Yearly roundup.. part 2

July-September

“I love this town.” - Phil “The Power” Taylor

The start of July saw Blackpool’s Opera House announced as the 2009 venue for the Royal Variety Performance. The show would be in December. We also saw Labour crushed in the European elections as the British National Party secured two seats in the European Parliament. Their victory rally would be held in Blackpool a few weeks later prompting an invasion of Unite Against Fascism.

Controversial plans for a new £20million tram depot at Starr Gate were approved by the Council but this wouldn’t be the last we heard about this. In a similar vein, despite uproar from local business owners it was announced that Tesco were seeking planning permission to demolish the Windmill pub in Layton in order to build a superstore. The Lidstone family were evicted from the Stanley Park cafe due to lack of rent payment and a public outcry ensued.

Determined to upset the ratepayer, rumblings of a new “Fylde village” being born between Blackpool and St. Annes began to emerge. Blackpool council announced the Foxhall Area Action Plan in which failing B&Bs would be blitzed and turned into family housing if £35million of government money could be secured. This plan would see any planning applications in this area automatically rejected, despite the scheduled completion date being over 15 years away. A similar scheme was announced for North Shore.

Council leader Peter Callow emerged with a war cry; bleating that Preston’s doomed Tithebarn project would destroy Blackpool. His opposite number at Preston City Council fired shots back, saying Blackpool had a “small town mentality”.

The Learning and Skills Council confirmed that Blackpool and Fylde College would not be receiving £188million to build the Rigby Road campus, but apparently it’s a case of “never say never”. Blackpool Council confirmed they were piloting a scheme to convert old dilapidated B&Bs into modern houses; in doing so they purchased some property on Crystal Road.

In the run-up to the Kensingtongate rumpus, the Marton Moss housing crisis accelerated as council executive Helen France defended the plans to build. Approaching the Stanley Ward by-election following the death of Granville Heap, the Conservatives faced accusations of corruption and in-fighting after revelations that the Conservative Prospective Parliamentary Candidate, Cllr Ron Bell, had accepted multiple donations from Kensington Developments. This prompted planning chief Cllr Peter Evans to remove himself from the decision making amidst calls that Kensington were trying to buy planning approval for Marton Moss from the Conservative council.

ReBlackpool’s Doug Garrett came out of the woodwork to announce that they were going to plaster advertising over the windows of empty shops rather than take any real action to fill them and Cleveleys was the subject of a proposal by Wyre Borough Council to create a trail of sculptures about lost villages that were tenuously linked to the 2012 Olympics.

It was announced that Blackpool Coastal Housing would be moving into the former Harveys store on Abingdon Street in a £3million project.

An ugly bridge across the promenade lost a fight with a giant crane and amidst a blaze of councillor apathy and ignorance it was revealed that car parking charges in Blackpool were set to rise, presumably to offset the reduction in fines as traffic wardens were told to be less strict. Parking charges in Poulton also faced similar hikes.

The site of the former Yates’ Wine Lodge in Talbot Square would be surrounded with £20,000 worth of colourful hoardings according to Cllr Maxine Callow. Despite securing planning permission in 2006, pub giant J D Wetherspoon pulled out of building a new venue on Market Street. The remaining phases of the Houndshill Centre revamp were put on hold due to financial worries, casting doubt over whether they would ever materialise.

South Shore was rocked by the Grand Hotel exploding into flames as another chunk of the towns history went up in smoke.

Stoke-born darts champion Phil “The Power” Taylor clinched the World Matchplay darts tournament at the Winter Gardens, banking himself another £100,000.

The Illuminations lineup was unveiled, with comedian Alan Carr switching on the lights for 2009.

Blackpool was packed out early in August with a crowd of over 100,000 watching probably the best event this year – the 100 Years of Flight air display, featuring the Red Arrows.

The Raikes Hall pub and bowling green reopened for the second time this year and the Police “locked down” the surrounding area for no apparent reason, consuming 50 officers and offering no arrests. The Big Dipper at the Pleasure Beach crashed resulting in 21 people being injured and has remained closed since. One family are suing for compensation. It is scheduled to reopen in 2010.

Promenade stalwart Pontin’s announced a 25% increase in bookings nationally in July, but an 8% drop at the Blackpool one which they acquired in 2008 from Trevor Hemmings at a cost of £46million. Pontins’ Blackpool branch saw its fate sealed in September when closure plans were announced with immediate effect: the doors closed on October 2nd. The Island followed suit and closed down on the 27th of September.

The Stanley Ward by-election was won by the Conservatives but their vote was obliterated by a swing to Labour: attributed mainly to protest voting off the back of the donations scandal. This cast doubt over Cllr Ron Bell’s chance of inducing a 9% swing to become the MP for Blackpool South. Former Mayor of Preesall, 58-year-old Ian Stafford, resigned after he was charged by police for stealing women’s underwear.

Under the veil of “Digital Britain”, Labour unveiled draconian Big-Brother plans to censor the internet whilst charging a phone line tax of 50p per month to every phone line. It was also revealed that schoolchildren were being awarded certificates for basic life tasks, such as getting on a bus, making a cup of tea and washing their hands.

The World Beach Volleyball championships visited Blackpool in September, apparently drawing large crowds. Blackpool opened its pay-and-pedal cycle scheme and 4000 spectators gathered for the Nocturne cycle race on the promenade.

A much maligned fuel duty was slapped on to petrol by Labour, resulting in a 2.3p per litre increase. Jet2.com axed yet more flights from Blackpool airport but added a new route to Jersey. Blackpool South station was in the spotlight as Cllr Maxine Callow tossed up a plan to move it to the Pleasure Beach.

“Blackpool South station needs to be marketed more rather than taken away from users.” - Gordon Marsden MP(!)