o/t BBC Report re Morecambe tourism

[Weetabix Kid]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/lanc ... 314543.stm

[sgt major]

Sadly - the only thing that drags trippers to Morecambe nowadays is the cheap tat on the market and shops such as Home Bargains and Hitchens. The more upmarket places like those under the canopy of the Winter Gardens (which are really what this town does need) cant even tempt in the tight locals. It seems like all Morecambe folk want is cheap and cheerful instead of quality - sad as years ago people in the town demanded decent things - now they dont. Hence the proliferation of establishments such as Wetherspoons and the old soaks that use them at 9 in the morning.

This town will never prosper on just a nice view across the bay - it needs to draw in quality retailers and businesses - I await with bated breath.

[George Dawes]

i know the town needs centralizing there's way to many boarded up shops or if there not boarded up there just charity/junk,cheap shops, to many empty shops all over the place in this once thriving holiday town what will never see days like that return again and compete with cheap package holidays abroad



id like to see the west end more residential or greener by demolition and make parks or something, just basically have a few corner shops in the west end, and have one town center like Southport and be more upmarket than trying to be like Blackpool

[Christies Child]

Talking a few months ago to a number of Blackpool B&B owners, they fear for the future of the town. Almost all said that its reputation for Party Weekends will be its undoing as that sector will find somewhere else in the not too distant future.

IF Morecambe wants to return to its former glories then Southport can certainly show it how it should be done. Unfortunately the town isn't that loaded with business people who are prepared to throw cash at it anymore and assistance from the council is almost nil and that's been said by a relation whose family have invested heavily in the town since the 50's.

[campdave]

The more upmarket places like those under the canopy of the Winter Gardens (which are really what this town does need) cant even tempt in the tight locals.

A sweet shop and a cheapie CD place? Morecambe need those like I need a cork stuck up my arse when I need a sh-t.

[heysham_mfc]

the west end would look better if they got rid of some of those boarded up houses and biult a bit of a park problem is how long before it would get trashed

[quinny]

The one thing that really riles me every time I go down the prom is the mess that used to be Frontierland as it spoils absoutely everything.
The council, or whoever, should insist that the owners of the site do something about it or face some sort of penalty.
That's a bit of a rant for me.....

[George Dawes]

they should knock down the ranch-house there enough cheap boozers round that area anyway, and just landscape that area with open grass until something suitable idea wise comes up

[Suzi Quatro]

Morecambe sea front is tacky in every way. The local authority is trapped in a time warp of the 1950s. The big event of the year was a Tuti Fruity festival, a complete and utter joke. Morecambe has nothing to offer the alternative crowd and if you do not fit in you are shunned by society. The Tourism department have nothing to offer propspective visitors that have not been offered on numerous occasions before. Morecambe lacks initiative and vibrance that other resorts have in place. If you walk onm the sea front on a Sunday all that is on offer is the view, hardly a money maker.
We need to see attempts being made to attract the alternative crowd not the over 70s who are trapped in that 1950s time warp.
The Council need to get real and recognise that the Winter Gardens is a lost cause without any secure financial future although. It is high time that the Council examine the finanical organisation of the Friends of The Winter Gardens in order to evaluate progress. I am under the impression that some individuals are being paid to under take certain tasks within the building, am I correct or totally wrong?
In order to progress with Tourism we need to find out the short and long term future of this obsolete building as oppose to it seemingly being trophy for Councillors to use for political
objectives.

My perception is that Morecambe will never change until we see some dynamic leadership from the Council and those in a position of influence. I have my doubts that Geraldine Smith in her
capacity as the M.P for Morecambe has the intellectual capacity to independently undertake any intiatives to seek Government assistance. After twelve yeras of Geraldine all we have seen is unpopular regeneration schemes which have been a waist of money.

The newspaper article hit the nail on the head and exposed how Morecambe is one of the worse places to reside in the North West.

[George Dawes]

the winter gardens, i think if they got rid of the superdome at a reported £500.00 a year to run and got help off the students from the dukes play house to rotate on alternative weeks or something with lottery funding it could be a success



but Ive got to a stage now when people go on about attracting tourists and pardon my french(i could'nt give a fcuk about em anymore) i just want Morecambe to be a good place to live for the people who live here

[Keith]

i think if they got rid of the superdome at a reported £500.00 a year to run...

