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| Morecambe's revival hopes led by art deco Midland hotel | Morecambe's revival hopes led by art deco Midland hotel |
| (4 months later) | |
| Sitting shivering on the seawall waiting for the bus, I would often look across the prom at the crumbling exterior of the Broadway hotel, its noisy extractor fan billowing out cabbagey smells, and wonder who in their right mind would want to come to Morecambe on holiday. | Sitting shivering on the seawall waiting for the bus, I would often look across the prom at the crumbling exterior of the Broadway hotel, its noisy extractor fan billowing out cabbagey smells, and wonder who in their right mind would want to come to Morecambe on holiday. |
| It was the 1990s, the nadir in the history of my home town. It was a decade marred by a toxic deal to turn Happy Mount Park into Crinkley Bottom, an overpriced adventureland based around Mr Blobby, a pink and yellow bogeyman dreamt up by Noel Edmonds. The park shut within 13 weeks and the fallout ended up costing the local council £2m and what was left of the town's dignity. | It was the 1990s, the nadir in the history of my home town. It was a decade marred by a toxic deal to turn Happy Mount Park into Crinkley Bottom, an overpriced adventureland based around Mr Blobby, a pink and yellow bogeyman dreamt up by Noel Edmonds. The park shut within 13 weeks and the fallout ended up costing the local council £2m and what was left of the town's dignity. |
| In 1990 visitor numbers had plummeted to an all-time low of 1.3 million. By the time I was at university at the dawn of the new millennium most of the attractions I'd spent my pocket money visiting were gone or on their way out: Bubbles, the indoor and outdoor swimming pool complex with its "white knuckle" slide; Marineland, with its sad dolphin; Frontierland, the wild west inspired amusement park where I held hands on the slippery-slip on my first date; the Superdome, where someone stood on my head during a Blur concert. | In 1990 visitor numbers had plummeted to an all-time low of 1.3 million. By the time I was at university at the dawn of the new millennium most of the attractions I'd spent my pocket money visiting were gone or on their way out: Bubbles, the indoor and outdoor swimming pool complex with its "white knuckle" slide; Marineland, with its sad dolphin; Frontierland, the wild west inspired amusement park where I held hands on the slippery-slip on my first date; the Superdome, where someone stood on my head during a Blur concert. |
| Then, in the winter of 2004, 21 Chinese immigrant workers got stuck in the quick sand. After that, when I told strangers where I'd grown up they wouldn't talk nostalgically of sticks of rock or potted shrimps but say: oh, where the cocklepickers died? | Then, in the winter of 2004, 21 Chinese immigrant workers got stuck in the quick sand. After that, when I told strangers where I'd grown up they wouldn't talk nostalgically of sticks of rock or potted shrimps but say: oh, where the cocklepickers died? |
| So I was among the many sceptics when hip architectural renovators Urban Splash came along in 2003 and announced they were going to bring the Midland hotel back to its 1930s glory. When the art deco hotel reopened in 2008, my cynicism was unwavering, despite one of my best friends having her beautiful wedding there and my dad and his twin sister celebrating their 60th in one of the airy function rooms. | So I was among the many sceptics when hip architectural renovators Urban Splash came along in 2003 and announced they were going to bring the Midland hotel back to its 1930s glory. When the art deco hotel reopened in 2008, my cynicism was unwavering, despite one of my best friends having her beautiful wedding there and my dad and his twin sister celebrating their 60th in one of the airy function rooms. |
| However many rave write-ups the hotel got, I didn't think there were enough visitors willing to pay £94 and up for a room which, if you didn't pay a hefty supplement, gave you a view not across the bay to the Lake District hills, but of Johnny's Fun Factory, a tower painted like a packet of Polos housing a mobile phone mast (a curious relic from the Frontierland days) and a cluster of pound shops. | However many rave write-ups the hotel got, I didn't think there were enough visitors willing to pay £94 and up for a room which, if you didn't pay a hefty supplement, gave you a view not across the bay to the Lake District hills, but of Johnny's Fun Factory, a tower painted like a packet of Polos housing a mobile phone mast (a curious relic from the Frontierland days) and a cluster of pound shops. |
