Ido like to be beside the seaside

Ido like to be beside the seaside

British resorts by Linsey McNeill

Regional investment aids coastal towns

Britain’s seaside resorts have not had their best summer ever but it is not all doom and gloom down at the beachfront. Resorts say that in spite of the wet weather and the strong pound, trade has held up surprisingly well.

The British Resorts Association, which represents virtually all the major seaside destinations, said visitor numbers were not substantially down on last year when they attracted a total of 26.5 million UK holidaymakers who spent £4.6 billion, plus 240m day trippers who spent a further £2 billion.

British Resorts Association director Peter Hampson said: “Some businesses will have had a bad summer.

“But the market is still remarkably strong and those businesses that are not so dependent on the weather – such as the theatres – will actually have had quite a good season.”

There is an underlying fear that visitors who endured disappointingly wet holidays this year may not return in the future, however, many resorts are more optimistic about their future because they feel that, at long last, the Government is going to do something to help them win back the loyalty of the British public.

Tourism minister Janet Anderson has just completed a fact-finding nationwide tour of the resorts, during which she highlighted Government measures to boost our seaside towns.

These included hiking the amount of lottery funding to many seaside resorts and supporting bids for European funding to regenerate coastal areas.

During her visit to Scarborough, Anderson launched a Government-funded Yorkshire and Humber Coastal Tourism Initiative to bolster the region’s seaside towns. In addition, a Task Force that was set up by the English Tourism Council 12 months ago to come up with a blueprint for the regeneration of seaside resorts is due to announce its findings by the end of the year or January next year at the latest.

Hampson said: “The Government has recognised that, although some resorts have spent millions improving their attractions and facilities, they have the sort of social and economic problems that are common to many towns.”

Blackpool

Blackpool has won £20 million of government funding to regenerate its tourism industry over the next seven years.

Much of the money will be spent upgrading accommodation, either by awarding grants or financing training, and on improving the gateways to the resort.

Some cash will also be used to build a new convention centre, or to refurbish one of the resorts’ existing venues.

Blackpool’s head of tourism Jane Seddon said: “We are looking at all issues that affect the visitor’s experience, from employing people to make sure the streets are properly cleaned to upgrading the standard of accommodation.”

Leisure Parcs, which owns most of the major tourist attractions in Blackpool, has more elaborate multi-billion pound plans to transform Blackpool into a Las Vegas-style resort with six casino hotels within the next 15-20 years.

In order to go ahead with its plan, Leisure Parcs is pressing the Government to relax gaming laws, which currently restrict gambling to members-only clubs.

Newquay

A new year-round £80 million tourist attraction will open in a disused claypit on the outskirts of Newquay next spring. Billed as the ‘Eighth Wonder of the World’, Eden Millennium Project will recreate different global climate zones under several massive conservatories. It will include a desert zone and a tropical area.

Meanwhile, Newquay’s Fistral Beach, which is a popular haunt for surfers, is being transformed into an international surfing centre complete with changing facilities and public areas. The development should open next summer.

One of the resort’s largest hotels, The Headland, has started the first phase of a plan to build 36 self-catering chalets, while The Hotel Victoria has started a £1 million refurbishment programme. The Hendra Holiday Park has completed the first phase of its £5 million improvement plan, including the building of a new indoor waterpark and revamping its outdoor area.

Scarborough

A private development company is planning to build a £250 million multi-use leisure and tourism facility at the town’s North Bay, replacing an existing outdoor pool, restaurant complex, beach chalets and a children’s playground.

The developer, Grayling Sport and Leisure, is expected to submit an outline planning application for the Zenith complex to the council later this year. It hopes to complete the development by 2003.

In a bid to improve accommodation, Scarborough council launched a local inspection scheme last year as a stepping stone for properties aspiring to reaching national standards but that are not ready for inspection by one of the nationally run schemes.

So far, 20% of accommodation has been graded under the Local Accommodation Inspection Scheme and these make up two-thirds of the properties featured within its accommodation guide. By 2002, the guide will only feature properties that have been graded under national accommodation schemes.

Minehead

Minehead has completed a £1 million enhancement of its seafront promenade, which included building a new defence wall and installing more subtle lighting to create a Mediterranean ambiance.

In addition, the town is extending its opening hours to 3am for venues with entertainment licences for an experimental period.

Nearby, Watchet harbour has finally won Government approval to change its status from commercial to leisure shipping, which means that over the next couple of months it will be transformed into a marina with yachts and pleasure boats.

A spokesman for West Somerset District Council said: “It has already got loads of applications from firms who want to moor their yachts in the harbour – it should have a positive knock-on effect on Minehead.”

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Latest offers

Grand UK: the operator’s lead-in package is a five-day mid-week break at either the Warwick Hotel in Blackpool or the County Hotel in Skegness. It costs £129 in March on a half-board basis and includes three excursions, insurance and a tour manager. In May, prices for a similar holiday start from £169, based on five days at the Great Western Hotel in Paignton.

Crystal Britain: is offering the three-star New Durley Dean Hotel in Bournemouth, close to the town’s beaches – stay two nights and get Sunday night for half the usual rate, bringing a three-night weekend break to £108 per person. The price is valid for breaks between November 1 and February 28, including breakfast and dinner.

Supreme Holidays: prices start at £65 for a two-day break in Blackpool, departing September 30 and including an excursion to Lytham-St-Annes. Its four-day South Coast Weekend visits South Sea, Portsmouth, the New Forest and Bournemouth for £159, with two people sharing a twin-bedded room on a half-board basis. It departs September 29.

Developing: plans are being made to set up a £250 million leisure centre

Looking ahead: the town has secured £20 million in funding

On the beach: the summer may not have been much like this but resort business is still brisk