be shut down to motor traffic for the vast majority of the day on Sunday.

The closures are to allow for the Southport Half Marathon and latterly an Armed Forces Day Parade to take place.

Hundreds of Town Centre residents have been warned by the council to make alternative plans or leave for their intended destinations before 8.30am.

The Southport Half Marathon will take place on Sunday, 26 June 2022. The race starts at 09.00 hours, the roads forming the course for the event will be closed from various times.

Following the departure of the last runner, Lord Street between its junctions with London Street and Eastbank Street will remain closed until 16.00 hours and the service road south of London Street between London Street and Lord Street will also be closed from 10.00 hours until 16.00 hours to accommodate the Southport Armed Forces Day.

As Lord Street will be closed for the Armed Forces event, southbound traffic approaching the junction at Nevill Street will not be able to bypass the town as there is currently an existing ban on all right turns from Lord Street into Nevill Street. From 09.45 hours until 16.00 hours, it will be necessary to temporarily revoke the ban to enable traffic in Lord Street to be able to turn right into Nevill Street.

Should the planned rail strikes go ahead, it will be the largest day of industrial strikes on Britain’s railways for a generation, with more than 40,000 RMT union members set to picket.