EFFORTS to revitalise Morecambe and renew its reputation are being held up as an example to other flagging seaside resorts.

A team of experts are to highlight the Tern Art Project as an example of how to go about winning the battle against decline.

They will include it in a document called Shifting Sands: Design led Regeneration in Seaside Towns' to be available to planners across the country.

It follows a visit to Morecambe earlier this year by the experts consultants from the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) and English Heritage researching for a joint major study of regeneration in English seaside towns.

They say they were impressed by the work undertaken for the Tern Project and want to hold it up as good practice' for others to follow.

It will be highlighted in the Shifting Sands' document available next month and widely distributed across the country and followed up at a series of regional seminars featuring case studies.

Both are expected to attract national publicity and boost Morecambe's profile with a wider audience at a time when Lancaster City Council is beg-inning to implement the Morecambe Action Plan and Urban Splash is progressing a plan for restoration of the Midland Hotel.

Cllr Abbott Bryning, the city's cabinet member with responsibility for regeneration, says: "The Tern project has been acclaimed nationally as an example of how to incorporate innovative public art into regeneration. It has attracted millions of pounds in grant aid and private investment and proved excellent value for money.

"Projects such as the Eric Morecambe statue and the Flock of Words have raised the profile of Morecambe and received national acclaim. This latest recognition is further con-firmation of the importance of continuing to promote high quality regeneration."

May 22, 2003 08:00