Sale of Southport Pier's timbers sparks political row

The boards from Southport Pier have appeared for sale online at a reclamation yard in Lancashire

A row has broken out over the sale of wooden boards salvaged from a pier.

Boards from the "world famous Southport Pier" were being advertised for sale online for £50 per 10.7 sq ft (£50 per sq m) by Lawson's reclamation yard.

Councillor John Pugh for Southport's Dukes ward accused the council of acting "with secrecy" over the sale.

Sefton Council said it had not "directly entered into an agreement" with Lawson's to sell the boards.

Southport Pier was one of Britain's longest-standing pleasure piers, but was closed by Sefton Council for safety reasons in 2022.

A report published at the end of 2023 detailed a catalogue of problems with the decking and structural steel, which would cost approximately £13m to renovate.

Sefton's Labour Council said the borough did not have the finances to meet the costs.

'Petty political nonsense'

Mr Pugh said news of the wood from the pier being sold had made him "very angry".

He said: "The current administration have tried to give the impression that the whole pier is as rotten as a pear, and to present the necessary repairs as too awesome to contemplate in current circumstances.

"It is apparent that much of the wood can be repurposed, restored and reused.

"One moment they are telling us the wood is rotten, next minute they're selling it on," he added.

The pier was closed for safety reasons in 2022 with the council admitting it could not afford the £13m repairs

Councillor Christine Howard, Sefton's cabinet member for regeneration and skills called Mr Pugh's statement "petty political nonsense".

She added: "Independent experts have clearly documented the need to temporarily close the pier and subsequently remove unsafe and decayed decking from the structure.

She said the wood "categorically cannot be used for the pier restoration project" and the alterative was the timber "going to landfill".

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• Repair plans for Southport Pier to cost £10m more than predicted

In a statement, Lawson's said: "We have been caught up in whatever political issues are currently playing out within Sefton Council through no fault of our own.

"It seems a shame that such a positive story, recycling timber from a local landmark, has turned into a negative game of politics."

'Financial and environmental benefits'

A spokesperson for Sefton Council said the cost of removing the boards had been kept low partly because they could be recycled.

"Any savings like this that can be made at this stage of the work can be ploughed back into the pier's refurbishment in the long term," the spokesperson added.

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