Now with the arrival of new business, interest from large national companies and the anticipated opening of the revived Midland Hotel, Morecambe is finally seeing the convincing and tangible effects of regeneration.

It seems the sceptics who once predicted that no-one would invest in a town essentially set to be a building site for the next five years, are now eating their words.

Cath Large, owner of Sweet Memories and Something Special – the impressive shops now open at the front of the Winter Gardens – is just one of the people investing in Morecambe.
After 20 years of running a B&B in Bowness she has moved her attentions to the town.

She said: "I wanted to do something completely different and a friend of mine told me to invest in Morecambe.

"At first I visited and thought: 'Why would I invest here?', but then this fabulous spot came up for the shop and we realised the area was up and coming.

"It's quiet at this time of year, as always, but we are expecting great things once the Midland opens and when the summer comes. The feedback we have had already has been incredible.

"We were the first to open in this section but I think just opening up this part of the prom has made such a big difference already. Morecambe doesn't look like its closed to visitors."

Next door in Expressions, Linda Thomas is another business owner who felt it right to invest in the town.

She said: "Everyone seems quite excited about the Midland opening now.
"Business has been good but we are in a quiet time now. We are just waiting for the hotel to open and for the things to get going.

"I think people are getting excited now that Morecambe is looking great.

"I feel good about our investment, I really do."

And it seems businesses that once fell on hard times have been given a new lease of life by those who have put their full faith into investing in Morecambe.

One such business is Harts Restaurant, or Ma Renooo's as it is now called.

Two years ago the well established business closed, but its doors have now been re-opened by Beverley Renaud – a woman who has every intention of making the new business succeed.

She said: "I had a dream and I wanted to make it happen.
"I have taken out a ten-year lease on this place so it is no pie in the sky plan for me.

"I don't think this is a risk at all. When you look out of that window across the views of the bay you cannot help but think it is a great place.

"I think there has been a lot of media attention on the TV with programmes like Coast.

"People are beginning to get interested in Morecambe again."

The iconic Midland Hotel has been a major factor in gaining positive press for the town throughout the north west and further afield.

Indeed even its general manager Matt Redhead made the move hundreds of miles from Cornwall, just to be part of the project.

So what drew him to move to a town in the throes of regeneration?
"When being interviewed by Urban Splash I was shown around the Midland," he explained.

"That was it for me. I knew I wanted to be here.

"People asked me why I was moving to Morecambe. Yesterday I was walking along the prom with the sun shining and I don't think there are better views anywhere else in the country.

"The draw to Morecambe has already started, with major national companies like Next and Homebase arriving. But if you drive down the prom there are so many individual places with scaffolding up. "People are taking the bait now and want to get on board with the regeneration."

But the Midland is just one part of the jigsaw that is putting Morecambe back on the map.

Next has recently opened a store in the town, dwarfing its Lancaster counterpart and bringing around 60 jobs. Homebase is another big name to arrive, and JJB are to follow shortly.

Lancaster's successful Jo and Cass hairdressers has chosen to open a salon in Morecambe.

The first step to securing around £1.9million of Lottery funding for the View from Eric project – designed to offer business grants to make their shop fronts more attractive – has now been secured.

Yorkshire Street – the town's famous street for specialist shopping – is in the midst of a makeover.

Housing stock is also on the up.

Steve Matthews, city council project director of urban renewal, said: "The Midland Hotel is often seen as a barometer of the fortunes of Morecambe.

"It is a very visible sign of regeneration but there is a lot more going on in the communities.

"The West End Gardens will be finished in the summer and a lot of the housing is now selling just off the plans.

"It did not make sense to invest in the Midland just as a hotel on its own, but it made great sense for Urban Splash to invest into an area.

"There are a lot of significant schemes that are all coming together to join the dots."

Times have been tough in Morecambe, but many now hope the fortunes of the town have taken a turn for the better.

John Bates, Morecambe and District Chamber of Trade secretary, said: "I think any kind of investment taking place has to build people's confidence, and it has built the confidence of people working in tourism and retail.

"We must bear in mind a lot of the people here in Morecambe have been here a long time.

"Morecambe Chamber of Trade has members who have been with us for years. I call them the survivors.

"They are the ones who perhaps because of the business they are in or because they have managed to adapt their business, have managed to stay open.

"We have known that there has been regeneration going on for a long time but its sometimes hard for people outside the district to understand that.

"Large investment from a national company like Urban Splash raises Morecambe's profile in the north west."

Lancaster District Chamber of Commerce manager Ann Morris added: "There are now a lot of good news stories about Morecambe.

"The town is looking refreshingly attractive as a place to do business.

"I would say it is definitely no bad thing that Urban Splash had the faith to restore the Midland.

"I suspect that businesses and those in the tourism sector are feeling more buoyant about the future – not in the sense of capturing what we had, but for a new a new beginning."