Famous English beach could disappear forever - as seaside resort launches £30million plan to save it
- A rescue effort to preserve Anchorsholme Beach will begin later in the year
- READ MORE: Is this the end of the ride for Blackpool Pleasure Beach? How iconic British theme park is being forced to close rides after suffering £2.7million loss
It's been one of the most famous British seaside resorts since the Victorian era, but a beach in Blackpool could disappear forever if coastal erosion isn't halted.
Mother Nature is slowly rubbing out a stretch of sand on the Lancashire coast known as Anchorsholme Beach - with the coastal area now subject to a £30million protection plan to ensure it's saved for future generations.
Funding will put rock groynes - long wooden structures that run from the top of the beach to the sea that prevent sand and sediment moving along the coastline - in place to try and stop the erosion.
Grants from the Environment Agency will also boost measures to protect the popular coastal region, with work beginning later this year and expected to be in place for three years until 2028.
The downside for tourists is that the beach will be largely inaccessible during this period, reports local news website The Gazette.
Plans outlined say they hope future tourists will be able to enjoy the sands for decades to come.
A design and access statement submitted with the planning application reads: 'The scheme will retain the beach as an important local amenity for existing and future generations.
'The loss of the beach without the installation of the groynes, would not only be harmful to the character and appearance of the area but would also result in the loss of a large area of beach habitat.'
Rescue plan: Anchorsholme Beach in Blackpool is under threat from Mother Nature with a £30million project beginning later this year to save the stretch of sand for future generations
The beach lies four miles north of Blackpool's famous pier and has been a popular destination for locals and tourists for centuries
The groynes that will preserve the beach - but stop visitors enjoying all of the sands while the plan is in place between now and 2028
The groynes will stretch for 3km and the area will require a Marine Licence to install them, to ensure vessels out to sea are made aware of the presence of the man-made rocky headlands.
The move will be a boost to the Blackpool tourism industry; once a go-to for the British holidaymaker, the resort has fallen out of favour in recent decades as tourists have headed overseas.
Last month, one of the biggest attractions in the region announced it was struggling to be profitable.
The Blackpool Pleasure Beach theme park confirmed it will close some rides this year and cut staff numbers after posting a £2.7million pre-tax loss.
The venue, which has operated on the seafront since 1896, said in its new accounts that it had been struggling with visitor numbers not recovering after the pandemic.
Other rides will open later and close earlier this year as it attempts to reduce costs.
Blackpool's tourism industry has taken a hit in recent decades, with the lure of foreign travel taking British travellers away from the north west resort
Blackpool Pleasure Beach is closing five rides this year after posting a £2.7million loss - but the owners say thrillseekers can expect a new £8.7million spinning pendulum ride soon
Blackpool has been wooing tourists since the Victorian era
The park then moved to reassure thrillseekers, saying the measures were part of a strategic review, the site will in fact be open for more days this year compared to 2024 and no more rides would shut in addition to the five announced last month.
The Pleasure Beach has benefited from overall tourist numbers in Blackpool rising after the pandemic, with footfall up in each month of last summer against the year before - and visitors across the whole of 2023 increasing by 1.2million compared to 2022.
But the town suffers from being ranked as one of the UK's most deprived areas with boarded-up shopfronts a common sight on streets – and fast food outlets aplenty.
And it also has England's worst mortality rate, highest proportion of children in care and biggest proportion of workforce economically inactive because of sickness.
As Blackpool Pleasure Beach announces it's closing rides this summer - how the theme park became a British favourite
One of England's oldest theme parks confirmed last month that it will close some rides this year and cut staff numbers after posting a £2.7million pre-tax loss.
Blackpool Pleasure Beach, which has operated on the seafront since 1896, said in its new accounts that it had been struggling with visitor numbers not recovering after the pandemic.
Other rides will open later and close earlier this year as it attempts to reduce costs.
The park then moved to reassure thrillseekers, saying the measures were part of a strategic review, the site will in fact be open for more days this year compared to 2024 and no more rides would shut in addition to the five announced last month.
The theme park, which celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2021, is located in the South Beach area of Blackpool where fairground rides were initially run by travellers.
Later, a steam carousel was opened by Yorkshire meat trader John Outhwaite in 1895, before William George Bean started up a pedal-bike monorail.
The two joined forces after Bean founded the Pleasure Beach Company in 1896, with iconic ride the 'Flying Machine' opening in 1904.
Blackpool Pleasure Beach introduced the 'Switchback Gravity Railway' rollercoaster in 1906
A roller-skating rink was opened in 1909, then demolished in 1935 to build what is the world's oldest Ice Drome.
The theme park was on the beach itself until 1923, when the promenade was extended south on reclaimed land.
Blackpool is now home to some of the oldest rollercoasters in the world - the Big Dipper, Blue Flyer, Grand National and Nickelodeon Streak.
The 'Pepsi Max' Big One was opened in 1994 as the world's tallest and steepest roller coaster with a top speed of 74mph and a height of 213ft.
Blackpool Pleasure Beach theme park is a popular attraction for visitors to the seaside town - and despite being forced to close some rides this summer, its owners are positive about its future
Pleasure Beach has also recently unveiled ambitious plans for a new £8.7million spinning pendulum ride, dubbed 'Project MMXXVI', which will reach 138ft when it opens next year.
And a Pleasure Beach spokeswoman painted a positive picture for the future of the park, telling MailOnline: 'It has been a challenging few years of trading across the entire industry, and we have undertaken the necessary actions to continue to offer the same amazing experiences to our guests.
'We have already undertaken a strategic review and implemented changes; this has now concluded. The changes referenced in the accounts have all been actioned and completed, furthermore there are currently no plans to close any further rides.
'We are confident there is lots to look forward to at Pleasure Beach Resort for the immediate and long-term future, beginning with the opening of Launch Pad this spring, and our announcement of an £8.72million Gyro Swing, opening in 2026.'
