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Review of Morecambe,
2005 ...... from The Morecambe
Visitor
JANUARY
As the New Year dawned a tale of courage emerged from the midst of one of
the worst natural disasters the world has ever seen.
A mother and daughter miraculously survived the Boxing Day tsunami which
killed more than 200,000 people across Asia. In the space of just a few
minutes they went from enjoying their holiday to scrambling to safety.
In the ensuing chaos Emily Judson, 15, and mum Kerry put their own safety
aside and helped a badly injured boy.
There were also storms closer to home. High winds and severe flooding
ravaged Morecambe and Lancaster. Homes were left without electricity or
water, trees were flattened and buildings badly damaged.
Some roads had to be closed off due to flooding and fallen trees.
A Morecambe road on which two youngsters were killed in as many years was
to be closed. South Road in the resort was earmarked for closure after a
campaign by residents for traffic calming.
Increased insurance costs and disruption by cocklers' vehicles threatened
the famous organised walks across Morecambe Bay.
The 2004 cockling tragedy had prompted insurance companies to review their
premiums, possibly pricing the walks out of the reach of the organisers.
A young actor from Bolton-le-Sands enjoyed a dream movie debut rubbing
shoulders with Colin Farrell, Angelina Jolie, Anthony Hopkins and Val
Kilmer.
Michael Dixon won a part in the multi-million pound movie 'Alexander',
directed by Oliver Stone.
Michael played a Macedonian soldier called 'Dimnus' after graduating from
drama school.
The Morecambe Music Festival was no more. Organisers announced that the
annual festival, which celebrated its centenary in 2004, had had its swan
song.
The decision to end the festival was blamed on financial losses and the
retirement of its long-serving financial musical secretary.
Customers at a Morecambe shop were lucky to escape with their lives after
a red BMW crashed through the front window of the Spar shop on Lancaster
Road.
The car, driven by Gareth Horn from Trevor Horn Motors, had been
accidentally shunted from behind.
FEBRUARY
As Morecambe remembered those that died in the cockling tragedy one year
on, the town's MP was given a special award.
Geraldine Smith was celebrated as the Campaigning MP of the Year by the
Hansard Society, a cross-party panel of her fellow MPs.
It was recognition of her push for the regulation of the cockling
industry.
Every afternoon senior citizens from all over the north of England
gathered at the Pier Hotel in Morecambe for an old time music hall
sing-song.
But they had not bargained on over officious bureaucrats from Lancaster
City Council.
Licensing bosses told landlady Janet Kirk that the sing-a-long was classed
as karaoke and, therefore, she would need an entertainments licence.
She was also told that she could be landed with a £20,000 fine for
failing to comply with the regulations.
Evil killer Paul Culshaw was told he would spend the rest of his life
behind bars after being found guilty of murdering a young mother. Culshaw
was convicted of strangling Clare Benson-Jowry in his flat on the Ryelands
estate.
The court heard that Culshaw had previous convictions for rape and
attempted murder.
Police launched a campaign against cottaging in a Morecambe toilet block.
Groups of men had been gathering to engage in cottaging in the public
conveniences in Bare.
As a result police stepped up patrols and warned that they would take
action against anyone indulging in the practice.
Deep emotions and memories of lost comrades came flooding back for an old
soldier from Morecambe.
Frank Anderson revisited the killing fields of Burma to pay tribute to old
colleagues as the 60th anniversary of VJ Day approached.
MARCH
MUCH of Lancaster and Morecambe ground to a halt after the M6 closed when
two lorries collided and covered the motorway in chemicals.
Commuters and schoolchildren travelling to and from Lancaster were stuck
in queues stretching as far back as the Shrimp roundabout.
The city centre was blocked solid for hours as traffic was routed away
from the motorway and through Lancaster. Tailbacks of five miles were
reported.
Around 1,000 spectators watched in horror as a stock car veered across a
race track, smashed into a gate and nearly crushed a man to death.
The terrifying accident happened at a fortnightly meeting of Warton Stock
Car Club.
A banger hit the gate where cars enter the track, flipping over onto its
back and catching two race marshals.
The two men were rushed to hospital but thankfully their injuries were not
life-threatening.
Thora Hird left a parting gift for two groups.
The Friends of the Winter Gardens and the Morecambe Warblers were given £10,000
apiece from Dame Thora's will.
Thora met her husband Jimmy Scott in the Winter Gardens and her mum and
dad met while members of the Warblers.
A Heysham scaffolder was the toast of the US after receiving rave reviews
for his colourful and quirky work.
