Morecambe

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.

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

Award winning property developer Urban Splash is delighted to announce a new partnership that will see English Lakes Hotels manage the Midland Hotel in Morecambe from 8th April 2009.

English Lakes Hotels owns and operates five hotels in Cumbria and Lancashire. This arrangement will enable the Midland Hotel to benefit from their experience and bring the benefits of being part of a small group of high quality hotels in wonderful locations.

Bryan Gray, Chairman of Urban Splash Hotels said, ‘This is a great deal for everyone. The Midland will benefit from English Lakes Hotels’ experience and their excellent marketing. Urban Splash will retain ownership of The Midland and will work with English Lakes Hotels to promote the hotel and Morecambe’.

Simon Berry, Chairman of English Lakes Hotels said, ‘The Midland fits perfectly with our other hotels and, for the first time, gives us a seaside location. Urban Splash has done an outstanding job in restoring The Midland to its former glory and we’re now looking forward to building on the success of this iconic hotel.’

Originally built in the 1930s, The Midland was once a favourite haunt of celebrities like Coco Chanel, Wallace Simpson and Lawrence Olivier. Its restoration by Urban Splash has resulted in a beautiful 44 bedroom hotel, which overlooks the uninterrupted coastline of Morecambe Bay with views across to the Lake District.

Tom Bloxham Chairman MBE of Urban Splash added, ‘We are very proud of the Midland Hotel and all that has been achieved since it opened in June 2008.’

English Lakes Hotels is a family owned and run group of hotels. The existing hotels are five very individual properties, four of which are situated in the Lake District (Low Wood Hotel, Waterhead Hotel, Storrs Hall Hotel, Wild Boar Hotel) and one close to Lancaster (Lancaster House Hotel).

The Lancaster Guardian reports that English Lakes Hotels are in talks with Urban Splash to take over the management of the Midland Hotel in Morecambe.

Urban Splash, a Manchester-based development company, purchased the decaying Art Deco building in 2003 and after a multi-million pound redevelopment project, reopened the hotel in 2008.

English Lakes Hotels is a family-run hotel group. They own 5 hotels in the North West of England:

• Lake District: Low Wood Hotel, Waterhead Hotel, Storrs Hall Hotel, Wild Boar Hotel
• Lancaster: Lancaster House Hotel

12 buildings in the region have been shortlisted for the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Awards 2009 – North West.

Of 31 projects nominated the shortlisted entries are:

• Silver Cafe, Morecambe designed by Arca
• Midland Hotel, Morecambe designed by Union North
• Liverpool One Masterplan, Liverpool designed by BDP
• Chavasse Park, Liverpool designed by BDP in association with Pelli Clarke Pelli
• Bling Bling, Liverpool designed by CZWG
• 13b Paradise Street, Liverpool designed by Allies and Morrison
• Paradise Street Bridge, Liverpool designed by Wilkinson Eyre Architects
• Wigg Island Visitor Centre, Runcorn designed by Hot Architecture
• Private House, Bramhall designed by MBLA Architects + Urbanists
• Alan Turing Building, Manchester designed by Sheppard Robson
• 3 Towers, Manchester designed by Union North
• BDP Studio, Manchester designed by BDP

The winners will be announced at ceremony at Urbis on May 20 2009 and will be eligible to be shortlisted for the RIBA Stirling Prize.

Morecambe FC has announced plans to sell their Christie Park stadium to supermarket giants Sainsbury’s.

The deal clears the way for the club to begin work on their new stadium in the Westgate area of the town. Construction is now expected to begin in spring 2009 with completion due in 2010, in time for the 2010/11 football season.

Morecambe FC Chairman Peter McGuigan said, ‘The sale of Christie Park to Sainsbury’s is great news for us and the local community since it allows us to not only build a fantastic future for the club but also to provide much needed community sport facilities including an all-weather full size pitch, a number of multi-sport courts and changing facilities. In this way, our award winning Morecambe FC Community Sports charity will be able to extend its current operations and deliver even greater benefits to the local community.’

An open air ice rink is coming to Morecambe this Christmas.

The rink will be at the Platform on Marine Road Central from November 17 to December 22 and will be open from 1 pm until 9 pm.

Admission to the synthetic rink will cost £3 for adults and £2 for children.

Budget hotel operator Travelodge is currently offering rooms at just £9 per night.

The offer is available on this special page on their website and is valid for bookings made now for stays between February and April 2009.

Rooms for other dates are also available from £19 and £29 provided bookings are made 7 and 21 days ahead respectively.

Travelodge has announced that it will open 22 hotels across the country between now and Christmas. New hotels in the North West will include the Travelodge Blackpool Tower and the Travelodge Blackpool Tower. Both are opening late December.

The budget hotel group is currently offering thousands of rooms at only £19 for stays in December and January. They can be booked via this special page on their website.