The coastal resort could once again be on the crest of a wave when the latest stage of its redevelopment gets started
Now could be the perfect time to move to Morecambe. There is a real sense that the town’s fortunes are on the up after a spell in the doldrums.
Once one of the country’s most popular resorts, the advent of affordable foreign travel saw holidaymakers abandon Morecambe and many of the town’s hotels, guest houses and tourism businesses were hit hard.
It hasn’t all been downs, though. Among the ups have been the unveiling of the Eric Morecambe statue on the prom by The Queen in 1999, the restoration of the iconic art deco Midland Hotel and the opening of the M6 link road.
The promenade has been the subject of extensive remodelling, which saw artworks installed and a new sandy beach created. Work is now underway to restore the glorious Winter Gardens building.
But the biggest transformation of all is yet to come. The Eden Project North is expected to do for this stretch of coastline what the original site did for an old clay pit in a quiet corner of Cornwall when it opened there 21 years ago. Since then it has attracted over 18 million visitors and has added almost £6bn to the local economy.
Those are numbers that would have a huge transformational impact on Morecambe – and on house prices in the town.
The proposal is for the attraction to be housed within huge glass mussel shells on the shoreline. It is estimated it would bring around 750,000 visitors to the town each year, and create hundreds of jobs and volunteer opportunities.
We have seen elsewhere that this kind of Field of Dreams, ‘build it and they will come’ approach can work – the transformation of the docklands at Salford and Liverpool are testament to that.
And Morecambe has a huge advantage over those two already: its location.
The town stands just a few miles north west of Lancaster on the edge of the famous bay that shares its name and is, according to travel writer Bill Bryson, ‘easily one of the most beautiful in the world’. It has views across the bay to the Lakeland fells and the sunsets over the water are among the most spectacular you’ll find anywhere.
And while the bay is undeniably beautiful, it also a vital lifeline to the hundreds of thousands of birds who visit every year. Species including ringed plover, oystercatcher, curlew, dunlin and redshank are dependent on the huge feeding grounds in the bay and because of its importance, it is a designated Special Protection Area.
Bidding for a great future
Morecambe’s Business Improvement District manager John O’Neill is hoping the resort can emulate his old home town on the Australian coast.
He grew up at Manly Beach near Sydney and saw the town transformed into a hugely popular resort with beautiful white sand beaches, great restaurants and ideal conditions for surfing.
And while Morecambe might not offer quite as much for surfers, John believes it is well placed to grow in the next few years.
John, who has lived at Bare just to the north of Morecambe for 12 years but still has a distinct Aussie twang, said: ‘I saw Manly go through a similar transformation, it had a couple of rough edges that needed to be polished, just as Morecambe does.
‘I firmly believe that Morecambe and North Lancashire are on the cusp of something special and our stars are starting to align. With Eden still on the horizon, and much more focus on the environment, our district and Morecambe can be an exemplar moving forward.’
And he added: ‘There are so many reasons why people should move to Morecambe. It has great transport links, it’s easy to get to Manchester and Liverpool and also to the Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the Lakes, the Dales, Arnside and Silverdale.
‘Property prices are still affordable, compared with other areas and there are some great restaurants and wonderful leisure facilities. It is a great place for people who enjoy being active to be based, there are lots of great walks and cycle routes and we’re looking to develop sustainable water sports: sailing, wind surfing, kite surfing and others.
‘Obviously the big thing is the Eden Project and we’re hoping there will be an announcement before the end of autumn and that there will be spades in the ground before the end of this year. It should be a two year build, so it could be open in late 2024. The smart people and businesses are moving here now.’
