'What about the parking? What about us independent shops? We feel left out'

Last year, plans for a brand new event square in St Annes were given the green light.

Council bosses agreed to fund the £1.5 million project under the St Annes Masterplan initiative, adopted by Fylde Council in July 2022. The plans are to transform St Annes Road West into a "vibrant hub for hosting events," hoping to enhance the existing area and create a space where events can be hosted.

Although the council has argued that this will bring more visitors and tourism to the town, not everyone agrees. Online, there seems to be a 50/50 split of opinion, with some welcoming the plans while others have viewed the events space proposal with some trepidation.

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To find out what locals and business owners really think, we visited St Annes to speak with the people it will affect and see if they're excited about a new events space in the area.

Naomi works at Palace Pets on Garden Street, a side street of the main shopping road in St Annes. She says the idea could be beneficial for people visiting the town, but thinks it may be more angst than it's worth.

"My reservations are that it's going to stop people from coming into the square and driving in as easily, particularly when you've only got one-way streets around," Naomi said. "So when they're having the events, yes OK it's not going to be blocked off the whole time.

"People struggle to park enough as it is around here. We do deliveries, but people want to come in and get stuff and if they can't park, they'll just say I'll do it later on, or go somewhere else or whatever."

Gavin Harrison is a councillor for St Annes on the Sea Council and says the plans should not be considered in isolation, as part of a broader package to regenerate the area. They say the local council are working closely with colleagues at Fylde and local businesses to maximise the benefits for the town as a while.

However, Noami seems to think events in the town could be proposed elsewhere. She added: "It tends to draw people away from the shops in our experience, rather than bringing them to them. I asked a woman from the council why they can't do things in the park?

"Apparently they were getting complaints from residents that they were doing too many things in the park. I was like, well I don't see that myself."

Another proposition is for the event space to take place on Wood Street, a somewhat "forgotten" area of St Annes which is markedly quieter even on peak days, as it sits behind the main road and not visible for those who don't know the town all that well.

Steven Lawrence has run S Lawrence Jewellers on Wood Street for the past three years and says the events space is a good idea but it isn't proposed in the right area. "Just down Wood Street alone, we've got cuisines from all over the road," Steven said.

"But they hold food events on the main street. We've got tapas, we've got Greek, Thai, Chinese, Indian - there's tons. They could all be outside with little tasters and street food stuff.

"They don't have to move, their biggest expense will be a burner."

The business owner also worries about transportation, he says certain shoppers won't venture out to parts of the town beyond the main shops and if bus routes are diverted and the road blocked off, this could cause problems. "You've got B&M which would be the backdrop," Steven added.

"On the other side you've got the nice Pier Inn and then you've got Subway. It doesn't do a lot for independent businesses because there's only charity shops and B&M, Holland and Barratt and Subway - there's no independent businesses there.

"I don't see how it would improve footfall down these streets. Everybody will go to there."

A little further down the road, Steven and Jason own Lifestyles Health Store which has only been opened for a year. They say the plans are a good idea, but perhaps could be placed elsewhere.

Steven explained: "Anything that brings people into the town is fantastic. Obviously everything is kind of concentrated onto that main street anyway.

"When it was Christmas and they did the beautiful lights display all down that main street and we said this is a very dark street, we need this to look more Christmassy and they said oh no, all of the funding has been allocated. All of the funding had been allocated to that main street.

"It looked beautiful but it was benefiting the businesses there." The pair say one of the appeals of St Annes is the sheer number of independent businesses in the town, but more noise should be made about them.

"It's just frustrating because all the independent stores along this street always feel left out," Jason added. "It's always for that area [main road] and never for this. It's a shame."

Arin Breagh works at The Coven, a coffee shop and boutique on The Crescent. She attended the consultation for the plans and brought up some issues with the plans, querying why their section of St Annes isn't being focused on.

"Here, we've got shops in disrepair, we've got potholes all over the road, we've got drunks out and about," Arin said. "We absolutely love where our shop is but it's an absolutely terrible way to introduce people to the town.

"They would say, we're going to do the front which is where people come from. But when the link road is done, this is where people are going to be coming in from."

Carl Baker is the owner of the Bedford Hotel, close to the centre of St Annes. He says more tourism and visitors to the town is a good thing, but perhaps a different idea would have served the town in a more effective way.

Being in a position to be able to speak to visitors to our town and listen to their opinions and feedback, it seems that space, comfortable seating and views come top," Carl told LancsLive. "Together with a dose of shopping and somewhere nice to sit and eat that isn't just a cramped indoor café. People love to people watch don't they?"

The hotelier states the demise of towns and shops are happening everywhere, including in St Annes but more should be done to stop it. Carl added: "The Internet and out of town shopping has devastated many town centres but St Annes isn't just any town, it's amazing.

"There's so much more to see and do here. But, if we can get the balance right with a thought for what residents and visitors want and need, then I'm certain our kids can look forward to a prosperous, enviable place to grow up with better employment prospects and places to meet up. And it's all about them isn't it?

"Any investment in the town is amazing but for all the right reasons, I really don't think an events space is ever going to give us the 365 day custom our businesses will need to survive."

Carl does stress he isn't "entirely against this idea" but that a different design should be considered. He said: "I think a truly talented local architect with a real interest in the town would absolutely relish the chance to come up with a design that would make this place almost future proof.

"If an events space were to go ahead, it needs to form part of the overall picture of what St Annes has to offer. There's no point trying to encourage people to come and watch events in an area where everything's shut.

"We need people to come and say 'Wow! We went to St Annes at the weekend and the place was buzzing. Great entertainment, great shops, great food and while we were there we visited the beach, gardens etc. etc.' Hit them with everything but don't bring them to a desolate town centre."

Kevin Martin, Clerk to St Annes on the Sea Town Council says the Town Council have been consulted on Fylde’s plans for the events space and continue to be updated on a regular basis. Many of the initial suggestions made by Town Councillors have been taken into account as part of the consultations and have been embraced as part of the latest plan for the town centre.

There is broad support from the Town Council to the proposals for the Event Space and we look forward to being involved going forward as regards using the newly created area.

Mike Harris, Fylde Borough Council says in 2022, Fylde Council prepared and adopted an ambitious long term redevelopment plan for St Annes in the form of the St Annes Masterplan - St Annes Town Centre and the Island Masterplan – Fylde Council

The Masterplan was informed by a significant engagement exercise in which views from residents, businesses and other key stakeholders were considered alongside the professional advice and guidance from our expert regeneration planning partners, BDP and Amion. The £3m Events Space is the first project to be delivered from the Masterplan and the Council is actively working with partners to secure investment for delivering future phases of the Masterplan, including the regeneration of the Island site and improving connectivity between the High Street and promenade via the Pier Link project.

The delivery of the Masterplan will result in significant improvements in town centre footfall, leading to job creation and encouraging private sector investment into St Annes.