To be fair, saving five-hundred quid a year won't impact much upon the budget!

[heysham_mfc]

The one thing that really riles me every time I go down the prom is the mess that used to be Frontierland as it spoils absoutely everything.
The council, or whoever, should insist that the owners of the site do something about it or face some sort of penalty.
That's a bit of a rant for me.....

think there were plan for flats gardens and a shopping complex but it was scraped but agree they should be made to do something about it even if only tempory while plans are made for what should be biult on the site because at the moment it is a complete eyesore

[sgt major]

The more upmarket places like those under the canopy of the Winter Gardens (which are really what this town does need) cant even tempt in the tight locals.

A sweet shop and a cheapie CD place? Morecambe need those like I need a cork stuck up my arse when I need a sh-t.

Campdave - one day you and I will meet up then we can have a conversation that wont have you acting like the tosser you are on here.

I said upmarket places LIKE those under the canopy. I did notice that the sweet shop was packing up yesterday - sad, as it just shows how the quality things they sold didn't impact on Morecambe folk. I cant include tourists because we don't see too many of them anymore.

There is a local guy who has come up with a great concept design for a multi purpose (including educational), complex on the prom side of the central area. Sadly it seems that it would take a decade to get off the ground owing to barriers being put in his place. It would see all the big shops and leisure being in the place it should be - on the seafront. A great facility with a fantastic view.

[campdave]

Campdave - one day you and I will meet up then we can have a conversation that wont have you acting like the tosser you are on here.

I said upmarket places LIKE those under the canopy.

Personally, I don't regard any of the shops under the canopy as upmarket. "Upmarket" in the sense of Morecambe perhaps, but not "upmarket" in the actual meaning of the word.

I'm not surprised the sweet shop struggled to be honest - the shop on peddar street has a wider selection, is cheaper, and offers newspapers and magazines into the bargain.

[feelingguilty]

Having moved away 20 years ago from what is my hometown still get back as much as I can (mainly in and out for the football).

This summer highlighted issues with Morecambe perfectly. Persuaded the wife to come for the weekend (no Kids). We stayed at the Midland - which is an OK hotel - hugely overpriced IMO. Arrived late Fri night so pretty much straight to bed. Woke on Saturday morning, gorgeous day fantastic view over bay - so we walked full length of prom - for me no better thing to do on a nice day in whole of UK.

Now 12.30 and ready for some lunch - this is when problems started. Not a lot of choice so a coffee and a sandwich in Costa. Now 1 O clock so walked round the Arndale Centre - which took a whole ten minutes (and we didnt buy anything). Nothing else to do so we got in car and drove to Windermere.

Got back to Hotel about 6.30 so thought we would go out - walked passed Wetherspoons which looked like a refuge centre so finally went for a drink at Kings Arms -fair to say we didnt stay long and ended up getting a train to Lancaster.

Sun morning got up and set off home.

so we came to Morecambe and would of spent a few quid (had there been anything to spend it on!!!).

Genuine quote by the wife "Morecambe is gorgeous until you turn round" - said on prom overlooking the bay.

Seriously think there are millions of pounds to be made in Morecambe - with decent hotels, shops, restaurants, cafes and bars on the prom - classic problem need to spend millions to make millions and no one will take the risk.

[campdave]

This summer highlighted issues with Morecambe perfectly. Persuaded the wife to come for the weekend (no Kids). We stayed at the Midland - which is an OK hotel - hugely overpriced IMO. Arrived late Fri night so pretty much straight to bed. Woke on Saturday morning, gorgeous day fantastic view over bay - so we walked full length of prom - for me no better thing to do on a nice day in whole of UK.

I think that sums up Morecambe - the lack of recognisable business names puts people off - there are plenty of lovely cafes/restaurants in Morecambe (I can think of the Grove, Artisan, Pebbles, Chill, whatever Chorizo is called now, the Honey Tree, Golden Dragon), but as visitors haven't heard of these places before they'll either plump for going to Costa or nothing at all.

[feelingguilty]

Wasnt about recognised names - personally hate using big national chains unless I have to.

