Letters - March 15, 2018

I find it sad that Prezzo is closing three local branches of their restaurant chain. This should be an alarm call for Blackpool Council.

The Gazette report on March 6 said there was little love lost for Prezzo but the Blackpool branch had a very smart frontage and brought a bit of life in the evening to the bottom end of Victoria Street (but obviously not enough to keep it going). Victoria Street already has four vacant shop units and this will add one more empty shell in a very prominent town centre location. And jobs will be lost, as indicated by the lady who feared for her grandaughter’s employment. That’s the last thing Blackpool needs.

Council and tourism chiefs make great play of the increase in visitors to the prom in 2017 but, as reported in the Gazette on January 25, footfall figures for the town centre have fallen from 19.8 million in 2013 to 17.7 million last year. If the loss of over two million town centre visitors per year doesn’t shock the council in to doing something positive, then nothing will.

I suspect that grandiose schemes, like the tramway extension, will make matters worse by whisking visitors from the railway station direct to the prom - by-passing the shops and restaurants in Talbot Road and adjoining areas. We could end up with the busiest prom and the emptiest town centre in the country.

Prezzo is only closing selected branches in their chain of restaurants. Sadly, with the general decline and all the traffic chaos in the town centre for the past few months, I don’t think the Blackpool branch stood a chance of surviving.

M Long

Newton Drive
Blackpool

RUBBISH

Eyesores are a thorn in my side

With regard to the article in the Gazette (Tuesday, March 13) this eyesore [at the former Mariner’s Pub] has long been a thorn in my side as I have to pass it on a regular basis.

My sympathy is with Viv Clayton (pictured) and her surrounding neighbours.

I have written to the Coun Don Clayton and also my councillors, Peter and Maxine Callow, regarding this eyesore.

I have also been in contact twice with Tim Martin, the chairman of Wetherspoons, asking if he would purchase the land and build a much-needed community public house. The letter I received from him stated he would consult the department which dealt with new venues. Unfortunately the answer was they were not looking for any new builds at present.

As for the rest of the bottom of Norbreck Road, well it is also an eyesore, including the rubbish piled high that collects inside the perimeter of Norbreck Castle Hotel. I have written to the manager of the hotel regarding this.

I really don’t know just what our council can do about privately owned buildings, but the state of this area on the promenade and Norbreck road brings the rest of the area down

Linda Greatorex

Norbreck

POLITICS

Don’t mess with these communists

There should be no surprise at the way the so-called Labour Party has removed Debbie Abrahams who was Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary.

Woe betide anyone slightly crossing this red party line if this Marxist, Communist Party masquerading as Labour ever seize power. Young voters, you have been warned.

Barrie Crowther

Via email

WEATHER

Adults lack moral fibre these days

Following the recent snow episodes, I would like to remark upon the national reaction to it.

I note with sadness that everything seems to come to a halt, for example, schools closing for the day. It would seem this is because of the dreaded ‘health and safety’.

This, in my view, is a smokescreen for teachers to also have a day off. This shows the pupils the way to behave in the future.

We are breeding a generation of adults who, at the first sign of adversity, surrender to events and it breeds a lack of moral fibre.

The media create a fire- storm of hysteria by naming events, such as the ‘Beast from the East’, therefore ‘bigging up’ events which, dare I say it, in the past would have been shrugged off and folk would simply carry on regardless.

This is not some grumpy old (56-year-old) male reminiscing about the good old days, but a statement of fact.

We oldies look at the current times and thank God that, in years to come, we will not be around to witness the decline of our fellow humans.

Karl Grubb

Address supplied