Southport in Focus: Fire Safety, Risk and Compliance
Southport is a seaside resort town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, on the Lancashire coast north of Liverpool. It is the largest seaside resort in the North West of England, with a Victorian promenade, a pier that ranks among the longest pleasure piers in the country, a substantial hotel and guest house stock, and a Lord Street shopping boulevard that retains much of its original covered arcade architecture. The town's economy is shaped by a significant visitor economy — drawing holidaymakers, day-trippers and conference delegates throughout the year — alongside a substantial permanent residential population and a strong care and retirement sector. The combination of Victorian heritage buildings, dense hotel and hospitality provision, and a large older residential population makes Southport a town where fire safety compliance is both varied and consequential. Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service is the enforcing authority for the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 across Sefton, with Southport fire station providing the primary response to the town.
For those who own, manage or occupy non-domestic premises in Southport, the FSO places a direct legal duty to carry out a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment and to keep it under review. Two fires in the town — the destruction by arson of the former Hesketh Centre in November 2024, and a fire at Southport Pier in August 2025 — illustrate the specific vulnerabilities of Southport's Victorian built environment and the compliance obligations that apply to heritage and tourist-economy premises in the town.
Former Hesketh Centre Fire, Albert Road, Southport — November 2024
At 2.42am on Saturday 16 November 2024, Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service were called to a fire at the former Hesketh Centre on the corner of Albert Road and Park Road West in Southport. Crews were on scene within four minutes, with four fire engines and two aerial appliances in attendance. As part of cross-border mutual support arrangements, one of the attending engines was from Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service. Crews arrived to find a four-storey building of approximately 20 by 30 metres with the upper floor and roof already well alight. Both Albert Road and Park Road West were closed by Merseyside Police. MFRS deployed their service drone for situational awareness and committed a search and rescue team to the scene. Two firefighters wearing breathing apparatus were committed to the basement area to ensure the fire under the partially collapsed structure was completely extinguished.
Crews spent two days tackling the blaze in total. The roof was entirely destroyed. The gas and electric supply was isolated and the main body of fire extinguished by lunchtime on the day of the incident, but hotspot monitoring and damping down continued well into the following day. Roads around Albert Road remained closed for several days to protect the public from the structural risk. Merseyside Police subsequently confirmed the fire had been started deliberately, and an appeal for witnesses was issued. No arrests had been made several months after the incident. The building — originally built around the start of the twentieth century as a hydro-hotel and spa, and most recently used as a Merseycare NHS mental health facility until its closure in 2020 — had been accessed by unauthorised visitors during its period of vacancy, and local councillors had raised concerns about the risk of fire at the site in the years before the blaze.
Drone footage showing the aftermath of the fire at the former Hesketh Centre, Albert Road, Southport, November 2024. Video: YouTube.
What responsible persons should take from this — vacant heritage buildings The Hesketh Centre had been empty since 2020. The responsible person for a vacant building does not lose their FSO obligations when the building ceases to be occupied — the duty to manage the fire risk of the structure, including to neighbouring premises and the surrounding area, remains in place. A four-storey Victorian building in a residential area, accessed by unauthorised persons during a four-year vacancy, presented a documented and foreseeable risk that resulted in a two-day firefighting operation and the permanent loss of a piece of Southport's built heritage. For any responsible person with a vacant building in their portfolio — particularly a heritage building with original construction materials, complex floor plates and limited active fire suppression — a specific review of the vacant building's fire risk profile, security arrangements and monitoring regime is not optional. The FSO's obligations apply to the building as it currently is, not as it was when last occupied.
Southport Pier Fire — August 2025
At 11.48pm on Sunday 31 August 2025, Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service were called to a fire on Southport Pier. Crews were on scene within six minutes, with three fire engines attending. On arrival, crews found a hut on fire on the pier, with the fire having spread to affect a cafe building, covering an area of approximately 20 by 5 metres on and below the pier structure. Crews secured water supplies and used main branch hoses both on the pier and from below it to fight the fire. The main body of fire was extinguished by around 12.50am on the morning of 1 September, and crews continued to damp down and monitor for hotspots until the fire was completely extinguished at 1.34am. The scene was handed over to Sefton Council and security staff at 2.08am. The cause of the fire was an electrical fault in the wiring running underneath the pier.
Footage of fire damage at Southport Pier following the blaze on 31 August 2025. Video: YouTube.
What responsible persons at heritage structures and visitor attractions should take from this Southport Pier is a Victorian structure with wiring and services infrastructure that has been maintained, upgraded and extended over more than a century. The electrical fault that caused this fire is a reminder that fire risk assessments for historic structures must address the condition and routing of electrical infrastructure as specifically as they address means of escape and fire compartmentation. Periodic electrical inspection — in accordance with BS 7671 and the intervals appropriate to the type of installation and the environment — is not a substitute for including electrical infrastructure in the fire risk assessment, but it is a necessary complement to it. For premises with older wiring, complex electrical histories or extended cable runs through confined or hard-to-access spaces — as is the nature of a pier — a specific assessment of the electrical fire risk is warranted as a distinct element of the overall fire risk assessment.
Fire Safety Duties for Responsible Persons in Southport
Hotels and guesthouses. Southport has one of the largest concentrations of hotels and guesthouses in the North West, ranging from large conference hotels on the promenade to smaller guest houses in the streets behind the seafront. All hotels and guesthouses are required to hold a written fire risk assessment covering guest accommodation, common areas, kitchens and back-of-house facilities. Overnight occupancy is the defining compliance challenge for hospitality premises: guests may be asleep, unfamiliar with the layout, and — particularly in guesthouses that attract older visitors or guests attending long-stay events such as the Southport Flower Show or conferences — may have mobility needs that are not immediately apparent to staff. The evacuation plan must be realistic for these circumstances, and staff training must include procedures for assisting guests who cannot self-evacuate.
Lord Street retail and commercial premises. Lord Street's Victorian covered arcades and adjoining retail units form one of the most architecturally distinctive shopping streets in the North West. Many of the buildings are listed or locally protected, and their original construction — cast iron columns, glazed roofs, timber floors — presents specific fire risk characteristics. Responsible persons at Lord Street premises should ensure their fire risk assessment specifically addresses the building's construction materials and their fire behaviour, the condition of any compartmentation, and the adequacy of means of escape from upper floors and storage areas. Fire door inspection is essential where fire doors protect escape routes in these older buildings.
Care homes and the retirement sector. Southport has a significant care home and retirement accommodation sector, reflecting both the town's demographics and its established reputation as a retirement destination. Care homes must hold written fire risk assessments with Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans for all residents with relevant needs — a requirement that must be kept current as residents' dependency levels change. Evacuation chair training for care staff is an expected element of compliance, and MFRS inspectors pay close attention to the currency and adequacy of evacuation planning in care settings. The assessment must reflect the building's actual layout and the real capabilities of the staff rota across all shifts, including nights and weekends.
Entertainment venues, theatres and events. Southport's theatre, concert hall and events venues — including the Atkinson cultural centre — are places of assembly under the FSO with specific obligations around means of escape for large gatherings, emergency lighting, signage and staff training for emergency scenarios including partial evacuation. Events that temporarily increase the occupancy of a venue beyond its normal configuration must be assessed before they take place, not after.
HMOs and the private rented sector. The private rented sector in Southport includes a number of HMOs, particularly in the streets behind the seafront and around the town centre. HMO landlords must hold written fire risk assessments and maintain fire doors in serviceable condition. The interaction between HMO licensing under the Housing Act 2004 and the FSO's compliance obligations means that landlords face requirements from two regulatory directions simultaneously — and a fire risk assessment is required by both.
Managing agents. Agents responsible for the common parts of residential or commercial buildings in Southport carry FSO obligations for those areas. Our dedicated service for managing agents sets out how we work with property managers across the region.
Fire Safety Support for Southport and Merseyside
Fletcher Risk Management provides fire risk assessments in Southport and across Merseyside and Sefton, alongside fire door inspections, fire safety training, evacuation plans, fire safety policies and evacuation chair training. Whether you manage a hotel or guesthouse, a heritage retail premises on Lord Street, a care home, an HMO, a vacant building or a multi-occupier block, we can advise on your obligations and help you meet them. Please get in touch.
Fire safety support across the North West and North Wales
Fletcher Risk Management provides fire risk assessments, fire door inspections and fire safety training for responsible persons across Chester, Cheshire, the Wirral, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, North Wales and the West Midlands. To discuss your requirements, please get in touch.
This article is intended for general guidance only and does not constitute legal advice. Responsible persons should seek professional advice tailored to their specific premises and circumstances. Fletcher Risk Management Ltd provides fire risk assessments, fire door inspections and fire safety training across the North West and North Wales.