Blackpool: the Las Vegas of Lancashire?

scandalouspool is the original seaside destination and a model for other(a)wise hotspots like cony Island and Atlantic City (Jerde fusion, 2003). Blackpool pipe down stiff the largest seaside resort in the UK save since the 1990s Blackpool has screwd a 30% drop in tourism (Jerde federation, 2003). Blackpool Borough Council fit away EDAW to desexher with experienced architects The Jerde Partnership to entrap a master picture for central Blackpool. The need for the masterplan was clear, to transfigure the seaside resort from slow and truelove decline to a future of doable and sustained addition (EDAW, 2003).This report looks at where Blackpool has fuck from, where it is now and where it hopes to be. It testament try the effectiveness of Blackpools strategy, examining the expectations and demands of the stakeholders. If allow for likewise attempt the support of the proposed actions plans by the stakeholders and the local community. business relationshipBlackpool ta kes its name from le pull, a rain buckets which drains Marton Mere and Marton Moss into the sea. The stream runs done peat lands which emblazon the piddle hence the name Black Poole (Blackpool Borough Council, 2003). In the juvenile-fashi iodind 1700s Blackpool was frequented by the come gentranceway following a bailiwick craze for sea bathing and the drink of seawater (Blackpool Borough Council, 2003). The construction of the Preston and Wyre railway in 1840 provided cheap excursion trains to Blackpool from industrial Lancashire, qualification Blackpool a destination for thousands of visitants from Lancashire and Yorkshire.By the late 1800s Blackpools visitors were predominately the working classes from Lancashire and Yorkshire rather than the gentry. Blackpool was seen as the playground of the Industrial Revolution a town that grew complete on traditional Wakes Weeks (Blackpool Borough Council, 2003). The development of the resorts pastime attractions began in the 18 90s to provide facilities for the 35,000 resident physician population together with approximately 250,000 annual visitors (Blackpool Borough Council, 2003). Illuminated trams were first seen in Blackpool in 1897 as part of the Jubilee celebrations that atmospherics illuminations did not appear until 1912 (Blackpool Borough Council, 2003).BASELINE swearationBlackpool has spunky levels of genial and stinting deprivation. Blackpool was rank 32nd on the index of three-fold deprivation out of 354 districts in England in 2000 (ODPM, 2003). Seven of Blackpools wards atomic number 18 in the 10% roughly deprived in England, this equates to 32% of Blackpools population (approximately 40,000 bulk). touristry continues to be the major(ip) employer in the region, 88% of employment is in the service sector, linked to tourism and leisure. Blackpool has a lower gross domestic mathematical merchandise (7,383 per head) than Liverpool (9,352 per head), which has European Objective 1 status. Blackpools downhearted manufacturing sector, accounts for 10% of jobs, has suffered a decline in recent years.Local specialisms are in vehicles, food and drink and plastics, with nation eachy cognize firms including TVR Sports Cars, Horizon Biscuits and Glasdon UK Ltd. Blackpool is similarly an measurable administrative centre, accommodating large bailiwick and regional office headquarters such(prenominal) as the National Savings (Ernie) and the Department of accessible Security (Blackpool Borough Council, 2003). Despite this Blackpool has lacked major investing and is very run down with a large number of houses, hotels and guesthouses in quaternary occupation (HMO), particularly for acquire claimants. It also has very miserable sea water lineament and polluted beaches.Blackpools population has arise from 473 in 1801 to 3,707 in 1861, by 1901 it had reached 47,348 and 101,553 by 1931. The population of Blackpool has now steadied at around 150,000. With a populati on of 4,366 per km, Blackpool is to a greater extent densely populated than Liverpool or Manchester. Outside of London, only Portsmouth is more densely populated (Blackpool quarrel Partnership, 2002). Blackpool has a high proportion of scotchally inactive bulk with 27.8% of the population retired compared with 18.9% nationally and 5.3% unemployment compared to a UK bonny of 3.3% (Blackpool Borough Council, 2003). on that point are also in the midst of 2,000 and 3,000 home little bulk in Blackpool (Blackpool Challenge Partnership, 2002).In 1989 a national fall over found that 4,190,000 passmakers stayed in the resort and 12,590,000 people came on day or even trips (Blackpool Borough Council, 2003). Over the years there has been a evidentiary shift in holiday patterns with more people using self-catering alteration and many another(prenominal) more people visit the resort for day or even out trips or short breaks (Blackpool Borough Council, 2003). The bulk of visitors co me from social groups C & D (manual ingenious and non-skilled) with limited disposable income with the majority still coming from Lancashire, Yorkshire and Scotland.THE WAY FORWARD BLACKPOOLS OPTIONS* Do nothing (product continues to decline)* Upgrade live facilities (prolong product life cycle but reside in same market reach)* idea change (move into advanced market area with natural product)BLACKPOOLS VISION AND MASTERPLANBlackpool go forth be prize as a vibrant, inclusive, healthy, beneficial and prosperous town where visitors and residents share the crude goal of Blackpool being the number one visitor destination in the UK (BCP, 2003)If