The area became a focal point for memorials following the deaths of Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, and six-year-old Bebe King in the July 2024 attack

The families of three girls killed in the Southport attack say they have been “blown away” by the positive reaction to plans to regenerate town gardens in memory of their daughters.

The £10 million regeneration of the Town Hall Gardens was announced last year, after the area became a focal point for memorials following the deaths of Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, and six-year-old Bebe King in the July 2024 attack.

A public consultation on the proposals has generated strong public backing, a spokesman for Sefton Council said on Wednesday.

In a joint statement, the families of Elsie, Alice and Bebe said: “We are really pleased to see how far and wide the engagement has been in the consultation process on what we’ve always hoped would be a wonderfully transformative project for Southport.

“We attended a schools consultation and engagement event at the Atkinson with hundreds of local schoolchildren and we were blown away by their positivity and their fascinating views on the future of town centre spaces.

“A young student at the event said they wanted this to be the kindest place in the world – which showed for us straight away that they just ‘got’ what this is all about.

“We know there is much to do still before planning approval and before the works start on site, but we remain fully committed to delivering this project as a way of saying thank you to Southport and the community for the support they have shown all of us.”

Views gathered from the consultation, which has also had input from Heritage England, Merseyside Police, Southport businesses and civic heritage groups, will be incorporated into the final planning application.

The regeneration is being funded by central government, the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and Sefton Council, with the backing of Heritage England.

Council leader Marion Atkinson said: “Throughout this proposal the big question has been ‘what about our future generations?’ and I am pleased to see that results of this consultation show optimism about the role the gardens can play in Southport’s future.”