Morecambe

Lancaster City Council has granted planning permission for a Travelodge hotel in Morecambe town centre.

The 60-room budget hotel will be located at junction of Euston Road and Central Drive. The shop premises currently situated there will be demolished.

Earlier this month Travelodge announced plans to open 26 new hotels in 2010, taking their portfolio of UK properties over the 400 mark.

There are currently no Travelodge hotels in Morecambe. The closest are the Lancaster M6 the the Burton M6 Northbound, both around 9 miles from the town.

Indoor ice skating will be offered in Morecambe this Christmas.

A synthetic ice rink will be at the Dome from December 15 – 24 2009. Sessions will start at the following times:

• Tuesday December 15 to Thursday December 17 – 3pm, 4pm, 5.30pm and 6.30pm.
• Friday December 18 – 9.30am, 10.30am, 11.30am, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm, 4pm, 5.30pm, 6.30pm.
• Saturday December 19 – 1pm, 2pm, 3pm, 4pm, 5.30pm, 6.30pm.
• Sunday December 20 to Wednesday December 23 – 9.30am, 10.30am, 11.30am, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm, 4pm, 5.30pm, 6.30pm.
• Thursday December 24 – 9.30am, 10.30am and 11.30am.

Admission is £4.50 for adults, £3.50 for children, for a 45 minute session.

The rink comes complete with a snow machine and a music sound system to complete the festive atmosphere. Refreshments are also available. Children under 8 must be accompanied by an adult.

The crew of the submarine HMS Trafalgar will be exercising their right as Freemen of the City of Lancaster for the last time on Saturday December 12.

The submarine and its predecessor, HMS Dreadnought, have a long association with the district, and in particular Morecambe, and in 1993 the crew were made Honorary Freemen of the city.

With the submarine being decommissioned this year, the crew must return the Freedom Scroll, which sets out their rights as Honorary Freemen.

Before they do, they will be undertaking their last march through the city.

With the permission of the mayor, the march will leave Lancaster Priory at 11 am, turn right at Waterstones, up King Street, right into Common Garden Street and Brock Street, and across the traffic lights to Lancaster Town Hall.

There the mayor will take the salute on the steps, before welcoming them into the town hall for a reception.

In addition to exercising their right to march through the city, the crew will visit Morecambe Football Club and other sites in the district.

The Mayor of Lancaster, Coun Roger Sherlock, said: “The final march by HMS Trafalgar will be a moment of both joy and sadness. On the one hand we’re looking forward to welcoming them to the district, but on the other we are losing a valued friend.”

In recognition of Morecambe’s long association with the submarine, the end of the Stone Jetty will be renamed Trafalgar Point.

A planning application has been submitted for four new pieces of play equipment in Morecambe’s Happy Mount Park as part of a £114,000 project to build a new natural adventure play area.

Designed specifically for children aged between eight and 13, the new equipment includes a five metre high swing, 34 metre long cable rider, maypole and a tree house.

The application is currently out to public consultation and is likely to be decided by Lancaster City Council’s planning committee on December 7 2009.

Should the application be granted planning permission the equipment will be central to the new play area, which will be located on the former miniature golf course at the rear of Happy Mount Park.

Other aspects of the park will include a woodland den area, a games area, new trees and natural resources such as sand, logs and boulders.

The aim is to create an area that provides children with more opportunities to play freely and creatively.

Lancaster City Council has been awarded more than £114,000 (BIG Lottery, Lancashire County Council Play Builder and Community Design and Arts Council England) to develop and deliver the project.

Morecambe Winter Gardens, Morecambe, weekends 5th – 27th September 2009

Decisive Moments is the latest exhibition curated by artist Sonja Campbell of The Snapshot Museum.

As part of a wider movement of social participation in British Contemporary Art, the show is a collaboration project with senior communities throughout the North West Region.

