To ask what's wrong with Blackpool?

[Allnostalgic]

There have been a few threads about Blackpool lately. I haven't been to Blackpool for at least 20 years. From what I can remember it was ok but then I was a teenager.

I have been tempted to go back to see what it's all about but always see it described as being hellish. I know it's a deprived part of the country but is it really that bad? What's actually bad about it?

@Dalaidramailama aww glad you enjoyed it! Gorgeous photo as well! It's definitely the place to people watch ha ha

@ivfbabymomma1

Yes, I did that with a nice cup of tea 😂.

I'm just reading the debate and yes Blackpool is awful compared to leafy southern places. They deserve some of the promised levelling up money. It really is a victim of chronic under investment.

To poster saying about waitrose and home shires should be ashamed. I'm willing to bet that town has received a lot more funding per capita than Blackpool and not been a magnet for the government dumping of asylum seekers whilst making no corresponding investment in health education and social care provision. And when you are commuting distance to London the population includes wealthy people with influence and funnily enough they are the places that get regeneration and further gentrified. The rich get richer the poor can get lost.

Educational and career opportunities are limited in Blackpool for the poorest whilst doing less with more. I went to private school and got out.

There are still lovely big houses with nice gardens sea and park views. Its possible to live a nice life and have a good job for exanple at the BAE systems in Wharton, or commuting to Manchester.

My cousin works for the council, another teaches, another runs their own business, there do myriad extra curricular activities with the dc, who are well educated and looking at good careers. There are plenty of decent and even well to do people in Blackpool just like anywhere there's a social mix.

It’s a dive. Run down, tacky and dirty. Full of chicken shops, rowdy hen and stag do’s the minute gets dark. My kids love it though. They will happily spend hours /days walking between the different promenades. The indoor water park is good but pricey. The theme park is like every other theme park, loud, noisy and expensive.

Sorry my post above should be doing more with less that seems to be a feature of public services nationwide under the Tories. Exacerbated in an area where they "dump" refugees.

@ZenNudist I’m the Waitrose Labrador snob. My comment was slightly tongue in cheek but you’re right, I do live in a wealthy area.

It was the drunks, obvious drug dealing/taking, litter, tacky, tacky shops, lack of any clean, vaguely nice/healthy places to eat, high police presence (which I appreciated) that I found really quite shocking. I was expecting tacky northern seaside town. I wasn’t expecting the level of deprivation that I saw.

I will apologise for being a snob. I’m very much not snobbish about individuals and it’s a large part of my professional career not to judge people. But as a place… was hard not to judge and to hot foot it out of there!

I have no doubt that if I got a job there I would find a great house and enjoy the community. I think it’s unlikely I’d go to the seafront very much though and as a tourist that was the obvious place for me to head so that’s what I based my judgement on.

@ZenNudist and yes, I fully agree that Blackpool is one of many places that needs funding urgently.

I’d like to also point out that even in a relatively wealthy area there are lots of people who struggle financially and with a myriad of social problems. Blackpool just happens to be one of the few places I’ve been to where the social depravation was overwhelming and unavoidable

I've not been since summer 2019 my niece went yesterday though.

It was the drunks, obvious drug dealing/taking, litter, tacky, tacky shops, lack of any clean, vaguely nice/healthy places to eat

I am not sure I have ever seen any drug taking but I'll take your word for it. There is a shopping centre full of all the usual suspects - although suffering as are all shopping centres. And you really didn't try very hard if you couldn't find somewhere decent to eat. Plenty of decent restaurants within areas tourists would frequent.

You can get drug addicts anywhere it's people that do that not the town itself. We are a working class town and there are certain areas I wouldn't want to live that have drug addicts. So what it's life wish them luck if they want to get clean. Anyone can end up there including your own child.

@Givenuptotally I’m sure there are nice places to eat. As a tourist there for one day in the centre, I couldn’t find one quickly (small children so can’t spend too long looking). Ended up buying a picnic lunch from a supermarket I think.

I’m sure there are nice places to eat

If you find one - let me know.

We went recently to a show one evening, and the place was absolutely heaving - and we ended up in Pizza Hut. I was very grateful to get something to eat and the staff were lovely. However, it was not a 'nice place to eat'....

If you want a nice place to eat near Blackpool try the St Annes fish restaurant or the Bispham kitchens.

Blackpool has its issues like many run-down & underfunded northern seaside resorts. Yes there is drug taking, perhaps they just don’t hide it as well as the middle and/or upper class coke users!

@Goodadvice1980 I will visit Lytham St Annes in the summer - heard it's very nice - and have made a note of those places, thanks.

Good point about the 'upper' classes drug use!

Not everyone can afford the maldives, dear.

Sadly Blackpool is very much a dumping ground by certain government departments which dosnt help.

True of many seaside towns, Morecambe is the same. Councils and Govt used the old boarding houses to house newly released prisoners, homeless, immigrants, drug abusers, etc who bring loads of problems with them, but don't put any support networks in place so many turn to crime, trash their flats, etc.

St Annes is nice but Lytham is nicer still than St.Annes and very pretty, with lovely independent shops, cafes and restaurants. Lowther Gardens seemed to have decent shows/events and the Lytham Festival in summer looks fantastic - has Sting this next summer and other leading music acts - although I've never been to it.

Totally, totally different world to Blackpool and just a few miles up the road.

Totally agree with you. I’m from a near by town/city (PP) originally, but live halfway between the 2 towns these days. I much prefer going into Blackpool. I’ve just been to The Globe for a fantastic show, will be heading to the Panto & Elf the musical next month. Was at the Zoo this weekend, we regularly visit the sea life centre, my youngest loves the Peter Rabbit exhibition. There are some lovely suburbs in Blackpool, I also always prefer Blackpool hospital for treatments for my family.

We are even considering moving to Blackpool when our DCs start high school as they will be going to school in Lytham.

The town gets a bad rep because of the old tacky seaside holiday reputation and unfortunately because of the issues with dumping drug addicts, peados, and others in the town centre, as well as it’s lack of funding, just like a lot of other seaside towns. But that’s just one part of the town and certainly doesn't define everyone who lives there.

You know somewhere is bad when even its fans only want to visit weekdays, before dark, and only keep to one or two roads...

Morecambe is nothing like that the old boarding house in westend of morecambe the majority have been reduced in size ether demolishing the back or thanking the top flor off to Mede them housing association 4 bed family homes

there’s one hotel on the prom the old strathmoor been taken over housings refugees that’s it
loads of work has been done over the years the sea front is stunning
very few run down areas compared with others
my friend is a probation officer there is no great numbers of prisoners dumped her

drugs in no major problem
20 years ago you may well of been right but the improvement are massive

I must admit I've been sucked into watching the various Blackpool vlogs on YouTube, some real fly on the wall stuff. The Walk on the Wild Side bloke shows Blackpool warts and all, and with him going into some of the worst of the back streets I'm waiting for the jump scares!

There's another channel run by an older man who goes out every day filming building sites, shops (which tend to close down within a few months) and trying to showcase various bits and pieces to paint it in a good light. It's a bit amateurish and possibly naively optimistic, but I feel a bit sorry for him as he comes across as lonely.

In my work I've gone to some meetings re. possible regeneration schemes, but whether these come about is another matter given the state of the economy.