Skegness Is A Product

Now that may seem like a strange thing to say but that is how I view our town. It is a product. Something like a tin of beans or a car. It is, of course, the place where we all live and that is just as important but for now I am talking about the economic side of our town, the side that provides the jobs and pays the wages.

What is this about? Why does the statement "Skegness is a product" need to be made? Simply because that product is under threat, understandably, but under threat none-the-less.

East Lindsey District Council is under severe financial pressure. Nothing unusual there. All councils at a district level or above are. The noises coming out of Manby are that there have to be cuts, which is the case, but that they will give some priority to Economic Development, ensuring that the economy of the district moves forward. I think that outlook has a lot of merit. As a result of this outlook the council have created a councillor who has the responsibility for Coastal Economy and another that has the responsibility for Market Towns and Rural Economy which should be seen as a positive move.

Having said that, I cannot understand how, going back to "Skegness is a product", planning to reduce the attractiveness of the town to the very people that support the economy, our visitors, is going to help to develop the economy. If you are trying to sell a product, do you remove the ingredients? If you make beef stew that is selling very well, do you then reduce the beef content? Would that make the product more or less attractive to the buyer? Logic tells me it would be less attractive.

From what I understand the following ingredients that make up the product that is Skegness are in danger of being removed. The Fairy Dell Paddling Pool, the public toilets and the bowling greens.

Now there may be others that I have not heard about as well.

The much loved Fairy Dell Paddling Pool. 

I really cannot understand how removing those three facilities from the town will not have a long term detrimental effect on the tourists going forward. Can you imagine coming to a seaside resort for a day, day-tripping is the bread and butter of our resort, and not being able to find a toilet for either yourself or the kids when you need one? That to me is something that would be a huge detriment. The Fairy Dell is hugely popular with both tourists and local alike. It is very unusual for a resort to have such a lovely, free to use, attraction. Again it would be detrimental to lose it. As for the bowling greens. Well they are slightly different. They do not get the use that the other two do but they are very important to the hoteliers due to the large bowls competitions that are held at intervals during the summer. These include a national competition that is run and organised by the English Bowling Federation. What would it say about our town and the economic development of it if these greens were taken out of commission. Not a lot.

I believe that, given recent events elsewhere, the district council will place the onus on keeping these resources open on Skegness Town Council. Would they be able to take them on, could they take them on. That is a whole different issue given recent decisions. That will make a blog of its own.

We have seen some excellent inward investment from the private sector recently with the probability that there could be more to come. Our local district council should look at that as a huge positive and do their utmost to back that investment up, not remove the ingredients of our beef stew. Final thought. What are our local District Councillors doing about this? They are all very quiet.