Blackpool is to know and prosper, it must find ways in which it can once over again get down internationally competitive as a destination resort. (Marc W. Etches, Managing Director, Leisure Parcs Ltd)Stakeholder Expectations.The backbone stakeholder groups for the rein machinenation of Blackpool are public bodies, private sector or ganisations and members of the public & community groups. The following identifies more or less of the principal members of the stakeholder groupsPublic Bodies* Blackpool Borough Council* The Blackpool Challenge Partnership (also the Borough L.S.P)* North- westerly Development Agency/Lancashire West Partnership* The European Union* The regime (SRB) and Government Office for the northwestern United States* North-West Tourist Board & English Tourism Council* Blackpool & Fylde College* The Gaming Review Board* Lancashire practice of lawPrivate Sector* Banking assiduity* Blackpool drome* Blackpool Chamber of Trade* Blackpool Pleasure marge* Blackpool Seasonal Traders Association* Blackpool Town inwardness Forum* Casino Resort Operators* concourse organisers* Construction companies* Consultants (to develop & spare proposals)* recreation industry* Holiday operators & travel agents* ICT industry* Leisure Parcs (owners of Blackpool Tower, the Sea Life Centre, the three Piers and the Wintergardens)* Local & national press* gain industry (hotels, catering)* Transport industry federation Groups/Members Of The Public* Blackpool Coalition against Gaming amplification* Blackpool Diocese* Existing visitors to Blackpool* Future hot visitors to Blackpool* Population of BlackpoolThese groups will comprise generally those with an interest in developing the stark naked Blackpool product (supply side) and those which will constitute the demand for the Blackpool product. However, market challengers will also be less direct stakeholders in Blackpool these could include competitor resort casino operators (Las Vegas, Australias Gold Coast, sunniness City) and other mini-break destinations (Center Parcs, Euro Disney, Amsterdam, Dublin etc.) and UK week stamp out-break destinations (Manchester, Liverpool, pertlycastle, London etc.)Since achieving the tonic Blackpool product will require coarse and comprehensive changes to the material and economic stage of the borough, the process will require twain a clear pile and a robust business plan, supported by the many stakeholders. Moreover, it will require a credible sounder with the necessary skills, experience drive and determination to realise the vision. There are likely to be significant obstacles to achieving the new Blackpool, indeed a toilsome leader will es displaceial in localize to retain the support and warmth of all the projects varied stakeholders.In order to gain extensive stakeholder support for the new Blackpool, their (probably) disparate expectations must be recognised and subsequently acted upon. Once stakeholders have been identified, a process of consultation should take fleck to discover what they want Blackpool to be. This will inform the visioning exercise and if stakeholder views are acted on, assist in grammatical construction consensus. With a large bunk of stakeholders, it would be appropriate to adopt a flexible and multi-faceted approach to consultation several(predicate) methods (exhibitions, listening events, newspaper articles, focus groups, public meetings, questionnaires) would be geared to the natures of the various stakeholders.In reality, this is what Blackpool has done. The lead organisation for the project, The Blackpool Masterplan, is the Blackpool Challenge Partnership (since 2002 also the Local Strategic Partnership LSP for the Borough). The winder funding for driving the Masterplan in the lead through development and on to delivery is 20,000,000 of SRB6, secured in late 2000 and X million in EDZ money from the European Union, secured in 2001. As part of the bid process, the partnership undertook a significant amount of consultation via the Lets speech Campaign. This included* A 2-page questionnaire prepared by the Blackpool Town Centre Forum and sent out to more than 500 shops, pubs, clubs, banks and building societies (results indicated that 91% of respondents supported the Masterplan)* Focus groups and recall c anvassing of a random savor of 600 local people, undertaken by a specialist market research consultancy* Meetings with specific groups (e.g. churches, early days organisations).Since securing the SRB6 funding, a comprehensive package of projects are being despotic and delivered to bring bountiful social and economic benefits to Blackpool, as rise up as the development of the Vision Masterplan.The trade Plan. (2 Vision Statements which is confusing)The Vision mastery is that Blackpool will be a Vibrant, comprehensive Healthy, Safe and Prosperous Town. As with many municipal vision asseveratements, this in my opinion, is some(prenominal) vague and all encompassing and therefore not particularly useful (no measured targets, so how do you know how to get there?). However, it gives a positive heart and soul which few stakeholders are likely to dissent with. The vision aims to provide a interrupt quality of life for people in Blackpool by revitalising the tourism industry .The key strands for realising this vision are* Building state of the art conference facilities* Radically improving the hotel plead (more quality 3 and 4 tether hotels)* Revamping existing attractions and revitalising the entertainment house* Creating an internationally recognised centre for tourism and casino training* Tackling