Displayed inside a purpose-built pop-up gallery within Morecambe’s Winter Gardens Theatre, the exhibition makes full use of this dramatic and once grandiose setting.

Populated entirely by extraordinary snapshots, Decisive Moments democratises fine art photography. The show forces a reappraisal and re-evaluation of the humble snapshot – not only as great photography, but as a mirror of our own life experience.

Simply taken, with no artistic agenda or intent, the images here could easily match up to the legendary likes of Cartier-Bresson or Diane Arbus – except these were more likely taken on a rudimentary box brownie camera than a Leica.

The installation is augmented with sound pieces from the participants – which sometimes contextualise the image and others playfully mystify the viewer.

None of the images displayed are less than 50 years old and often much older. Four of the collaborators are nonagenarians with the oldest Decisive Moments participant being 94.

However, these images have an electrifying existential resonance today. Showing the timelessness of the human condition, they explore themes of love, loss, belonging, family, friendship, and the pursuit of happiness.

The show challenges preconceived ideas about other people’s lives, ageing, and ultimately our own mortality.

Heritage Open Days allow visitors free access to properties that normally charge an entrance fee or are not usually open to the public.

The event starts tomorrow and runs until Sunday September 13.

Hundreds of attractions and properties in the North West are taking part. For more details visit the official Heritage Open Days website.

Highlights include:

Barrow

Furness Abbey (more…)

Visitors looking for a cheap place to stay in North West England next year (or indeed the rest of the UK, Ireland or Spain) should take note that Travelodge today launched an amazing offer on budget rooms.

The budget hotel chain is offering 50,000 rooms at only £12. The rate applies for stays between January 1 and April 1 2010. Rooms are also available from £19 (book 21 days ahead) and from £29 (book 7 days ahead).

To take advantage of this amazing offer, visit this page on their website.

Morecambe’s third annual Sandcastle Festival, which celebrates the revival of the resort’s golden beaches, is this year extending from a one-day event to two full days.

Organised by Lancaster City Council over the weekend of August 15 and 16, the festival encourages visitors to rediscover the simple pleasures of sandcastle building and enjoy a free weekend of seaside fun.

All entertainment and activities take place on the beach and promenade in the vicinity of the popular Eric Morecambe Statue which, this month, celebrated the 10th anniversary of its unveiling by Her Majesty The Queen.

On the Promenade four of Europe’s leading professional sand artists will create an array of expertly crafted sculptures, starting on the Saturday morning, with completion on Sunday afternoon.

The works will feature mermaids and marine creatures, the notorious Mr Punch and King of Comedy Ken Dodd – who will bring the festival to a close with a sell-out show at The Platform on the Sunday evening.

The nearby Grand Variety Theatre marquee, located on the beach, also operates over the full weekend, providing the best of seaside entertainment. On Saturday the timber-shivering adventure of Treasure Island is presented by Inner State Theatre Co, followed by The Pavilion Pierrots show on the Sunday.

The marquee is also the venue for traditional seaside Punch and Judy, performed by local puppeteer, Martin Scott Price, who first performed the show on Morecambe seafront more than 30 years ago.

The crowning glory of the weekend is the Morecambe Super Sandcastle Competition, which starts at 11am on the Sunday.

Teams can comprise up to four members and there are categories for adults (16 and over), older children (aged up to 16) and younger children (10 and under). The winning adults team will win a cash prize of £100 and the top children’s teams will receive £50 gift vouchers. Ice cream, meal vouchers and free rides on the promenade train are on offer for runners-up. Children’s teams must be supervised by someone aged over 18 who can advise but not participate.

Teams need to register between 9am and 10.45am on the day and there are 50 competition plots available, on a first-come, first-served basis.

The city council’s Play Rangers are taking to the beach too.

On Saturday, they will be helping would-be competitors to practice their sandcastle building skills and prepare for the next day’s competition – just turn up and expect some useful advice and handy hints!

On Sunday, the Rangers invite those not taking part in the competition, to join them in beach games.

