Here's a round-up of some of the big developments to watch out for in Morecambe and Lancaster in 2023

While the Eden North plan for Morecambe may dominate many news headlines, there are other important developments elsewhere which also deserve attention.

Renovations and upgrades for Morecambe’s Winter Gardens and Lancaster’s Grand Theatre are two higher profile examples.

But other events and activities are evolving too, including outdoor festivals and attractions, and new ideas for using buildings and public spaces.

Morecambe developments

Supporters of Morecambe Winter Gardens’ revival said they had a particularly successful year in 2022, as their renovation project continues. The venue reached its 125th anniversary in 2022 and was visited by the then Prince Charles, now King Charles, during the summer.

Events held there recently have included a spectacular sculpture of the planet Mars by artist Luke Jerram.

Rock music festival Hawkfest, which celebrated the cult band Hawkwind, was also held at the theatre. Morecambe poet and actor Matt Panesh was behind the event – but thousands of hours of voluntary work were also put in by an army of supporters at the Winter Gardens.

Looking ahead, the Victorian-era venue hopes for success later in 2023 with a £3m Levelling-Up bid to the government.

The Winter Gardens Levelling-Up bid is being considered in a different round of applications from the higher-profile Eden North application for £50m, which is expected to be decided in January.

More than £1m has been spent on the Winter Gardens in recent times on a range of building improvements. Tasks have included work on the dressing rooms, lighting for bars and strengthening of the venue’s ornate ceiling,

The hope is to fully reopen the landmark building as a full-time concert and events venue. Audience capacities will be enlarged in phases, hopefully going up to 1,600.

The Winter Gardens was once known as as ‘the Albert Hall of the north’, and the trust behind its revival and renovation want to make Morecambe a regular location for all types of music again.

Over the years, it has hosted artists such as Shirley Bassey, The Rolling Stones, Billy Connolly and The Shadows

The trust reportedly doubled the number of visitors and income during 2022, with visitor numbers reported to be 33,000 between spring and autumn, with 8,000 customers attending paid-for events.

Elsewhere in Morecambe, Lancaster City Council has bought the former Frontierland theme park site. It wanted to secure the site to help shape Morecambe’s future direction and is looking for ideas from potential commercial partners and the community.

The city council more recently called for expressions of interest from potential business partners, to see what the options might be.

And the city council also approved a pedicab rickshaw-type licence for leisure tours along the promenade, between The Midland Hotel and Whinnysty Lane in Heysham.

Laura Manlove, a former nurse from Morecambe, is behind the pedicab idea. She said the rickshaw tours could be a great addition to Morecambe, enhancing the local economy and reflecting a push for greener travel and tourism.

Meanwhile, the management of the 1930s Midland Hotel changed in December following a takeover by Newcastle-based company The Inn Collection Group.

The Midland Hotel is a key landmark and brilliant example of streamlined art deco architecture and interior design. Developed as a flagship attraction by a railway company back in 1933, its features include mosaics and sea animal carvings by artist and sculptor Eric Gill.

Morecambe is hosting festivals such as Vintage on the Beach again after the pandemic cancellations, while the promenade could see cycle-powered pedicab tours this coming year after Lancaster City Council approved a licensing arrangement for rickshaw-style visitor experiences.

Lancaster developments

Lancaster is also seeing changes and exciting new ideas.

Visitors to the city centre recently will have already seen a number of new restaurants and cafés opening.

The continued growth of food, drink and hospitality businesses appears evident in many sites, along with new student flats closer to the city centre,

However Lancaster’s arts and entertainment venues are also the focus of change in the coming months.

Plans were unveiled in 2022 to extend the Grand Theatre, said to be the third oldest theatre in the country outside of London. The planning application to Lancaster City Council includes a new reception and foyer, a café and a large public plaza outside.

The Grand opened in 1872 and was then adapted in 1908. Today, it can seat audiences of more than 450.

A fundraising campaign has been launched to help pay for the work. The theatre, run by a charity, has raised more than £600,000 and gained £625,000 as part of the High Street Heritage Action Zone programme.

Performances at the venue next year include two ballets based on well-known fairy tales. Ballet Theatre UK will perform Beauty and The Beast in January 2023, followed later in the year by the Ukrainian National Ballet staging Sleeping Beauty, with music by composer Tchaikovsky.

Elsewhere in Lancaster, the city council is keen to develop the Canal Quarter area along the Lancaster Canal. Images and masterplan ideas have been produced in recent times, with ideas for developments including housing, cafés and restaurants.

Delays from the pandemic restrictions, rising construction, energy and food costs, and discussions about new homes for students, older people or families have all fed into the debate about how Lancaster’s canal area could develop.