JULY
POWER Station staff sealed off part of a turbine basement at Heysham 1 after a leak of sulphuric acid at the plant.

Chemicals specialists from the site were called to investigate after a smell was detected.

Alarms were raised and staff were mustered to be informed of the alert and accounted for.

There were no injuries or illness as a result of the leak and at no stage was there any radiation issue, according to power station officials.

AN AWARD-winning couple of keen gardeners who were told by Lancaster City Council that their front garden looked "too pretty" thought it was bloomin' ridiculous.

Barry and Betty Atack were ordered to remove a trellis arbour of beautiful flowers from around the door of their 200-year-old Lord Street cottage - and were given a deadline of four weeks to take it down.

The council said the trellis "detracted from the architectural simplicity of the area" in Poulton village and "set an unacceptable precedent."

MORECAMBE FC revealed plans for a new multi-million pound, 6,000 capacity stadium at Westgate, saying the scheme was not only desirable but 'absolutely essential' to secure the long term future of the club.

Plans included selling Christie Park, probably for housing, and creating a sports complex at Westgate including two training pitches and a gym.

The pitches would also be used for a major expansion of the club's Football in the Community' scheme involving local schools and community groups.

TWO would-be robbers who left Arnside post office empty-handed after being told off by a member of staff were jailed.

Martin Bullough, 56, and David Atkinson, 37, brandished an imitation gun and demanded cash.

But sub-postmistress Sandra Gardiner told them not to be so silly when they waved the gun in front of her and they left.
Bullough was jailed for
six years, Atkinson for five years.

AUGUST
A SEX shop selling hardcore porn was set to open in the heart of Morecambe after it was granted a licence by Lancaster City Council.

Andrew Berry, who applied for the licence, said it would not be a "smutty shop" and said he would try to cater for all adults.

He said one side of the shop would sell lingerie and marital aids and the other side would sell restricted 18 videos.

n A TEENAGER was recovering in hospital after a metal lamppost fell and fractured her skull.

Alisha Roughsedge was transferred to the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital after the accident near her home on Meadowside Road, Westgate.

Her mum and stepdad said concerns were raised by residents up to a year before the incident, but nothing had been done.

Alisha was allowed home a few days after the accident.

EFFORTS to revive the Winter Gardens were handed an amazing boost by a former Morecambe resident.

Band leader's daughter Pat Burnett left the project £140,000 in her will.

The gift allowed the Friends of the Winter Gardens to pay off a loan on the building and press ahead with the next phase of restoration.

n SIX unexploded World War Two bombs were destroyed by Royal Navy bomb disposal experts off Heysham Head and the coastguard warned there could be more.

Police cordoned off the beach near Smithy Lane at Heysham and told nearby residents to keep away from their windows as the four-strong team detonated the live shells in a controlled explosion.

The mortars, believed to have been fired off Heysham Barrows by the Home Guard during the Second World War, were discovered by a retired sea captain who was out walking on the beach.

SEPTEMBER
THE giant sculpture of a fishing rod that formed the centrepiece of a new development in Morecambe was completed.

The 14-metre-high steel rod and line, leading down to an ornamental pool containing a variety of real and imaginary sea creatures, was installed in the West End Gardens near The Battery.

The design for the artwork was chosen from designs submitted by children from Heysham High, Sandylands and West End primary schools.

n LANCASTER Road's Esso station was to close with the loss of six jobs – despite claims that people were prepared to keep it running and invest in its future.

The current shop franchisee was retiring but had already had discussions with at least one operator who was prepared to take it over and keep on the staff.

There was speculation that the site may be taken over by Tesco – but this was unconfirmed.

n A MAN from Silverdale was banned from keeping animals for life just over two years after his wife suffered the same fate.

Alan Gregson, 62, of Wellbank, Lindeth Road, was disqualified from keeping pets and had pleaded guilty to seven offences of causing unnecessary suffering to 15 dogs he kept in "conditions of squalor" at his home.

Rosalind Gregson was banned from keeping animals for life in June 2005 after the RSPCA rescued 271 animals from her home in Lindeth Road.
n A GROUP of residents loved the view from their houses across open fields so much that they bought it.

The whole district could now enjoy it for years to come as a covenant drawn up by solicitors would protect the coastal green space forever.

Rayner's Field at Heysham – views across which were enjoyed by generations of locals and visitors alike – was put up for sale by the Rayner family trust through an auction held at Lancaster town hall.

