Morecambe, a short film
Morecambe is an award winning and beautifully scripted short film which pays homage to the town’s past and present, and also packs a big musical punch.
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NewsTranscript
00:00 As soon as the sun comes out our promenade is full of people.
00:04 [Music]
00:30 So what's Morecambe famous for? I mean it's featured in the plays of Alan Bennett as the backdrop.
00:35 It's obviously the land of Eric Morecambe, it's been in the bay, it's obviously the land of Tyson Fury.
00:41 It's a place that's been through some real ups and downs. It was a booming seaside resort in this kind of mid-20th century.
00:48 But it's also been through some real rough times. So we've come here to speak to the locals and find out a bit more about its kind of turbulent rocky history and what's next.
00:58 I was actually born locally in Lancaster. Some of my early youth was in the south of England in Buckinghamshire.
01:06 I'd lived down there till I was 12. But the draw to come back to Morecambe, Lancaster area, was more from my mother and father.
01:16 Because my mother was at Lancaster as well and my father in his youth also worked in Morecambe.
01:23 I lived here until I was about 18, went away, travelled in to university, to Leeds and moved back here just before Covid really.
01:33 Which wasn't really intentional but it was a good time to move back as well to be near the seaside, you know, when you can't really go many places.
01:42 I'm the owner of the Bayside Emporium antique shop on Morecambe Promenade.
01:48 I've been here about 10 years. I've always lived in Morecambe since I was a toddler. I'm 61 now.
01:58 I was educated in Morecambe. I grew up in the late 60s and 70s when the town was booming.
02:06 Can you tell us more about life in Morecambe in those times, in the 50s, 60s? What was Morecambe like?
02:13 Well, mostly people went out to shows. We had different shows. The Pier had a show and all the local people used to come down to those.
02:28 And then of course we had the Sons and we had the Donkeys.
02:33 A long and unfortunate series of events took their toll on Morecambe over the years.
02:37 In the late 1970s West End Pier was lost in a storm and its remnants demolished and the already fire-damaged Central Pier was demolished in the early 90s.
02:45 Then much-loved Bubbles, Frontierland and Pontins also eventually shut down.
02:50 By the turn of the millennium, with the arrival of the budget airline, holiday trends lean much more towards cheap package deals abroad.
02:57 Boom time Morecambe. When was that and what were the key highlights?
03:01 50s, 60s, I mean I wasn't that big then. But then cheap Spanish holidays killed all the holiday resorts in England.
03:08 Guaranteed good weather and cheap flight.
03:11 Do you account any of that to the Pontins closing down?
03:16 No, Pontins closed down because everybody went to Spain.
03:19 Right, gotcha.
03:20 A few people in the town that attribute the decline of the tourists to the power station,
03:26 because all the power station workers were staying here at that time, such as my dad.
03:31 But I don't think so, I think everybody was going to Spain and Greece anyway.
03:34 It was the birth, the advent of the cheap package holiday.
03:38 So yeah, for me it was still a great place, it was kind of thriving and buzzing.
03:41 There was the dolphins, there was all sorts of stuff going on.
03:45 But completely gone by the time I came back.
03:49 But now, Morecambe is potentially being offered a brand new lease of economic life, the Eden Project.
03:55 It all sounds pretty promising as a world class attraction, but is it all glitz and glory for everyone here?
04:00 So this Eden Project then, what are your thoughts?
04:12 Eden? Well it's quite conflicting for me personally.
04:18 I'm not too sure how well it's going to do for the area.
04:22 Obviously it's brilliant to have investment and have new things coming.
04:27 And as I said, Morecambe doesn't really have a lot of other activities.
04:30 I just worry that people will come see that and not want to stay, because there's not really much else to do.
04:36 If it does anything like the one in Cornwall, it'll be good for the town, because it'll bring jobs for the locals.
04:44 I believe down in Cornwall there was a lot of jobs that went to locals.
04:48 And it'll bring more tourists, which is good footfall for us.
04:54 There's quite a bit of accommodation up the west end, so when they're walking from their accommodation to the Eden Project,
05:02 they will pass us and we'll be able to catch them with signs and things.
05:06 But I think it will benefit the town, if it ever happens.
05:11 There was a buzz around town, the investors were coming in, people were saying "oh it's going to be great".
05:16 But I feel it's slightly going off the boil now, because there aren't any shovels in the ground.
05:21 We're in a bit of a stagnated limbo.
05:24 The investors aren't as prevalent as they were, and people are starting to doubt.
05:30 So that's not good for the town.
05:33 First and foremost I'm a resident of Morecambe, where we live here by the beautiful seaside.
05:39 And we absolutely love it.
05:41 And then also a business owner, so myself and my wife run a financial advice firm in Morecambe.
05:46 And then thirdly, my third hat, I'm the Vice President of Lancaster and Morecambe Chamber of Commerce.
05:53 People are right to be cautious about it, but my point is, and the point of the businesses here,
05:59 is that we need to start making changes for the better now.
06:03 This dangling carrot, the Eden Project, has energised the town and people of Morecambe, given them some optimism.
06:09 And I think even for the people that it hasn't, it's definitely got everybody talking.
06:13 Despite the downturns in recent decades, when you speak to these people now,
06:17 there's a sense of resilience, community and togetherness, topped off with a good bit of eccentricity.
06:23 Where you can't help but think that even without the Eden Project, things are looking good around the corner.
06:29 If you've ever looked at Morecambe in an evening and seen the sunset over the bay,
06:34 it is by far one of the nicest sunsets that you'll ever see in the country.
06:38 We really are blessed to live in such a beautiful place.
06:41 Oh yay! Welcome to Morecambe!
06:49 Oh yay! Welcome to Morecambe!
07:06 Oh yay! Welcome to Morecambe!
07:09 Oh yay! Welcome to Morecambe!
07:22 you