The Sandgrounder
Archive
Everything we have published, in order.
The Botanic Gardens Aviary is closing. It will cost £60,000 a year to save it.
Sefton Council decided in March 2026 to close the Botanic Gardens Aviary in Churchtown. Staff were not told for four months. We have filed an FOI request and you can follow it.
On Independent Journalism in Southport
Twenty years of archival work, long-form reporting, and asking questions the local media did not always want asked. Dan Hayes, Editor of Southport Central, on what independent journalism actually requires.
The Southport Regeneration Glossary
A public service. Twenty terms in common use across Southport's regeneration ecosystem, with accurate definitions. None of these definitions appear in the documents where the terms are used.
The local news that isn't
Stand Up For Southport is the most-read local news source in Southport. It is paid by the BID, the council, and Mikhail Hotels. None of this is disclosed to its readers.
The Savills map
What one property company manages, advises, and accredits in Southport. And what levy payers were never told.
The MLEC, one year from now
Southport has a pattern. The same names, the same undisclosed relationships, the same media contractor covering it all warmly. The Marine Lake Events Centre will not be different.
How to run a hospitality business: a guide from SHOL
Sefton Council has been running a hospitality company for four years. Losses stand at £1.945 million. Here is what they have learned.
The MLEC: what we expect
The Marine Lake Events Centre will open. At some point. Here are our predictions for when it does.
This town deserves better
Why The Sandgrounder exists, what it is going to do, and who it is for.