Steve Harris wowed the New York art scene and was compared to Francis
Bacon and David Hockney.
For Steve it was all a bit embarrassing. "I'm just a working class
lad who works as a scaffolder," he told The Visitor. "It's all a
bit overwhelming."
APRIL
Cockle pickers were banned from Morecambe Bay to save stocks from running
dangerously low. The ban was ordered by the North Western and North Wales
Sea Fisheries Committee after a survey found dwindling stocks.
As well as local fishermen the ban affected up to 200 Polish workers.
A nun from Morecambe who selflessly saved Jewish families from the Nazis
in World War Two received a posthumous honour from Israel.
Maria Antoniazzi, known as Sister Anthony, was nominated by some of the
people she saved to become one of Israel's Righteous Amongst Nations.
After suffering years of racist abuse Mal Hussain left Lancaster's
Ryelands Estate. And as might be expected he caused controversy in doing
so.
Mal was paid a reported £250,000 by the police and city council to drop
all legal actions and leave the estate.
The agreement also meant they must never live or work in the Lancaster
area ever again.
A retired teacher who made the lives of her neighbours a misery by
verbally abusing them and playing loud music became the oldest woman to be
given an anti-social behaviour order.
Trouble flared at Coppice Brow in Carnforth more than 10 years before when
Jennie Smith's husband passed away. Ever since she had subjected
neighbours to a volley of verbal abuse.
She was given a two year anti-social behaviour order.
MAY
The General Election campaign dominated the headlines for the first week
of this month.
In Morecambe Geraldine Smith and Tory opponent James Airey went head to
head in the battle to become the town's MP.
Geraldine recorded her third election success, polling just 300 few votes
than in 2001.
In Lancaster Ben Wallace took the seat back for the Conservatives, with a
commanding 4,000 majority over Labour rival Anne Sacks.
In the county council elections Labour clung onto power with a majority of
three.
The elections had an added meaning as the end of World War Two in Europe
was commemorated with a series of sombre services around the district.
It was only a matter of time before Shaun Jackson killed someone, police
told a court. Jackson, 23, was banned from the Poulton area of Morecambe
after complaints from residents. He was said to have walked around the
area with a samurai sword and was described as a "very dangerous
man".
Just two weeks later he was arrested and charged with the murder of Derek
Lees. Mr Lees' partially decomposed body was found at the bottom of a
flight of stairs at his home on Sefton Road in Morecambe.
He had been beaten to death.
Proposals to build a B&Q store near Asda were scuppered because of
fears it could make the district's travel problems even worse.
City planners blocked the application for the development on the former
Moll Industries site on Ovangle Road.
The Visitor was honoured with a national award for its support of the
local lifeboat crew.
The paper's editor, Glen Cooper, picked up the award from the Duke of Kent
for its 'Home for the Hover' campaign.
The RSPCA was left with a bill of almost £140,000 after a court case
against Silverdale dog owner Rosalind Gregson.
Mrs Gregson accepted she was at fault for allowing the unnecessary
suffering of dogs. She had collected 271 animals, which the RSPCA
liberated from her home on Lindeth Road.
She was sentenced to three months in prison, reduced to a three-year
community rehabilitation order on appeal.
JUNE
After years of false dawns and misplaced hope the day many people in
Morecambe thought they would never see finally arrived – work started on
the Midland Hotel.
The first phase of the £7million restoration got underway with a date of
April 2007 pencilled in for opening.
The man credited with saving Carnforth Railway Station from the wrecking
ball was made an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours.
Peter Yates was given the award for his years of commitment to the station
and the community of Carnforth.
Another planning application for a major DIY store landed on the desk of
city planners.
But just as with B&Q, the application for the AXA Insurance site was
rejected on the grounds that it would increase congestion.
Fears were raised that the Winter Gardens would be turned into a shopping
arcade after owners Barnfield Construction were approached by a developer.
But as soon as the proposals were made public, causing outrage, the
developer backed away.
The theatre also had a new supporter with some real muscle – the son of
the late Eric Morecambe.
Gary Morecambe backed the Friends of the Winter Gardens and their plans to
restore the theatre.
Gary was the special guest at a special lunch to raise money for the
campaign. As a special thank you he was given a lift to the lunch in his
dad's old Rolls Royce.
Visitors entering Morecambe via Hest Bank were greeted by a new sculpture.
The Venus and Cupid sculpture had been commissioned in 2000 but spent a
number of years without a home.