Reflecting the fact that the festival falls in National Marine Week, it is hoped that several marine conservation organisations will be present, with stands and displays, demonstrating their work.

Full information, including Sandcastle Competition details, is contained in a free programme, available from Morecambe and Lancaster Visitor Information Centres (Tel. 01524 582808).

The 2009 Morecambe Bay Sandcastle Festival is supported by: VolkerStevin; Morecambe Superbowl; Punch Pub Company (Station Promenade pub) and Apollo Cinema, Morecambe.

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is pleased to announce the winners of the 2009 RIBA Awards. 7 winners in the North West will today win an RIBA Award.

The winning projects range from the renovated Midland Hotel in Morecambe to the Liverpool One Masterplan, with the judges commenting that the latter has created ‘a vibrant and economically successful retail, leisure and mixed-use quarter – an entirely revitalised city centre that now connects properly with the Docks,’ whilst the architect of the former received praise for restoring ‘the glory of an original design by Edward Paley’ and adding ‘a layer of lively contemporary design’.

The 7 buildings in the North West that have won RIBA Awards are:

1. 13b Paradise Street, Liverpool, Allies and Morrison
2. BDP Studio, Manchester, BDP
3. Liverpool One Masterplan, Liverpool, BDP
4. Midland Hotel, Morecambe, Union North
5. Paradise Street Bridge, Liverpool, Wilkinson Eyre Architects
6. Private House, Stockport, MBLA Architects + Urbanists
7. Three Towers, Manchester, Union North

RIBA Awards for architectural excellence will be presented across the country today with 103 buildings in the UK and Europe winning awards (97 in the UK and six in the rest of the EU).

The 2009 Lancashire and Blackpool Tourism Awards ceremony will be held at Ribby Hall Village on June 10.

Businesses shortlisted include:

Bed and Breakfast/Guest Accommodation of the Year:

• The Ashton, Lancaster
• The Cartford Inn, Little Eccleston
• Howarth House, St Annes
• Little Stubbins Bed and Breakfast, Claughton-on-Brock

Small Hotel of the Year

• Crofters Hotel, Garstang
• Mytton Fold Hotel and Golf Complex, Langho
• West Tower Country House Hotel, Aughton

Large Hotel of the Year

• Best Western Premier Leyland Hotel, Leyland
• The Midland Hotel, Morecambe
• Preston Marriott Hotel

Small Visitor Attraction of the Year

• Chapel Gallery, Ormskirk
• Helmshore Mills Textile Museum, Rossendale
• Lancaster Canal Packet Boats
• Old Holly Farm, Garstang

Large Visitor Attraction of the Year

• Blackpool Tower & Circus
• Blackpool Zoo
• Pleasure Beach, Blackpool
• WWT Martin Mere Wetland Centre, Near Ormskirk

Taste Lancashire Award

• The Carmen Rose, Ribchester
• The Fisherman’s Retreat, Rossendale
• Homestead Farm’s Shop, Holmeswood
• La Locanda Ristorante Italiano, Gisburn

Business Tourism Award of the Year

• Pleasure Beach, Blackpool
• Preston Marriott Hotel
• Ribby Hall Village, Wrea Green

Sustainable Tourism Award

• Clough Bottom Farm Cottages, Bashall Eaves
• Malkin Tower Farm Holiday Cottages, Blacko
• Number One, South Beach, Blackpool
• Sandcastle Waterpark, Blackpool

Access for All Tourism Award

• Grand Theatre, Blackpool
• Oswaldtwistle Mills Shopping Village
• Sandcastle Waterpark, Blackpool
• Wyresdale Wheels for All Partnership, Wyre

Best Tourism Experience of the Year

• Dukes at Williamson Park, Lancaster
• Farmaggedon at Farmer Ted’s Farm Park, Ormskirk
• Ribble Valley Food Trail
• Sandcastle Waterpark, Blackpool