An interesting article in the Guardian about British seaside resorts and urban areas.

Southport gets a mention.

Baffling place, Southport. An esplanade that’s not on the seafront? An inland lake as the point of focus? A pier so long it needs a bloody tram to get to precious little at the end of it? A beach so vast as to be entirely useless? Madness!

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2...ment-136017035

When talking about a beach at Southport surely there is only a few hundred yards from the pier to the roundabout at Pleasureland. The rest is grass and mud until you get to Ainsdale-on-sea.

The East Coast is crumbling away due to the action of the sea and the West is creeping further West and you cannot at times see the sea from the sea wall.

Originally Posted by roving-eye

An interesting article in the Guardian about British seaside resorts and urban areas.

Southport gets a mention.

Baffling place, Southport. An esplanade that’s not on the seafront? An inland lake as the point of focus? A pier so long it needs a bloody tram to get to precious little at the end of it? A beach so vast as to be entirely useless? Madness!

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2...ment-136017035

It is obvious that investments have been misdirected. Huge sums of money have been spent in inner city areas on massive buildings that have proved to be a complete waste of money. They are not taken up by residents nor businesses easily.

Had the money been used on the resorts of the UK - then more residents and business people would have been far more keen to live in and around the area.

Perhaps the author should do some research about the places he'd writing about. Esplanades and Promenades aren't exclusively by the sea but Southport's once we're which also explains the lake and the pier.
Aren't all lakes inland anyway?

In keeping with the negativity of this site though.

Originally Posted by said

It is obvious that investments have been misdirected. Huge sums of money have been spent in inner city areas on massive buildings that have proved to be a complete waste of money. They are not taken up by residents nor businesses easily.

Had the money been used on the resorts of the UK - then more residents and business people would have been far more keen to live in and around the area.

Therein lies a problem: when the investors do a cost benefit analysis then anywhere on the coast only has 50% of the catchment of an inland town. If you can show that the population is boosted by significant thousands of holidaymakers, or that the sea has a value: e.g. the place is a shipping port, fishing port, etc. then you stand a chance. Several years ago I was providing supporting evidence to a quango that was trying to promote investment in Southport and other areas in Merseyside; it wasn't until you reached Seaforth Dock that you could show that the sea provided significant economic benefit to the local area.
Which particular large buildings in inland towns did you have in mind?