It was originally meant to have proud of place on St George's Quay, but
that was rejected on the grounds that the sculpture was too modern.
JULY
AN ongoing feud between gangs from Lancaster's Ryelands and Marsh
estates was blamed for a near riot. In
the early hours of the morning a group of marauding vandals caused
thousands of pounds of damage on the Marsh.
Car and house windows were smashed, fences knocked down and wing mirrors
ripped off.
The last bastion of the humble foot was rendered defunct by new
technology.
Two former cocklers offered people the opportunity to travel across
Morecambe Bay via a tank, rather than the more usual guided walk.
Five years after Frontierland closed its gates for the final time
supermarket chain Morrisons decided it had the answer for the prime site
– 125 luxury
apartments, 28 houses and an 80-room hotel.
A separate application also sought to build a mini-retail park next to
Morrisons' existing store.
There was a mixed reaction to the plans, with publican Mick Donnellon
saying it was time for something to be done with Frontierland.
Hotelier Jim Catterall, however, said the last thing the resort needed
was more apartments.
A man was hurled across his kitchen by a massive explosion caused by a
fire in his neighbour's house. Lancaster Road was closed while fire
crews battled the huge blaze which was so severe that the house was
rendered uninhabitable.
Fishermen in Morecambe said that the traditional seafront scenes of
boats bobbing in the bay could be lost because of bureaucracy.
They argued that their rights were being whittled away by the city
council with a raft of new byelaws to control the promenade.
Instead of using the slipway at Morecambe Town Hall, as they had done
for generations, the fishermen were told to use the one on Green Street
instead. They were also told they would have to pay for launch and exit
permits.
The city council claimed it was the only way they bay could be managed
with its increasing use for leisure means.
AUGUST
Another great Morecambe festival bit the dust.
Organisers of the Wasted Punk Festival announced they would be holding
the 2006 show in Blackpool. It meant the resort stood to lose up to £1million
in tourism.
A box containing the word Semtex, the favourite explosive of IRA
terrorists, was found in a Morecambe garage.
Bomb disposal experts were called to Rayrigg Motors on White Lund
following the discovery by a mechanic who was preparing a former lease
car for sale.
It transpired the car had been used as a training aid by the police and
the box did not contain any explosives.
Residents of a central Morecambe street rubbed their eyes in amazement
as workmen put down yellow lines on the road outside their homes –
just a few weeks before the same workmen had removed similar lines.
There was more rubbing of eyes when the workmen stopped work halfway
through and burned away those they had already laid.
The confusion was blamed on the area being part of the Home Zone, where
yellow lines are removed to help improve the appearance of an area.
Instead drivers are told they must park in marked bays only.
But no one told Lancashire County Council which, during a routine
inspection, noticed the lines were missing and ordered them to be
reinstated. Lancaster City Council heard about the
situation and then ordered them to be removed again.
Workers at the RAC insurance call centre in Morecambe were stunned to
hear they were to lose their jobs.
The shock redundancies were announced after the company merged with
Norwich Union Insurance. A total of 1,700 jobs were culled across the
UK.
Plans were announced to update Happy Mount Park's paddling pool to be
replaced with a state-of-the-art aqua play park.
Councillors approved £205,000 to spend on the scheme following
overwhelming support from park users. There was criticism from some
quarters who said that the new aqua park was inappropriate for younger
children.
SEPTEMBER
Police saw red after one of their cars was given an impromptu make-over.
A vandal tipped pink paint over a Panda car which was parked at the rear
of Morecambe Police Station.
To most people a roundabout is merely part of the road system, something
to be negotiated and then forgotten.
But to Kevin Beresford roundabouts are like gold dust – and Morecambe
is the Holy Grail.
Kevin and his society, the United Kingdom Roundabout Appreciation
Society, visited Morecambe and snapped pictures for their Roundabouts of
Morecambe calendar.
He described the town's network of roundabouts as captivating.
A tanker overturned on the roundabout on Ovangle Road, once again
bringing traffic chaos to Morecambe.
More than 30,000 litres of marine oil were sent gushing onto the road.
Twenty two tonnes of sand were used to soak up the oil, which took
nearly 24 hours.
A new group was launched to campaign for the northern bypass.
'We Love the Link' comprised residents, business leaders and politicians
and had one aim – to secure the building of a new motorway link with
the M6.
It was launched at the Ovangle Road roundabout with the release of 362
balloons – one for every 100 vehicles that passed the site in an
average day.
