I am truly passionate about Blackpool, I was born here and I am proud to be from Blackpool. But I hate what it has become in some ways. Blackpool is a great place to live, always lots to do, great nightlife and I love living by the seaside.
But Blackpool’s biggest problem and it is what I feel to a large extent is what holds us back in trying to regenerate is our image.
Blackpool is a very popular resort and I am not complaining that we are popular but the trouble I have reading comments from forums, Tripadvisor and other sources you will find that people love Blackpool for the wrong reasons.
I love Blackpool because I was born and bred here and I desperately want to see us become a more modern and upmarket destination. But people from the outside that love us often love us as more of a ‘guilty pleasure’ or ‘an escape from class’. One Tripadvisor commenter once said ‘I am so looking forward to my weekend of anti-culture in Blackpool’. It is great to see people love Blackpool but I find such labels depressing. I want people to come to Blackpool for a good time in a modern and vibrant party town not a ‘guilty pleasure’.
This shows us we have work to do. I feel with shops, restaurants etc there is a skew towards the lower end of the market but what about the people in Blackpool and the Fylde Coast who want a bit of quality.
I am not saying we should try and turn Blackpool ‘posh’ like Lytham simply more quality like Manchester or Liverpool. A more cultured and welcoming atmosphere. Like I have said before I don’t like all this ‘Las Vegas of the North’ stuff. Our Southern rival Brighton has earned itself the affectionate title of ‘London by the sea’. My vision for Blackpool is to be ‘Manchester by the sea’.
One of the roots of the problem though is a lack of investment, lack of interest from private sector developers and a lack of ambition especially from the Town Hall top brass.
With the right investment, plans and guidance Blackpool can be a 21st century destination. On a banner for the St Johns Square works it says ‘Creating a city vibe in a unique seaside location’ A vision I very much back, but I haven’t seen any evidence that, that vision is being implemented yet. I hope it will, but only time will tell.
Well said but when you have acouncil that creates chaos like this, Blackpool will never live up to its full poyential.
http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/blackpoolnews/Square-to-be-traffic-free.6033604.jp
Their incompetence is truly amazing.
Indeed it is. In fact, I stood in front of a bus there just to see what they’d do. After all, I’m entitled to be there and it is not a road.
But the driver just made some waving gestures to me at which point I laughed and moved.
Most people, as you know, treat the layout as it was, and walk alongside the Winter Gardens where the pavement used to be.
This tells me that people perceive it to be too dangerous to walk on the road bit, but then looking at the speed some of the taxis go across there it’s hardly surprising.
I think they should never have let traffic back in the square to begin with, my heart sank last October when I looking around the brilliant continental market and then I saw a sign at the bus stop saying ‘This square reopens to traffic 19th October’ despite massive public support for keeping it closed.
TB, I agree with what you say, Blackpool has some truely beautiful buildings in the Grand Theatre, Winter Gardens and the Tower Ball Room and it’s those that are part of my Blackpool experience.
Exactly Zim Flyer there are plenty of nice buildings in Blackpool and other good things but snobs just ignore that side of Blackpool and believe what they read in the papers or watch on unshamedly biased programmes like The Secret Millionaire which did its upmost to character assassinate Blackpool in the opening seconds.
Absolutely TB, it’s up to us to show the world what makes Blackpool great and there is more to it than the lazy negative image that the national media project.
For over seven years £Millions in PR, Council officers time, MP’s, BBC Radio and TV in the North, and all the powers that be, promoted the lie that Blackpool was finished. Unless it turned into Lo$$ Vegas.
There have been plenty of references to Blackpool being the Vegas of the north in national and regional media in the past two years.
The damage done by Blackpool Labour Party and all their local friends will take years and £Millions to put right.
Very well said Blackpool First Alliance. I was always against the casino and I was furious when we were lumbered with no plan B, evenmore furious when alternative schemes were coming out of the woodwork but Weaver and Fisher slammed the door on them. Also Alan Cavill does Blackpool no favours he is one of the biggest pessimists I have ever seen. He has no belief whatsoever in Blackpool and yet he holds a vital highly-paid post.