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VISITORS PRAISE MORECAMBE
20/12/02: Morecambe is proving more and more popular with official visitors looking to learn from the redevelopment of the central area and seafront, according to Lancaster City Council -- especially the award winning Tern project.
On Tuesday 17 December a delegation from North Tyneside Council visited the resort. A team of Councillors and Officers, responsible for developing future plans for Whitley Bay, came to see the regeneration work already undertaken in Morecambe.
The group met City Councillors Tricia Heath and Pat Quinton, as well as the authority's Director of Regeneration John Donnellon and staff from Lancaster City Council's Planning and Tourism Services.
Tourism Officer Pete Warne from North Tyneside Council said: "This trip was extremely useful and the whole group of eight people will be reporting back to our own Regeneration Working Group." He added: "Morecambe has made much progress and we were particularly impressed by the quality of the public art and its uniqueness."
Many in their group commented on the lack of damage and graffiti to the artwork along the seafront. They also noted that the Lancaster City Council has been working to a 10-year plan and is now involved in producing a new 10-year action plan for the resort.
This is the latest in a number of official visits to Morecambe. Following the recent highly successful English Historic Towns Forum (EHTF) conference in Lancaster, the Council was contacted by representatives of the Commission for Architecture in the Built Environment (CABE) who are preparing a good practice guide on regenerating seaside towns. It is likely that Morecambe and the Tern project will appear in the publication as a case study.
In addition, the last few months have also seen delegations from the Kings Lynn Civic Society and the Windermere and Bowness Civic Society visiting the area.

MIDLAND SOLD AGAIN?
20/12/02: The Morecambe Visitor reports that a deal for Morecambe's Midland Hotel should be finalised within the next few days.
Knight Frank, the firm selling the hotel on behalf of its previous owners, this week confirmed that the hotel is under offer for an undisclosed sum. Simon Stevens, the selling agent, declined to comment on who the new owners will be or how much they are paying for the hotel, which was bought for £404,999 in 2001.
Barnfield Construction is one name mentioned in connection with the building, which already has 999-year leases, which ensures virtual ownership, of a whole host of buildings in Morecambe's central attraction area.

SINGALONG NIGHT
20/12/02: The Dukes is preparing for a madcap singalong with Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat early in the New Year (11 Jauuary). The extremely popular phenomenon of singing along with original films follows on from the enormously successful Sing-a-Long a Sound of Music with Sing-a-long a Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat . With Donny Osmond as Joseph, David Attenborough as Jacob and Joan Collins as Potiphar's wife, Andrew Lloyd-Webber and Tim Rice's most successful musical is brought to the screen. Equally as lively and equally as musical, Joseph promises the same highly enjoyable and amazing night out. The fun-filled evening starts with a vocal warm up led by the evening's host, who also explains the "magic moments pack" which contains various props to be used a strategic points throughout the subtitled film!

A FEAST OF WASTE
19/12/02: Christmas! A time of goodwill and celebration often accompanied by seasonal increases in eating, drinking and spending. If all goes well then this combination should result in a lot of fun. Unfortunately it will also result in staggering amount of waste, too -- an estimated three million tonnes of waste across the UK. But with a bit of thought you can limit the impact on the environment this Christmas and still have a great time. Lancaster City Council has several scheme to help you recycle your Christmas waste. Read More...

CRINKLEY BOTTOM RESOLUTION SOON?
19/12/02: The District Auditor expects to finalise his decisions in response to the various objections received in relation to the long-running controversy about the former Crinkley Bottom Theme Park by January.
In a letter sent to Lancaster City Council this week Mr Clive Portman says he expects it will be possible to finalise his decisions on the various objections and produce a statement outlining the reasons for those decisions in January. Simultaneously a summary will be published in a Public Interest Report.
The Blobby affair began eight years ago when Lancaster City Council fell out with tv star Noel Edmonds and the The World of Crinkley Bottom theme park was closed after a mere 12 weeks of operation in Morecambe's Happy Mount Park.
As deputy leader of the council at the time, Hilton Dawson MP was involved in the row over the closure of the theme park at Morecambe in the early 1990s, which resulted in a settlement in favour of Mr Blobby's owner, Noel Edmonds.
Earlier this year, Morecambe Bay Independent councillors walked out on a special committee set up to respond to the District Auditor's Blobbygate enquiry describing it as a "farce."
Independent council members said they wanted to put some distance between their group and the Unique Response Committee, which is currently meeting to draw up an official response to the Auditor's enquiry.
• The Lancaster Citizen has carried the most coverage on this story.

