D-Day For Central Promenade Development

It has been announced that the Outline Planning Application for the Morecambe Central Promenade Development by Urban Splash will finally be heard at the next planning meeting on Monday the 4th of February.

The plans were originally submitted in 2007 which in turn received many letters of objection.  Revised proposals were submitted mid 2012, though they differed very little from the original 2007 application.

Notes:

This is an application by Urban Splash to develop the central promenade site previously occupied by the Bubbles Complex, Harbour Bandstand, The Dome, Promenade Gardens, War Memorial Gardens and the events arena.  It also includes a site on the landward side currently occupied by the Goods Car Park next the entrance to the Poem Path.

The application stems from a winning design by FLACQ architects in 2005 as part of an international competition to redevelop the site.  The original winning design featured four finger blocks and a large tourist attraction building.  The design was unique in having curved roofs to all the blocks.

The 2007 Outline Application included several significant changes.  The finger blocks now number 6 with a 7th (a much smaller and reduced tourist attraction building).  Also included were various changes to the layout of the promenade gardens and controversially, demolition of the Midland Hotel boundary wall.

The blocks are mostly residential in the upper floors and have lost their curving roofs.  One block is proposed as hotel use, though it is suggested that the one nearest the Midland could also be used as an annex to the Midland (though details are sketchy to say the least).

The revisions in 2012 included a new route through the centre to the promenade and reduction in height of some the blocks.  It also included further reduction of the tourist attraction or summer garden building (it makes one wonder if such a small thing would really be viable if they keep reducing its size).

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Ed Comments.

Well, should this go ahead in its current form?  I certainly have concerns about it.  Why so much residential and why was a building, which could have been something of a huge tourist draw, been so reduced in size to make it's final use somewhat limiting?   It seems it's reduction in 2012 was to enhance viability from the Winter Gardens.  Well, this being the case, would it not have been better to move it further towards the Midland and allow it to occupy a much larger footprint to allow it to be used as a bigger tourist attraction?

Extra accommodation for the Midland could be welcomed, but since the designs of the blocks has changed from nice curving features to angular sloped blocks it's difficult to see how these will bring much needed enhancement the the Central Promenade area.

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Update

Planning permission was refused for this development in February of 2013.  Urban Splash have since pulled out of the resort leaving a large area of land on the promenade with no firm development plans.  We await to see what the City Council comes up with next...  It's also 2014 and we're 'still' waiting....

News For 2013

Not much as yet.

But if you'll kindly bare with me until something interesting occurs.  I mean, it has to at some point hasn't it :-)

You may of course have noticed I haven't done much with this blog for quite some time ;-)

Well, I'm hoping to try and make a better job of it this year, that is assuming I don't get too get bogged down with other things...

Oh, we'll see, we'll see :-)

Watch this space and have a lovely new year :-)