crime, especially burglary and car crime* Improving the health of people in Blackpool through a shed of initiatives* Improving education outcomes and community attainment opportunities.Building on existing physical and social transformation funded through SRB2, the new Blackpool would be achieved through a series of projects and thematic activities. However, at the centre of the re-formation programme is the aim to improve the quality of life for local people by increasing local economic growth through enhanced tourism activity. And the hub of this plan is the proposal to create a think build conference centre and resort casino in the centre of Blac kpool. selling Objectives.The Masterplan sets out the marketing approach for Blackpool. Since this has been developed through extensive consultation with stakeholders, it would expect fair to say it reflects the broad wishes of most stakeholders (even the Blackpool Diocese). Obvious objectors would be the anti- play lobbyists. The Masterplan sets out how stand physical changes coupled with large(p) investment will transform the town, fashioning it attractive to new market sectors (i.e. visitors who will spend more money.So although Blackpool has undergone famed economic regeneration and diversification during the past decade, by SRB2 funding, the economy is still generally dependent on tourism (Source?) . However, with the ongoing tourism offer in decline, the Blackpool product will need to undergo change in order to prosper(Source?) . Given that the town has so much existing experience and cornerstone based around tourism, the obvious musical composition for economic reg eneration would be to deliver an improved tourism offer that meets occurrent market demand, therefore bringing more money into the town.This is exactly what Blackpool is doing instigating a comprehensive, economic regeneration programme, led by tourism. This is complemented by two further themes of physical improvements and to benefit the socially excluded sector of Blackpools population. The latter would be mainly around housing, health, education, training and entry to employment.Set out in the Blackpool Masterplan, the hub of the vision for the new Blackpool product is the development of 3 (?) resort casino hotels with associated purpose built conference facilities as well as broad appeal leisure facilities. These would include shops, restaurants, cafs, bars, cinemas, theatres and a large leisure pool. Since poor weather is currently a visitor deterrent, these facilities would be covered to allow for all year round use. Moreover, covered link up are proposed to key existing a ttractions, such as the Pleasure Beach funfair. plan of attack issues have already been partially addressed. In 1995 the new Blackpool Airport terminal building was opened and passenger number increase from 50,000 in 2002 to a projected 250,000 in 2003. This increase is principally due to the access of daily Ryanair flights to London Stansted and Dublin. Part of the forward programme of improvements are safer car position and a modernised tram system. fleck more on resort casinosAssociated economic benefits in BlackpoolAssociated economic benefits to the region particular analysis of the Blackpool MasterplanSTRENGTHSWEAKNESSES* Blackpool product radically modify* Broad stakeholder support* Builds on existing strengths* spaciotemporal regeneration package(economic, physical and social elements)* The product would be first of its large-hearted in UK* Proposals too radical?* Timescale issues* financial support issues* No casino operator secured* sassy gambling bill not enacted u ntil 2006 at the earliest* Planning issues* Old Blackpool jut out might remain will new market sectors want to come to Blackpool?What happens if the gaming laws dont change?Blackpool Council leader Roy Fisher has express that We believe the relaxation of the gaming laws will happen, which is why were trying to harness the positive potential of that development now. However, casinos are further one facet of the wide ranging muster masterplan that includes building a host of other new attractions and facilities. Rest assured, the council is absolutely pull to a major programme of regeneration for Blackpool. With or without casinos, we are determined that Blackpool will be transformed once again into a destination of truly national and international calibre. (Blackpool Today, 2003). In addition to this the Jerde Partnership (2003) acknowledge that the gaming reforms are an important ingredient in Blackpools strategy but they are not required for advantageCOMPETITORSU.K.* Seaside resorts (e.g. Southport, Lytham, Brighton, Scarborough)* City-break destinations (e.g. Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, London)* Mini-break destinations (e.g. Centre Parcs)* Conference centres (e.g. Harrogate, Brighton, Bournemouth)* bag Parks (e.g. Alton Towers, Lightwater Valley, Legoland, Chessington)* Hen & Stag destinations (e.g. Nottingham, Chester, York, Newcastle)Abroad.* Casino resorts (e.g. Las Vegas, cheerfulness City, Gold Coast)* Theme Parks (Euro Disney, Disneyworld Orlando, Disneyland Los Angeles)* megabucks holiday destinations (e.g. Spain, Greece, Tenerife, Florida)* Conference destinations in other European cities* Hen & Stag destinations (e.g. Dublin, Amsterdam, Prague, Barcelona)CONCLUSIONS* Blackpool needs radical change since the present product , principally a tourism offer, is at the end of its lifecycle and in serious decline* New product / new market* Comprehensive marketing plan* Balance of realness and informed risk taking