Hunt for buyer of seaside strip
Jul 22 2008 by Adrian Pearson, The Journal
THE search is on to find a buyer for a rundown seaside promenade left out of a multi-million pound regeneration scheme.
Council bosses at North Tyneside want to find a willing developer to take over the lease of the central lower promenade in Whitley Bay.
The sea-facing properties, which include the Down Under cafe and North Sea Volunteer Lifeguards headquarters, are considered to be in a very poor structural condition and as such no new businesses have moved in for the past 10 years.
The council insists it has no money to pay for the upkeep and is looking for someone to take on the lease, a prospect critics have described as a fool’s errand.
Last night Conservative councillor Michael McIntyre said the council had undermined its regeneration strategy.
“There is no logic to upgrading the Playhouse, Spanish City, the dome, if we are still to be left with this eyesore.
“Who would want to invest in this part of North Tyneside if the council can’t even get this right?
“But this is about more than just the appearance. The council cannot afford to upgrade this section.
“When the budget was put together there was some £9m still needed to balance the books, which Mayor John Harrison said he would find through savings.
“What we see here is that they do not have the money for a lot of projects and you have to wonder how they will eventually fund this. We could be facing jobs cuts in the long run. I think we can see in this and other areas that Mayor Harrison’s regeneration strategy is falling apart. He has not got the money to do the job properly and he is having to compromise.”
Mr McIntyre added that former Conservative mayor Linda Arkley had proposed a Whitley bay regeneration scheme which included the promenade.
Geoff Wade from the North Sea Volunteer Lifeguards said the charity had been assured it would face at worse a modest peppercorn rent if a new lease-holder was found.
He added: “In the condition the promenade is in, it is difficult to see who would take this one on. Right now we are trying to raise funds to relocate and we hope we will not be affected by any changes to the lease.”
A spokeswoman for North Tyneside Council said: “ We are currently considering marketing the Central Lower Promenade in Whitley Bay for lease. However, it is only one option being explored; no decision has been made.”