| Returning to the hotel this week, it seems my scepticism was misplaced. The terrace was full of day-trippers and well-heeled locals happy to pay £3.20 for a pot of loose-leaf tea when you can still get one for 50p further down the prom. A jazz saxophonist tooted away in the foyer as a model wearing a vintage lace dress scuttled through for a photo shoot. The barman pulled cold pints of Peroni – a sight you wouldn't see in other seaside towns like Skegness, which the Italian lager brand has deemed too downmarket to sell their wares. Just around the corner, children frolicked on the imported sand beach, an impossibility in my youth, when the beach was a mix of pebbles and mud. | Returning to the hotel this week, it seems my scepticism was misplaced. The terrace was full of day-trippers and well-heeled locals happy to pay £3.20 for a pot of loose-leaf tea when you can still get one for 50p further down the prom. A jazz saxophonist tooted away in the foyer as a model wearing a vintage lace dress scuttled through for a photo shoot. The barman pulled cold pints of Peroni – a sight you wouldn't see in other seaside towns like Skegness, which the Italian lager brand has deemed too downmarket to sell their wares. Just around the corner, children frolicked on the imported sand beach, an impossibility in my youth, when the beach was a mix of pebbles and mud. |
| Matt Stanaway, the Midland's manager, insisted the hotel turns a healthy profit, with an average occupancy of 80%. According to Lancaster city council, 3.6m visitors came to the seaside town in 2012, contributing £175m to the local economy. "The Midland is definitely worth going to Morecambe for," said designer Wayne Hemingway, a local lad who went on to found Red or Dead and is now at the forefront of regenerating Margate. "But the problem is that at the moment, the Midland is the only thing that's really brilliant in Morecambe. Sure, the Eric Morecambe statue on the prom is good, and people like to visit him, but that's the past, not the future. Most young people haven't heard of him. | Matt Stanaway, the Midland's manager, insisted the hotel turns a healthy profit, with an average occupancy of 80%. According to Lancaster city council, 3.6m visitors came to the seaside town in 2012, contributing £175m to the local economy. "The Midland is definitely worth going to Morecambe for," said designer Wayne Hemingway, a local lad who went on to found Red or Dead and is now at the forefront of regenerating Margate. "But the problem is that at the moment, the Midland is the only thing that's really brilliant in Morecambe. Sure, the Eric Morecambe statue on the prom is good, and people like to visit him, but that's the past, not the future. Most young people haven't heard of him. |
| "Morecambe needs to develop more truly brilliant things in order to encourage new people to visit. Average things won't do. The council needs to be encouraging entrepreneurs to open not just an average boutique b&b but the best boutique b&b in Lancashire; same with cafes and galleries." | "Morecambe needs to develop more truly brilliant things in order to encourage new people to visit. Average things won't do. The council needs to be encouraging entrepreneurs to open not just an average boutique b&b but the best boutique b&b in Lancashire; same with cafes and galleries." |
| Though a new road will in future link the town with the M6, and nearby Lancaster is on the West Coast Mainline, Morecambe is currently not very easy to visit, said Hemingway, who in September is bringing his vintage festival to the Midland. "Margate has the javelin train coming straight in from London. Young people see that it takes four hours to get from London to Morecambe, which it doesn't, of course – they just have to wait for ages on a platform in Lancaster for the connection." | Though a new road will in future link the town with the M6, and nearby Lancaster is on the West Coast Mainline, Morecambe is currently not very easy to visit, said Hemingway, who in September is bringing his vintage festival to the Midland. "Margate has the javelin train coming straight in from London. Young people see that it takes four hours to get from London to Morecambe, which it doesn't, of course – they just have to wait for ages on a platform in Lancaster for the connection." |