The trial into the Morecambe Bay cockling tragedy started. Lin Liang Ren
was accused of being the gangmaster in charge of the 21 Chinese workers
who drowned in February 2004.
He denied the charges. The trial continues.
Significant savings, including the cutting of 130 beds, were announced
by the Morecambe Bay Hospitals NHS Trust to avoid being up to £8million
in debt. Management costs and controls on overtime and agency staff were
also being targeted.
OCTOBER
Heavy rain forced the cancellation of five driving tests when human
waste began to pour from a drain.
Driving examiners were forced to stop work after the incident at the
test centre on Sugham Lane in Heysham. It was blamed on a blockage in
the drain.
Six students from Lancaster University were convicted of aggravated
trespass.
The George Fox Six, as they became known, had been protesting at the
university against the arms trade.
Controversially the university decided to press charges against its own
students and, following a trial, they were found guilty and sentenced to
a two year conditional discharge.
There was good news for Morecambe's West End when it was granted more
than £3million.
The cash was allocated as the area is classed as one of the most
deprived areas of the country.
It will be used on tackling crime, anti-social behaviour and drugs
issues as well as improving the condition of streets and public spaces.
A campaign was launched to get Morecambe its own council.
The move, by the Morecambe Bay Independents, was intended to restore
"identity and pride" in the town.
Business leaders and residents gave the idea the thumbs up and decided
to press ahead with trying to garner public support.
When Pat MacDonald decided to try and brighten up her Morecambe home she
did not bargain that barmy bureaucrats would scupper the plan. Pat was
denied planning permission for the garden because a set of railings to
run along the outside of the garden would detract from the appearance of
the area.
She pointed out that other eyesores went untouched by the council.
NOVEMBER
The sight residents of Bulk in Lancaster had longed to see for years
finally happened – Nightingale Hall Farm went up in flames.
Sixty firefighters battled the fierce blaze, which took more than five
hours to bring under control.
Plans were mooted to sell off Morecambe Town Hall and erect a new one in
the heart of the resort. For Lancaster Town Hall the proposals were for
staff to be relocated and the building used to house a new museum.
There was immediate criticism of the plans from both sides of the river.
A woman with a heart condition was flown to hospital and 140 other
passengers were left in shock when the train they were travelling in
derailed just outside Lancaster.
The TransPennine Express from Manchester airport hit a landslide and
veered off the tracks for almost a mile at Scotforth.
Fortunately the other passengers were uninjured.
Red-faced county council
bosses admitted manufacturers of new signs for bus shelters had made the
mother of all cock-ups.
Instead of 'Morecambe' they had invented the new town of 'Morcombe'.
There was worse to come when passengers looked a little further along.
'Heysham' had been turned into 'Heynsham'.
Morecambe Football Club chiefs were busy making plans for the rest of
the season after manager Jim Harvey suffered a heart attack before the
home game against Cambridge.
He was taken to hospital an hour before kick-off after complaining of
chest pains.
Former Northern Ireland boss Sammy McIlroy was quickly installed as
caretaker manager. He made an instant impact with the team going on an
impressive run to climb the Conference table.
Morecambe's only remaining ballroom had its last waltz thanks to a
controversial parking scheme. The Astra Ballroom on Green Street closed
following a downturn in the number of people taking lessons.
The Poulton HomeZone parking scheme was blamed.
Barrow pensioner Bernice Dent went for an unexpected swim when her car
was pushed through the parapet of Skerton Bridge. She was driving across
the bridge in her Citroen Saxo when she had an altercation with a lorry.
Luckily she was uninjured and became an unlikely media star, appearing
on GMTV the next day.
DECEMBER
Retired police officer Graham Woods received an unexpected and unwanted
letter at his Morecambe home – addressed to Mr Toss Bagg.
The junk mail promised Graham – or Mr Bagg – a guaranteed prize of
£100,000. He suspected it had been sent at random by a disgruntled
ex-employee of the company, Anderson Games.
Sadistic killer Shaun Jackson was jailed for life after pleading guilty
to the murder of Graham Lees, whose partially decomposed body had been
found at the bottom of a flight of stairs in May.
A judge said he must serve at least 14 years.
As Jackson was put away for his crime, police launched another murder
investigation. Ralph Dean, a homeless man, was found dying in the gutter
after apparently being the victim of a motiveless attack.
He died later in hospital and two teenagers were charged with his
murder.
Just 18 months after the RNLI launched its Home for the Hover appeal and
it had raised the £250,000 target.
The money was raised to build a permanent home for the Morecambe
lifeboat crew's rescue hovercraft.
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