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Madame Tussauds Blackpool

Can't read the article unless I sign up :mad:

All I can see is a video promoting a new Museum of fun and entertainment
 
From what I've read, Merlin (rather rich) are borrowing money off Blackpool Council (rather poor) to create a new attraction for little kids, within the existing building.
As one local councillor has reported...why aren't Merlin paying for it themselves?
 
RoyJess said:
Can't read the article unless I sign up :mad:

All I can see is a video promoting a new Museum of fun and entertainment
Click to expand...
When I access it, there is a sign saying this is the first of five free articles this week. Either
1. You've used your five already
2. This offer is only shown to some people

Also, I don't think council money should be spent on this given that Blackpool is quite an impoverished area.
 
Thameslink Rail said:
When I access it, there is a sign saying this is the first of five free articles this week. Either
1. You've used your five already
2. This offer is only shown to some people

Also, I don't think council money should be spent on this given that Blackpool is quite an impoverished area.
Click to expand...

Apparently I've only 3 free articles left, only accessible if I sign up, I certainly haven't been reading the Blackpool Gazzette in the past 7 days

This is a screen shot of the message that I'm getting

TmfWyp0.png
 
RoyJess said:
Apparently I've only 3 free articles left, only accessible if I sign up, I certainly haven't been reading the Blackpool Gazzette in the past 7 days

This is a screen shot of the message that I'm getting

TmfWyp0.png
Click to expand...
I have not seen that or anything similar to it.
 
I "worked" in the Accountancy section of a local authority for 12 years. The people at the top were the most overated, overconfident, self serving, empire building, arrogant, freeloading, Mickey Mouse qualification waving, pen pushers I have ever met.

Merlin has its faults, but I suspect that their most humble employee would wipe the floor with the lot of them. I have no doubt that Merlin will have all the benefits and the council all the costs.

Can't speak for Blackpool Council though. I'm thinking about one with a D!
 
23 years and couldn't agree more.
Leisure business can take some beating though.
Low pay and clueless managers.
Spoke to one of the Beach ex managers for the first time in a long while at the weekend.
Much happier and better paid in the new job.
And was a top notch manager too.
 
At the risk of sounding like one of the Tory councillors quoted in the article, it is astonishing how much of Blackpool is owned and/or operated by the council - is it such a liability that no private entity will go near it? Makes you wonder how many seaside attractions might have been saved with a council willing to take the plunge.

They own and/or operate tramway, the buses, the Sandcastle, the Tower, the Winter Gardens and lots of other bits and pieces. So strange.
 
It is literally scraping the bottom of the barrel sadly.
The town has been skint since the sixties when the Spanish holidays started.
With the cheap housing came speculative landlords, and large numbers of the homeless and people with complex special needs seem to make a beeline to the town in times of crisis.
The Beach has had assistance from the council as well, with loans and delays to repayments...allegedly.
 
Without the tourist attractions Blackpool would arguably be in an even more dire place than it is now. I applaud the Council for recognising that and continuing to invest in infrastructure, attractions and the streetscape. There are, despite popular opinion, some rather pleasant sections of the town now.

It’s also comforting to know that, unlike commercial entities, the Council are investing with a long term view. It’s unlikely we’ll see the Council-owned attractions disappear, whereas if Merlin owned the Tower, I could see them weighing it in after a couple of seasons and replacing it with a HB leisure unit.
 
I managed to read the article before it told me I had to pay :tearsofjoy:.

There are plans to build a new children's attraction based on a popular TV programme. The attraction is proposed to cost £700,000 and is predicted to open in May 2020. The attraction is to be built within the same building as Madame Tussauds, presumably in the basement which is no longer used and will be run by Merlin.
 
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Whenever you get that '5 free articles' thing, just open the page in 'incognito mode' and it works.

I also think it is a fair investment. The council needs to keep people coming to the town, and the fact Merlin's Madame Tussauds brand is in town is a massive plus. I am sure they will make their money back through car parking, rates etc.

The point @Rick made regarding council ownership:
1. The bus/ tram company is an arms length organisation and unlike many similar companies actually runs an operating profit.
2. The Sandcastle is owned by the Council, but ran by an arms-length company. It is actually very well financially managed and even holds some pretty sizable financial reserves (£1m+). I believe the council is looking to extend and develop the waterpark in the near future
3. The Tower and Wintergardens was purchased as a heritage project. The tower was in a poor state as was the Wintergardens. Both are fundamental assets for the town. Ballroom dancing and event are a pretty major source of visitors.

The council is actually doing a pretty good job in my opinion. Blackpool needs a lot of support to keep its head above water. Without the likes of the attractions and shopping centre - the town would impload.
 
The work put into the winter gardens has been fantastic. I visited for a gig about a decade ago and other than the Empress Ballroom it seemed to be in a right state.
Visited a few times for gigs, and a work conference/exhibition and they've brought most of the areas back into use brilliantly.
 
I get the council ownership thing and don’t have any ideological opposition to it, I just find it curious that so much of the town is owned by the council. If there was money to be made, it seems strange that the council had to step in in the first place.

I find it interesting and sad that so many resorts have imploded because councils either couldn’t, or felt unable to do what has been done in Blackpool.

For those curious about the Winter Gardens and the work done there, there’s an access all areas opening day on 27 Feb. Hoping to attend, despite the best efforts of people trying to cram nonsense in my work diary.
 
Done lots of Heritage Open Days in then last decade or so.
They do good local history stuff in the Grundy Art Gallery as well
Done the Beach twice and the Tower.
All really good, but tend to book up.
I think the council step in when large numbers of jobs are at risk, and they have occasionally had additional central support because the town is so poor demographically.
Back on topic, I remember the waxworks being much longer back in the early seventies, with the horrors of the anatomy sections and big chamber of horrors.
Ripleys used to be next door, and that was about twice the size of the current one by the Beach.
 
Where was the Chamber of Horrors? In the basement? I always see some fenced off stairs leading down - is that how you originally accessed it?
 
Think the anatomy and chamber of horrors was downstairs.
Anatomy was scarier than the horrors...models of degeneration of naughty bits due to sexually transmitted diseases...first year, second year without treatment, third year.
Lots of death masks of famous murderers as well.
Made lovely viewing after lunch, over eighteen only unless accompanied by an adult, six old pence extra for the basement... (that would be two and a half of your new pence)...typical Blackpool!
You couldn't just do the basement, you had to do the full tour first.
 
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