Its simply about how things look - places you quote - food and service might be great but they dont look appealing. Of the ones you quote only one is know is Honey Tree (as that was there 20 years ago and food was good) - so went to have a look.

food might stil be great - but it is in desperate need of some paint - just doesnt look appealing. Its a restaurant above a tatty shop - if you were in an unfamiliar town would you go there?

Thats part of my point - as well as being good you need to look good - as if you dont (and most places dont) - visitors will never try.

[campdave]

Wasnt about recognised names - personally hate using big national chains unless I have to.

Perhaps for you, but for some it is. If they don't see anything outstanding, they'll plump for a chain because they know what to expect there.

[shrimper]

I'm with the poster who said 'make it a nice place to live'.

There are lots of places with few if any 'attractions' but which thrive because they are just 'nice'.

We need more quality jobs in Morecambe and Heysham but that takes a long time to achieve.

We need more decent shops etc but... ditto.

We'd like a few more venues for entertainment.... same again.

What we can do very quickly is to improve the look of the town.

To be fair to the council they are starting to do that with the 'View for Eric' scheme.

The old Frontierland site needs sorting out and the rest of the seafront buildings need to continue to upgrade (steps HAVE been made in that respect in the last year or two).

Then we need to encourage and support places like Artisan, Chill, Shiraz and The Palatine (which I can recommend for food as well as a good selection of ales).

We have a lot of money in the district. It's mainly in Lancaster and the surrounds but if we keep improving Morecambe then it will always appeal as a commuter town and for retirement.

The 'offer' in terms of bars and 'touristy' shops may still have to shrink to adapt to its new market over the next few years but I'd prefer two or three quality pubs and restaurants rather than many more of a lesser quality.

We have a glorious bay and a promenade of enormous quality. That kind of thing is not appreciated by some types of people who want more to do.

But others will come to experience just that - Morecambe itself IS an 'attraction'.

But currently there's not enough in terms of decent catering, places of interest (Eric Museum, theatre) to keep that market busy and occupied - and keep them in Morecambe!

We don't have pier shows and a funfair, yet a lot of the catering places are still geared for that 'kind' (without being too snobby) of market.

It'll take time and there will be casualties along the way but I think if we go for 'excellence' and 'quality' instead of the cheap attractions and events we relied on in the past, then at least that's a vision to work towards.

If we can't find the money or the private investors to do anything too major, then keep working on the minor improvements, adding quality and getting rid of tat, bit by bit.

As has been said, at least it will make it a better place for us to live.

[heysham_mfc]

a lot of people only use Morecambe as a 'base' to stay at while expoloring say the Lake District because it's cheeper we need something that will get people to spend money in Morecambe because at the moment there is nothing much for people to do

[alwaysright]

I remember when i was a kid (many years ago) we used to go down to the beach and it used to get packed, deckchairs all along the prom and stone jetty, but the shops just havnt changed, they are just as tatty looking now as they were all those years ago, the place is an eye sore and it wont change in the next 20-30 years.

[mrpotatohead]

Years ago people used to scoff at the state of oxcliffe road, travelling down it on a regular basis, i have noticed tgat it is becoming a bit of a millionaires row, thans to some of the now local, travelling people, mansions with statues outside them, and well run, smart, small park home sites, Ithink the wasteland that was frontierland would benefit greatly by turning it over to one of the former travelling community landowners on a leasehold basis to provide a nice park home site, for both visitors and residents, no one lse wants to develop the land do they

[Posh]

Prom winners:

Pebbles
Artisan
The Palatine
Chill
Chorizo
Woods of Morecambe

Prom losers:

The 'furniture shop' on the corner of Northumberland Street
The Print 'n' Copy shop in the middle of the prom
Morecambe Fried Chicken and the building next door
That arcade
B&M and Hitchens - keeping great buildings open but at a cost

See previous posts for more but one of the main problems is landlords - absentee or otherwise who will lease their buildings to anyone for short-term gain rather than looking around for the right kind of company or working with others for the long-term. Sadly none of us, the council included, can buy up property or force landlords to improve their buildings or tenants beyond disrepair.

[mrpotatohead]

LOSERS

I think your comments about 5 or six businesses occupying otherwise empty buildings are a disgrace, I know not one of the owners of these firms, but if i was one of them, after reading your comments, i would take legal advice,

DISGRACEFUL

[mrpotatohead]

YOUR WINNERS


5 PUBS AND A KNICKER SHOP


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