Residents of nearby Twemlow Parade and Knowlys area successfully bid for the field at a final price of £160,000.

OCTOBER
A MORECAMBE councillor was calling on locals to boycott Polo mints unless the ugly seafront tower was improved or removed.

The rotting structure was a throwback to the former Frontierland attraction but now stood as a monument to Morecambe's decline.

The town's former tourism officer Ron Sands said that Morecambe had the most unusual phone mast in Britain and to his knowledge the only one that resembled a gigantic tube of Polo mints.
n SUGGESTIONS that council land at Scotforth should be sold – possibly to be bought by Tesco for a new store – brought locals out into the fields in protest.

The city council's cabinet considered selling land at Lawson's Bridge off the A6 as part of a review of land it wasn't making use of.

But campaigners who picketed at the field and who lobbied councillors at the cabinet meeting said the moves were 'kept secret' and that they objected to the town being 'sold off for dodgy developments.'

THE Visitor revealed that the Morecambe Dome could be facing the wrecking ball as Lancaster City Council aimed to slash more than £2 million from its budget over the next two years.

But supporters of the town's premier live entertainment venue insisted The Dome was 'The Special One' and its closure would be a tragedy.

They feared that with the possible re-opening of The Winter Gardens and redevelopment of the central promenade area by Urban Splash – possibly including a new building for live entertainment - still years away, the demise of The Dome could leave Morecambe without a flagship entertainments venue.

TATTY shop fronts along Morecambe promenade were to be upgraded in a £1 million scheme to improve 'A View for Eric.'

Morecambe was only one of 13 UK towns and cities to have been provisionally promised money from the Heritage Lottery Fund for a new regeneration scheme, and was now in line to benefit by revitalising some of the Art Deco and Victorian shopfronts in the heart of the resort. The scheme will be called Morecambe Townscape Heritage Initiative 2 (THI 2) – 'A View For Eric' and £923,000 has been put aside.

NOVEMBER
n LANCASTER and Morecambe College's ageing and outdated buildings could be completely demolished to make way for a modern, state-of-the-art educational establishment fit for the future.

Governors were to be asked to look at a range of proposals to equip the college with the accommodation needed to see it continue to thrive well into the 21st century.

A complete demolition and rebuild, in a scheme that could cost up to £30 million, could turn out to be a strong recommendation following a major consultation process and feasibility study.

n GANGMASTERS were using children as cheap labour to pick cockles in Morecambe Bay because regulation of the shellfish industry had become a "shambles" claimed Morecambe fishermen.

They said that the situation in the bay – where 23 Chinese cocklers died in February 2004 – had got so bad that groups of kids, aged around 14 and 15, had been out in the dangerous sands picking cockles after being coaxed by gangmasters who "pick them off the streets" or even, on at least one occasion, from outside school gates.

n A TOP Morecambe promoter was planning a dozen festivals for 2008, spanning five decades and a total of 11 different genres of music.

Steve Middlesbrough unveiled his ambitious new plans which he hoped would build on a successful 2007 when his range of festivals helped bring the 'feel good factor' to an otherwise damp and dreary summer.

Steve's line-up for next year included the return of the BluesWater international blues festival and his involvement in the Tutti Frutti 1950s festival.

n A TEENAGE gang ringleader who spat in a policeman's face was banned from a section of the West End after being involved in as many as 40 incidents of alleged anti-social behaviour.

Ryan Parkinson, 18, of Needham Avenue, was handed a two year Anti-Social Behaviour Order (ASBO) by Lancaster Magistrates.

In statements provided as evidence, residents told how Parkinson had threatened and intimidated youths and residents in the area.

DECEMBER
AROUND 80 couples applied to hold their weddings at the Midland Hotel after it opens in spring 2008.

Their enquiries were among thousands to have been received by Urban Splash requesting bookings for rooms and functions, or simply for information on the Art Deco hotel as its impending opening continued to attract massive interest across the region.

Urban Splash said there was a huge amount of anticipation for the hotel to reopen.

n REVOLUTIONARY new radar-enhanced satellite maps could help prevent tragedies such as the one that claimed cocklers' lives in Morecambe Bay.

The radar penetrates thick clouds and the mapped images can be used by emergency services called to incidents in the bay.

The maps will be assembled from data beamed at the speed of light by the European Space Agency (ESA) Envisat satellite 600 km out in space to stations in Scotland, Sweden and Italy.