SPEND YOUR PENNIES ON NEW TOILETS, SAY GREENS
17/12/02: Green Party councillor Gina Dowding is urging the Council to spend an unexpected windfall from the sale of toilets in Brock Street on replacement facilities nearby. The toilets were expected to fetch £50,000 but sold for £69,000 (see earlier story).
"We desperately need public toilets in this part of Lancaster," says Coun Dowding. "I can understand that it would have been too expensive to repair those in Brock Street, but the least we can do is to replace them with new, modern facilities. The Council own a piece of land opposite the Brock Street and this would be ideal for new conveniences."
The call from the Greens comes in the light of new revelations about a report on toilets from the Community Services Review Board.
The recommendations of the Toilet Task Group and the Community Services Review Board about the Brock Street toilets back in June was that "the toilets be sold, with the proceeds of the sale being used to fund new or improved facilities elsewhere." However, when the report reached cabinet at its meeting on 30 July, the part of the recommendation about the proceeds being used elsewhere was missing.
"I am very upset about this situation," said Councillor Jon Barry, who chairs the Community Services Review Board. "Effectively, the report that cabinet received was not correct. I am sure that members of my review board would not have agreed to the toilets being sold unless they thought that replacement facilities would be provided."
Cllr Barry has written to senior officers demanding an explanation for the discrepancy and will be pushing for next Thursday's meeting of the Community Services Review Board to make a clear indication to cabinet of their original recommendation.

THE SUPERSTORE BATTLE CONTINUES
17/12/02: Community campaigners opposing Carillion's plans for a new superstore in Lancaster have welcomed a leading think-tank's report on the impact supermarkets have on neighbourhood shops, and jobs.
The report by the New Economics Foundation, which has close links to the Labour Party, predicts that 28,000 local stores and services will be lost in the next two years. It directs much of the blame at the Government's failure to tackle the domination of supermarkets, which account for 70 per cent of all food bought in Britain.
Citing fears of a "Ghost town Britain" the report claims "The construction of superstores creates a vacuum that sucks resources from the town centres, strangling the heart of the local economy, confirming local fears about the effects that a major new superstore will have on the city's economy.
The report makes depressing reading for small businesses, revealing that in the five years to 2000, a fifth of corner shops, grocers', high street banks, post offices and pubs disappeared.That loss of 30,000 local economic outlets is set to be matched again by 2005.

The foundation blames poor planning regulations for the damaging growth of out-of-town supermarkets which have drained wealth and activity from high streets. In France, local authorities have been empowered to veto supermarkets larger than 1,000 square metres since 1973, but in Britain, supermarkets have been favoured over small traders.
Past research has indicated that any employment benefit from the opening of a supermarket is wiped out by redundancies elsewhere -- leading to an average net loss of nearly 300 jobs. The effect on local businesses and employment will be felt throughout the district.
Local campaigners feel sure Carillion-Chelverton are unlikely to give up their bid to build Big Box and Superstore retailing with a canalside road despite the Council vote last week (see earlier story).
"At their meeting with Hilton Dawson and councillors Carillion-Chelverton made it clear that they will contest the planning guidelines," said Sally Banks, "and regard public opinion as 'irrelevant'. The fact that the council have voted against the road and big box may make it more difficult for them -- but it won't stop them from pushing their plans. People in Lancaster are still determined to stop them from destroying our city and our jobs!"

• Download the NEF Report: Go (PDF format)
• Read a background briefing on Carillion-Chelverton's plans for Lancaster and Virtual-Lancaster's own regularly updated feature: Go

FLOCK SWOOPS TO CONQUER
17/12/02: Morecambe's Christmas visitors will have the chance to see the latest addition to the town's award winning Tern art project this weekend.
Since the early summer, artists and local builders, Norman Jacksons, have worked together to create possibly the country's longest continuous work of public art - The Flock of Words, also known as the Poem Path.
The most ambitious project in this phase of Tern, The Flock of Words runs for over 300 metres, through the Festival Market car park linking Morecambe Bus Station with Marine Road opposite the Midland Hotel. Set within attractive landscaping and illuminated at night, the 2.5 metre wide path contains numerous sayings, poems and literary extracts that relate to the environment and bird life of Morecambe Bay.
Most of the path will be unveiled this week. The remainder, at the Marine Road end of the path, will be open early in 2003 and an official opening ceremony will follow in the spring.
The latest phase of TERN, which began with the now world famous Eric Morecambe statue, has drawn £1 million of Arts Council Lottery funding into the town. It is an essential element in the City Council's plans to regenerate Morecambe.
"The TERN project has been acclaimed nationally as an example of how to incorporate innovative public art into the regeneration process," commented Cabinet member with responsibility for Regeneration, Coun James Airey. "Since its inception in the mid 1990s, it has attracted millions of pounds in grant aid and private investment. It has proved excellent value for money. Projects such as the Eric Morecambe statue have raised the profile of Morecambe and received national acclaim. The Flock of Words is of national significance and a major achievement. It will add significantly to Morecambe's attractions and contribute to the town's ongoing regeneration."

