Lets get Morecambe back on the map

[lovelymemories]

I have just read the excuse for the discontinuation of the Morecambe illuminations and I think that it is short-sighted and very wrong!

The difference between Morecambe lights and Blackpool lights was quite simple, at Morecambe you had the opportunity to stroll around Happy Mount Park whilst taking in the many brilliant tableaux and stopping off at the cafe or even riding on the bus or train, or even both, and there were the roundabouts and trampolines as well.

It was far superior in this respect to Blackpool and I can remember visiting as a small boy and then later with the Church lads Brigade and then later still with my own children. It was a magical time and the council has been, as I say, short-sighted in discontinuing with them.

You cannot replace them with something that isn't them! They were a public service, not necessarily a money making concern, which appears to be the main reason for stopping!!

There was no direct competition with Blackpool as they were different expressions of the same idea, with Morecambe being more sedate and less obviously commercial than Blackpool. I think that the powers that be should re-think and reinstate the illuminations and start to really put Morecambe back on the map. I speak as a proud Prestonian with very many fond memories of holidays at the resort.

[morecambe]

I completely agree.

At some point in the near future I hope this website can be a campaigning platform for issues like this.

I get emails all the time about what's happened to Morecambe. There have been some great improvements over the years but there has also been the disappearance of some of the town's unique traditions/attractions/institutions.

It's a real shame, but Morecambe still has the magic. Things can and will turn around, we just need to be organised in the changes we want to campaign for.

[bayfolk]

It's so good to hear from people who really see all the good things about Morecambe and who want to see the town return to its rightful place as a really great place for families to spend a holiday or just for a day out.

We moved up here from the Preston area last year and love living here and are well aware of the town's shortcomings.  Much of it is purely cosmetic - the properties on and close to the prom need a facelift for example and we need some good quality toilet facilities close to the beaches.  Some nice tree planting would make a real difference. Some small scale illuminations would also be very nice but we could never compete with Blackpool.  But what the place really needs thanks to our unpredictable weather is some indoor activity offerings for families, eg a fun pool similar to Blackpool's Sandcastle, and something for older children eg rides, putting green etc.

What Morecambe does not need is the construction of 6 or 7 storey apartment blocks slap bang in the middle of the prom, which is the plan currently under consideration by the Council.

We've been down to the seafront three times today. It was beautiful, warm and sunny with many people enjoying a gentle stroll or cycling along the prom, or paddling and sunbathing on the beaches, kids playing on the brilliant new playgrounds and water fountains, or just simply taking in the wonderful view out across the bay.  Yes, Morecambe Bay is truly an area of outstanding natural beauty and we should be making the most of it for the future of the local economy and the benefit of residents and visitors alike.

Unfortunately there seems to be a lot of apathy about the promenade development.  If this is approved and goes ahead, there'll be no going back and it will pave the way for more apartments sprouting up all along the promenade, most of them holiday flats for the wealthy who will spend a few weeks in them and do nothing whatsoever for the local economy.

Come on people of Morecambe and visitors to the town!  Make your voices heard.  We desperately need investment but not in the way currently envisaged by the council.