While the Blackpool coast still sees hundreds of thousands of visitors and many loyal to the town as a leisure spot, others are lamenting a lost coastal town
In the age of cheap package holidays and accessible overseas travel, its not suprising that our UK holiday habits have changed. While the UK’s seaside towns were once the destinations of choice for a summer break, with a dip in the sea cited as not only a holiday but a health benefit, these habits are shifting for more reasons than one.
Blackpool, Bournemouth and Brighton in the late 1800s and early 1900s were all desirable go-to choices for a holiday and the 19th century saw the construction of Blackpool Tower, the Pleasure Beach, Winter Gardens and all three iconic piers.
Blackpool in particular was favoured by the North’s working classes and the town’s population grew from 473 to 35,000 from 1801 to the 1890s. Today however, Blackpool’s once opulent shores have to compete with cheap package holidays and international travel.
While the Blackpool coast still sees hundreds of thousands of visitors and many loyal to the town as a leisure spot, others are lamenting a lost coastal town.
Lancashire Live reporter, Amy Fenton, visited Blackpool to see how tourists feel about the future of the town as a holiday destination.
June and Tony (above) from Waterfoot near Rawtenstall visit Blackpool twice a year. They enjoy spending time in Fleetwood and Cleveleys during their trips and always stay at the Cliffs Hotel.
“It’s really handy for us and it’s a friendly place but we have seen a decline,” June says. “It’s very, very sad. My heart goes out to Blackpool.”
Tony adds: “It’s a real shame. The hotels on the Prom have gone to hell.”
Mr and Mrs Jones from Gloucestershire (main image) have been visiting Blackpool every year since 1980. The couple were spending a few days in Blackpool this week but insist they “won’t come again”.
“We’ve come twice in a year at times,” Mrs Jones said. “But it’s gone downhill. It’s nowhere near as nice as it used to be.
“We actually hadn’t been for about four years but since the last time we came we’ve seen it go from up ‘here’ to down ‘there’. I’ve said to [my husband] ‘we won’t come again’.
“We went to Skegness a few years ago and that’s just as bad.”
Government statistics consistently place Blackpool as one of the most deprived of 317 Local Authority areas in England based on household income, employment, education, health, crime, barriers to housing and services, and living environment.
According to the Office for National Statistics, 28 per cent of Blackpool’s population were classed as “economically inactive” last year; neither working nor looking for work.
But not everyone who considers themselves to be regular visitors to Blackpool has given up on the town. For many, Blackpool holds a place in their hearts, and always will, like Ann and Richard Kelly from Durham.
“I used to work at the Norbreck Hotel,” Ann says. “It was a beautiful hotel back in the day.
“We’ve been to Blackpool dozens of times and used to bring our kids here when they were growing up. Now we bring our grandkids.
“But everything costs so much more these days. I was stunned when I saw how much it costs to go to the Pleasure Beach. Blackpool always used to be packed but now when we come here we go ‘where is everybody?’.
“It’s just so quiet. I’ve never known it be so quiet. It’s completely different to when I used to work here 50 years ago. It’s just not the same anymore.”
But for many couples visiting Blackpool the disparity between ‘then’ and ‘now’ is depressingly distinct. Elizabeth and Alex Foulds (below) from Paisley in Scotland have been holidaying on the Fylde Coast since they were children.
“It’s not how it used to be,” Elizabeth says. “I’ve been coming here since I was a bairn and it holds such happy memories for me but it’s sad to see how things are now.”
One couple, from Manchester, have been coming to Blackpool “for years”. They visit the seaside town to “revisit” their childhoods.
“It’s not what it used to be,” the couple said. “It’s worse than it was before, a lot worse. It’s all alcies and druggies now.”
For its part, Blackpool Council is determined to improve the town’s image. Although the ambitious £300m Blackpool Central Scheme – set to include a flying theatre, two indoor theme parks, a 200-bedroom hotel, public square, and an array of bars and restaurants – stalled when the developer collapsed, demolition of the former police station in Bonny Street started this week in a bid to attract new investment.
The aspiration is that Blackpool Central will add to the town’s £1.98bn visitor economy, which already supports over 22,000 jobs in the area.
Councillor Lynn Williams, Leader of Blackpool Council, said: “Blackpool Central sits right at the heart of our plans to make Blackpool better for everybody.
“I believe that this is one of the most exciting leisure development opportunities in the country. I look forward to finding a company that shares our vision for a world-class leisure development which creates jobs for our local people, extends our tourism season and supports our local economy to grow.”