SENSE-SATIONAL!
A very special garden -- that you will be able to hear, smell and see - will soon become reality for Morecambe's Happy Mount Park.
The sensory garden and educational facility for children, which will transform the woodland walk in the popular park, has come about thanks to a successful £20,000 bid for funding from British Energy's Environment Partnership for Action Community by Lancaster City Council.
The partnership allocates money from the Landfill Tax credits from British Energy's Eggborough Power Station's landfill site in Selby. Projects from other BE sites such as Heysham can apply to the fund.
Using the existing pond to attract a vast variety of pond life and highly scented and brightly coloured plants to attract bees, butterflies and other varieties of insect, the garden is also expected to become a popular feeding ground for birds.
As well as the singing by the birds beautiful sounds will also be created by wind chimes which will hang in the trees to create a calming atmosphere. A cabin built amongst the trees will enable visitors to sit and watch the goings on and groups of children from local schools will be encouraged to visit the garden to learn about local wildlife. Information boards will enable visitors to find out more about the birds they are likely to spot there.
Work to create this new attraction is due to start shortly and will be completed by the Spring.
"This is a wonderful finale to a year of improvements in the Happy Mount Park," said Coun Tricia Heath, who is the chair of Happy Mount Park Management Board. "I am delighted that so many people, particularly local young children and visitors, will be able to benefit from this unusual attraction."
John Calnan, of British Energy added: "The company has long-standing links with Happy Mount Park and it has been pleasing to see its rejuvenation over the last few years.
"Eggborough's Landfill Tax fund has helped a number of environmental projects in this area and I'm pleased that Happy Mount Park is the latest."

"UNITED" AGAINST RACISM
17/12/02: "United" Anti-Racist football project held its first presentation event last week at the Bombay Balti Restaurant on China Street, Lancaster.
The event was to recognise the achievements of the project both on and off the pitch and saw the beginning of the expansion of the Project to develop anti-racist work in schools and youth groups.
In his address Phil McGrath, General Secretary of Lancaster YMCA, paid tribute to the manner in which the players had shown commitment to the anti-racist goals of the Project and to their enthusiasm on the pitch. He also publicly thanked the Galbraith Trust, "Kick it Out" and the Community Safety Partnership for their support for the Project.
"The future holds many exciting challenges both on and off the pitch," said Phil "We aim to deliver anti-racist work in schools and youth projects, using football to tackle prejudice. We are beginning to plan an anti-racist football tournament and develop a comic book tackling the issues of racism."
The project has recently finished as runners-up in the Football Mundial Corporate League and also runners up in the Football Mundial Cup.
The team have also designed a new shirt which will be worn at matches in the new season. The shirt echoes a message from Pele: " Racism is Cowardice, and every cowardice comes from fear. A fear of difference. We must not only conquer people's minds against racism but also their hearts."

VANDALS WREAK HAVOC
16/12/02: Lancaster City Council has been forced to transfer or postpone some of its Christmas bookings due to mindless acts of vandalism in Douglas Park, Heysham.
The park's floodlights, which were only recently repaired, have been seriously damaged and all bookings prior to Christmas and early into the New Year have been transferred or postponed.
The damage to the floodlights, electric meter and sub-station housing will require both temporary emergency repairs and permanent repairs, at an approximated cost of £1,000, before any further floodlit bookings can take place.
City Council staff are currently contacting clubs to either transfer bookings to Morecambe's new Happy Mount Park Floodlit Football pitch or postpone games at Douglas Park until all repairs have been completed.
Shaun Ward, Principal Leisure Manager, at Lancaster City Council said, "We are very sorry for the inconvenience this disruption has caused to our regular clubs". He continued, "Repairs will be carried out as quickly as possible and normal service will resume early into the New Year."
"I am saddened that the mindless acts of the vandals have caused such damage which will inevitably have a knock on effect for all the other residents," commented Councillor James Airey, Cabinet member with responsibility for Regeneration. "The council will do everything it can to minimise disruption and I would urge anyone with any information about this act of vandalism to contact the police."
Any clubs that wish to make alternative arrangements during this temporary closure should contact Lancaster City Council Leisure Services on (01524) 582 832.

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