AN ESTIMATED £75 million pound 'masterplan' to radically regenerate the West End of Morecambe and save it from the depths of despair has been unveiled.

A St Martin's College campus on the former Frontierland site, apartments lining the coast at the Battery, more kids play parks and green open spaces are outlined on the plan.

But breathing new life into the area comes at a cost and 63 homes in areas including Regent Road and Chatsworth Road have been earmarked to fall to the bulldozers.

More than 100 houses will also be 'remodelled' on Clarendon Road East, Devonshire Road, Sefton Road and Stanley Road as part of the five-year scheme.

The blueprint, announced by Lancaster City Council on Monday, aims to rid the area's social and economic problems and create a family-orientated and more middle-class West End.

Backed by English Partnerships and other financial bodies, the scheme is to be a pilot which, if successful, will become a model adopted by other coastal resorts around the country.

from page 3 The plan has been drawn up after a consultant team spent four months working with the West End community to come up with ideas to radically change the area.

Lancaster City Council's Director for Regeneration, John Donnellon, called it an 'exciting vision' for the future.

"The draft plan is phased to tackle the most pressing problems first and create a platform for changing the West End."

He said at a press conference on Monday that some people will be disappointed but said the council had to look at the wider picture.

"Doing nothing is not an option and if we get it right then we will deal with a lot of the issues in the area."

Mr Donnellon was confident that the plan would make a difference because he believes housing is the key to social change.

"The solution to the West End is physical change and so we have to create better buildings which will then change the tenure balance. We have a large transient population because of the houses of multiple occupancy and we need to change that."

He said the type of housing causes social problems and added: "Dispersing that across the district is not a bad thing if it is in the best interests of the West End."

He denied the council were social engineering the area, but were trying to get a 'balanced community'.

He said some people would be glad to move, but admitted that some people were very attached to their homes.

He assured that residents who found themselves homeless would have the full support of the council and other relevant services.

Geraldine Smith, MP for Morecambe and Lunesdale, says: "The master plan is a tremendous opportunity to positively change the West End and I hope residents approach the plan with an open mind."

Francis Glare of BDP, says: "From the outset we felt that the West End had a tremendous potential. The masterplan is the first step in making the area a special place again."

Once all the comments have been received, the consultants will prepare a revised draft of the plan for adoption by the Winning Back the West End Steering Group and phase one will be kicked off.

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