| Peter Hampson of British Destinations, a trade association for major UK resorts, agreed: "Morecambe has lost its way," he said. "The issue for a lot of these places is not what they do but how far they are from a realistic market. Morecambe is that little bit too far away." | Peter Hampson of British Destinations, a trade association for major UK resorts, agreed: "Morecambe has lost its way," he said. "The issue for a lot of these places is not what they do but how far they are from a realistic market. Morecambe is that little bit too far away." |
| There is also no escaping Morecambe's deprivation – the proportion of empty shops in the town rose 7.7% between 2009 and last year to 21.4%, about a third more than the national average, according to the Local Data Company. As I sat drinking rose outside the Palatine on Thursday, a newish, smart pub on the seafront recommended to me by the Midland's concierge, I watched two separate arrests in the space of half an hour. | There is also no escaping Morecambe's deprivation – the proportion of empty shops in the town rose 7.7% between 2009 and last year to 21.4%, about a third more than the national average, according to the Local Data Company. As I sat drinking rose outside the Palatine on Thursday, a newish, smart pub on the seafront recommended to me by the Midland's concierge, I watched two separate arrests in the space of half an hour. |
| But the town is starting to feel much classier, with a few nicer cafes and independent shops and galleries opening their doors. Julie Chapman is typical of the new breed of Morecambe entrepreneur, a smart and enthusiastic woman who has lived in London and Manchester but chose to set up her business by the sea. In April she took over the Pottery Basement, selling mugs and teapots to visitors and supplying the resort's hotels. "I'm a socialist," she says proudly. "I could have set up a pottery business somewhere cute and obvious like St Ives, but I wanted to do it here and put my money where my mouth is." | But the town is starting to feel much classier, with a few nicer cafes and independent shops and galleries opening their doors. Julie Chapman is typical of the new breed of Morecambe entrepreneur, a smart and enthusiastic woman who has lived in London and Manchester but chose to set up her business by the sea. In April she took over the Pottery Basement, selling mugs and teapots to visitors and supplying the resort's hotels. "I'm a socialist," she says proudly. "I could have set up a pottery business somewhere cute and obvious like St Ives, but I wanted to do it here and put my money where my mouth is." |
| Stella Whelan runs Northern Relics, a seafront antiques emporium with a twist: it has a licensed bar, so you can sip a gin and tonic as you sift through the costume jewellery. A self-declared "sand grown'un" born and bred in Morecambe, she is downbeat. "We still don't get nearly enough visitors with money to spend," she says. "Everything is so cheap. We don't even have an M&S. Yes, the Midland has bought in people from all over the world, but they don't spend their money outside the hotel. They drive up to Windermere and spend it in the Lakes instead." | Stella Whelan runs Northern Relics, a seafront antiques emporium with a twist: it has a licensed bar, so you can sip a gin and tonic as you sift through the costume jewellery. A self-declared "sand grown'un" born and bred in Morecambe, she is downbeat. "We still don't get nearly enough visitors with money to spend," she says. "Everything is so cheap. We don't even have an M&S. Yes, the Midland has bought in people from all over the world, but they don't spend their money outside the hotel. They drive up to Windermere and spend it in the Lakes instead." |
| Most of Morecambe's overnight visitors stay not in the Midland but in one of the guesthouses lining the promenade. Sitting outside the two-star Auckland on Thursday night, four friends from a Worcestershire retirement village were enjoying a stunning sunset. They had paid £320 for a week half-board, including trips out and coach transport. "We could have gone to Spain for the price," said Irene Lockie, 81, "but they wouldn't speak English. We've had a lovely week here." | Most of Morecambe's overnight visitors stay not in the Midland but in one of the guesthouses lining the promenade. Sitting outside the two-star Auckland on Thursday night, four friends from a Worcestershire retirement village were enjoying a stunning sunset. They had paid £320 for a week half-board, including trips out and coach transport. "We could have gone to Spain for the price," said Irene Lockie, 81, "but they wouldn't speak English. We've had a lovely week here." |
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