A SEASIDE town in the north of England could be set to benefit from two huge investment projects.

Morecambe in Lancashire was named one of the worst coastal towns in the UK by the Telegraph.

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The report, which was published last year, ranked Morecambe as the 5th worst seaside town in the country, saying it could be “so much more than it is”.

And that could very much be the case, with two huge development projects potentially on the horizon.

The Lancashire-based seaside town was already set to benefit from the arrival of the second incarnation of the Eden Project, which is due to open by 2028.

Developers hope Eden Project Morecambe will be able to replicate the success of the Eden Project in Cornwall.

The huge £100million attraction will feature a “hyper-real forest” with large installations and immersive theatre.

It will have three huge shell-shaped pavilions that will overlook Morecambe Bay and a “Bay Glade” with a well-being landscape and a Natural Observatory for research and education.

There will also be an exhibition area and meeting point for guests named the Bay Hall as well as play areas, restaurants, cafes and a gift shop.

Talks are also underway to regenerate Frontierland – an abandoned theme park in Morecambe that closed in 2000.

The site where Frontierland sits has been left bare for the last 24 years but the local council are hoping to bring it back to its former glory.

According to the BBC, the Frontierland site was discussed at the latest Eden community conversation event, which was hosted by the local authority.

City council officer, Jonathan Noad revealed that around “35 regional and national developers” were coming to the town to discuss the abandoned theme park.

However, Jonathan added that the developers would “need to up-their-gears and put their ideas to us” as they look to start the procurement process.

Lancaster City Council acquired the land in 2021 and invited interested parties to submit development plans for it.

The city council official added: “We’ve also got the rest of central Morecambe to look at.

“Work will also look at Morecambe environments and what the public realm needs to look like to attract visitors.”

The authority hopes a developer will propose an “exciting idea” which can transform the site in the next 18 months.

The Eden Project and the possible redevelopment of Frontierland isn’t the only thing that’s drawing tourists to Morecambe.

Last year, one of the town’s most famous residents, heavyweight boxing champ Tyson Fury, increased the number of visitors to the town, with his Netflix series At Home With the Furys.

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In episode one of the series, Fury explains why he has never moved away from the town, saying the view of the bay, where he can often be seen running, is one of the main attractions.

He said: “I’ve often tampered with the idea of living abroad and living in Monaco and America, but there’s always something that keeps me here in Morecambe Bay.

“I believe it’s probably the sea air calling to me, ‘don’t go! Stay!’

“Every time I jog down the front, I look at the bay and the view and I think, ‘Wow, no matter where I go in the world, I will never get that anywhere else’.”

Before the regeneration takes place, visitors have plenty to see, with places like Happy Mount Park, the Eric Morecambe Statue and The Smugglers Den pub all rated highly on TripAdvisor.

The beach itself receives a lot of praise too, with one reviewer writing: “This bay is beautiful and very extensive so there is plenty of coastline to walk along.

“There were lots of people swimming out into the sea. The beach had large rocks then sand and was full of character. Well worth a visit on a nice day.”

Meanwhile, this seaside town in England – with sandy beaches, donkey rides & the best B&B in the world.

And this other holiday location is getting a huge new tourist attraction.

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MY FAMILY saves hundreds on attraction tickets and days out using our Blue Peter badges.

Children between the ages of five and 15 can apply for a Blue Peter badge, which entitles the holder to free entry to over 200 UK attractions like museums, science centres, castles and zoos.

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Personally, I grew up watching the likes of Anthea Turner and Konnie Huq on my TV screen.

The show is still going strong with presenters like Abby Cook, Joel Mawhinney and Shini Muthukrishnan still delighting a generation of children to this day.

There are nine different types of badges kids can apply for from silver, green and purple to the music, sports and book badges.

But the instantly recognisable blue badge is the easiest to get because it’s awarded to kids who send interesting letters, stories, pictures, poems and good ideas for the show.

As soon as she was old enough my now 8-year-old daughter Sabrina, painted a beautiful picture of flowers in a vase and sent it off to the team.

Her badge arrived within three weeks along with a letter to apply for the badge’s ID card – you can’t get entry without this – and the ID card arrived shortly after.

As we live in Edinburgh, my daughter has used her badge for entry into Edinburgh Zoo countless times.

A standard child’s ticket for costs £17.20 on the door, so by using her badge we’ve saved hundreds over the years.

The badge even works for entry during some special events such as character meet-and-greets, giving you more bang for your buck.

As frequent visitors to Dundee, we’ve also used the badge for entry into Discovery Point and RRS Discovery, saving us £9.50 a pop.

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The best use of the badge has been during family staycations. One of our favourite attractions was the Jorvik Viking Centre in York, which includes a fun ride through a Viking village.

Sabrina’s badge entitled her to free entry and, as my son is under 5, he was free too which meant we only paid for two adult tickets (£16.50 each), meaning it cost only £33 for a family of four instead of £55.

The best part about Jorvik is that every ticket is valid for 12 months after the initial visit so we could go every month for the next year and not pay any more than the initial £33.

The Tower of London, Kensington Palace, Kew Gardens and London Zoo are among the attractions included with a Blue Peter Badge.

Parents must be careful when booking though, as some sites are stricter than others and must be booked in advance.

Some attractions will allow you to bring two children with badges per one paying adult whereas others insist on one child with a badge per one paying adult. Either way, you’re still saving money.

There are 200 attractions to choose from throughout the UK so savvy families can even plan their next staycation based on what attractions are included.

Sabrina has now had her blue badge for three years and is planning on applying to get her book badge – the latest in the collection which was designed by one of the UK’s best-known illustrators, Sir Quentin Blake.

This badge must be earned by sharing thoughts on a favourite book – something my bookworm daughter will be great at.

With the October holidays on the horizon, it might be worthwhile getting your kids to apply now to start saving.

Travel writer Catherine Lofthouse has also used Blue Peter Badges to save hundreds of pounds on family days out.

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