The properties are to be auctioned off
The Lodge at the entrance to Dukes Street Cemetery(Image: LDRS)
A chance has opened up to live in a cemetery in one part of Merseyside, in buildings described as ‘beautiful and fabulous’. The opportunity has arisen after Sefton Council announced its intention to sell off six historic lodges around Southport, including several located in graveyards around the borough.
The listings were posted by the council who will make a decision on the future of the sites on December 11, after vacant properties were identified and discussed at a meeting in August. They include lodges at Liverpool Road Cemetery in Ainsdale and Duke Street Cemetery in Birkdale.
Councillors will be asked to declare all six vacant residential homes as ‘surplus to operational requirements’. The properties will be sold at auction, with proceeds going to Sefton Council.
The news was shared to a public Facebook group in Ainsdale with a photo of the Liverpool Road Lodge, which prompted several comments, including one from Julia Wentworth who wrote: “I used to live across the road from it. Beautiful fireplaces inside it would make a lovely home.”
Helen Barnes added: “A lovely house. I hope it isn’t knocked down! Family home or tasteful tearoom for people who visit their loved one’s final resting place?”
Mike O’Connell commented: “I used to play in and around that cemetery and surrounding field when my parents lived quite near there same side on Liverpool Road in the late 70s to mid 80s. That house always looked a bit spooky I thought, especially when dark!
“I’ve often wondered what was happening with it, hope it gets kept as is, visually as it’s a fabulous building.”
Glyn Hargreaves wrote: “I hope it stays as it is, it is a lovely building as is the Chapel.”
The six properties are listed as:
The Lodge, Liverpool Road Cemetery, 488 Liverpool Road, Ainsdale PR8 3BD (Ainsdale Ward)
No 2 Lodge, Botanic Gardens, Botanic Road, Southport, PR9 7NB (Meols Ward)
Southport Crematorium Lodge, Southport PR8 5JQ (Outside Borough)
Victoria Park Lodge, Rotten Row, Southport, PR8 2BZ (Dukes Ward)
Duke Street Cemetery Lodge 1, Southport PR8 5EL (Kew Ward)
Duke Street Cemetery Lodge 2, Southport PR8 5EL (Kew Ward)
The Sefton Council report confirmed it intends to sell the properties by auction, to achieve certainty of completion, adding: “The properties have been vacant for many years and are in a poor state of repair.
“The Council will receive a capital receipt from the disposals. Disposal of the properties will lead to the refurbishment of the properties by new owners, therefore bringing vacant residential properties back into use.
“There will also be revenue savings due to the cessation of statutory maintenance checks once properties are disposed of in addition to no longer meeting Council Tax requirements.”
The report continued: “The disposals will generate capital receipts, reduce the Council’s maintenance and property holding costs, bring vacant residential properties back into use and cease the Council Tax burden currently placed upon Operational In-House Services revenue budget.”
Adding: “The Council do not have an operational need for the premises, and this would not assist in the wider objectives linked to bringing vacant residential premises back into use. The properties are also a liability from a maintenance perspective, and the Council incurs significant Council Tax costs whilst they are vacant.”