Take a look inside one of Southport’s biggest car parks - which is also one of our town’s best kept secrets.
The NCP multi-storey car park on Tulketh Street in Southport town centre closed last year, after the complex which housed the former Waitrose building was sold to the owners of Sports Direct.
Following a £4million transformation parts of the new development gradually opened, including a new Sports Direct store, an upmarket Flannels shop, and an Everlast gym.
But while Flannels enjoyed a star studded opening launch event with lots of publicity, the large multi-storey car park above has quietly re-opened following its transformation - and it seems not many people now know it’s there.
Head into Southport town centre for Christmas shopping and you will see queues of cars waiting to find a space in the two Sefton Council run car parks on Tulketh Street.
But when we went into town last Sunday, to enjoy the free bouncy castles in front of The Atkinson, the top floor of the car park was empty, with lots of spaces available on the lower floor.
Lots of conversations later that day with people ended with the same answer - ‘we didn’t know it was open’.
Before it closed, the old NCP car park was in serious need of repair.
There were lots of cracks in the floors, with lots of parking bays cordoned off because they were unsafe to park in.
The lights on the top floor never worked - the pay machines were often broken - the lifts didn’t work - and the smell in the stairways was grim.
We missed our car park during the months when it was closed - one thing Southport needs is good, safe (and cheap) car parking.
Sports Direct has done a superb job bringing the site back up to standard,
The parking bays have all been repaired, and best of all, the lift now works.
The facility has been painted throughout, with clearly marked bays, and new mother and baby and disabled parking spaces.
Instead of the old system of buying a ticket on entry, and guessing how long you would need, the car park is now pay on exit, with cameras recording cars arriving and leaving to tell how long you have been there.
Best of all it remains cheap.
You can park all day on Sunday for just £1 - perfect for a day Christmas shopping and heading into town for a meal, without having to worry about when your pay and display ticket is running out.
Between Monday and Saturday, there is an Early Bird discount of all day for £2.80, for cars parking on the top floor and arriving before 9am.
Thirty minutes parking costs 90p, two hours £1.50, three hours £2.90, 12 hours £3.90.
The car park is camera controlled with a £100 parking charge for anyone who drives off.
The car park is open until 9.30pm during the week, 8.30pm Fridays, but unfortunately closes at 6.30pm on Saturdays and Sundays - later opening hours would be better.
Car park opening hours are:
