Forums Forums Wirral History : Chasing the Past History Information Request Dissertation on New Brighton 1960s and 1970s

thats what i meant been in there a few times with me mum to a see a historian talking about the wirral and have been with college to search for stuff from industrial revolution era, sadly did not get the chance to have my own search, but i will be making full use of it over the next year hopefully

many arguements can be made bert regarding the investment or should i say non investments of wallasey and new brighton. I just hope now that we see a whole new era regarding new brighton and further investment is brought in, such a great location with endless possibilities.

I have now completed my dissertation proposal, now its time for the hardwork and researching over the summer, thought i might share with you all who have helped me construct it, and thanks again to those who helped, am sure i will be calling again for future help haha

1. Project Title
New Brighton in the 1960s and 70s: Why did the resort decline?


2. Research Objectives
The aim of this research objectives, are to obtain an understanding as to why the seaside resort of New Brighton on the Wirral Peninsula, declined between the years of 1960 to 1979. I shall be using primary and secondary resources which will be gathered from local archives and libraries to present my findings. The wealth of resources available such as the local papers on newsreels and council documents and planning permission forms will help towards explaining why the resort declined and what the main reasons were behind the problems that New Brighton faced during its declining years.
Problems that I may face in gathering the information could have been lack of interest and local protest towards the dismantlement and neglect towards the resort, however the local central library does have vast knowledge on the subject and I have also been speaking with fellow local historians on the matter and enquired in to the availability of me accessing the local archive resources.
The importance of researching this topic will help to give a better understanding of why New Brighton which was once so popular is now a distant memory and why it has taken over 30 years later to attract investment back into the area.
The areas I will be focusing on will be:
The centre point of this research will be focused on the tower ballroom which burnt down in 1969. This resulted in the immediate closure of the fairground and basically brought about the end of an era overnight. The end of the Tower came when it was destroyed by fire in 1969, the fire brigade fought the flames for hours and all that was left was the shell, this was dismantled and the site was cleared, never to be replaced by a new venue and eventually became a housing estate.
In the 1960s the building of Seaforth docks changed the currents of the River Mersey which changed the current patterns which resulted in the loss of much sand and the more ships entering and leaving the docks, resulted in more oil pollution into the River. These factors may have been a contribution towards the decline.
The removal of the direct ferry (Liverpool to New Brighton) and eventually pulled down, prevented travel from Liverpool and helped make New Brighton seize to be a popular destination to a seaside resort. Other transport issues such as tram replacements with buses, train routes and access via cars will also be covered.
The County Borough of Wallasey ended on 1st April 1974, when the town became part of the Wirral Metropolitan District. The change may have effected more funding that went towards the New Brighton resort and with researching the local sources available this will be answered.
New Brighton seaside resort also dealt a huge blow with the introduction of package holidays; this played a role in the decline and was also a driving factor in interest and investment moving away from not only New Brighton but also the other seaside resorts of England and Wales.
The fallout of the declining years, resulted in many local businesses and hotels having to downgrade or even close due to lack of interest that was no longer in the area. Not only will the focus be on the tourist attractions, it is vital to understand the impact on the local community and their businesses and how stabilisation may have occurred to counteract the losses from tourism. Job losses by the closing of attractions will also be addressed as local residents may have relied on the resort for work rather than travel further afar to other regions.

3. Introduction 500 – 1000 words
Before the decline of New Brighton as a seaside resort that started in the 1960s, New Brighton was one of the most popular seaside resorts in Britain. Not only did the beach have sand and deckchairs for bathing, there was also the donkey rides available. Away from the beach were the main attractions of the resort resided, the outdoor bathing pool (opened by Lord Leverhulme in June 1934) was a popular destination for many locals and tourists, a safe haven to take children for leisure and entertainment. The outdoor bathing pool also boasted competitions like Miss New Brighton which began in 1949.
New Brighton was also once home to the biggest tower in the country, it scaled 567 feet and came with a ballroom, winter gardens, refreshment rooms, theatre, athletics ground and fairground. The tower was later removed during the First World War, with the ballroom and theatre remaining. The resort also had several surrounding tourist attractions such as the model boating lake, fort & lighthouse, pier and nightclubs.

4. 1960s – 4000 words or more
During the 1960s - The main focus of this section will be looking at the fire of 1969 at the tower ballroom and the overnight impact it had on the resort due to the ballrooms immediate demolition. Other driving factors such as the direct ferry being cancelled, the introduction of Seaforth docks was affecting the New Brighton beach by changing the trends of the river and resulting in sand disappearing off the shores. Local hotels and holiday homes will also be researched as levels at the beginning of the 60s are expected to be much higher than that of the late 60s and early 70s. The fairground itself was widely popular and available 7 days a week, the impact of losing the attraction was devastating to the resort and resulted in job losses to the locals who worked on the rides and stalls.
5. 1970s – 4000 words or more
During the 1970s – This section will be covering issues such as: Lack of investment in the resort mainly focusing on housing projects, the pull down of the pier due to poor maintenance and lack of interest. In 1974 Wallasey became part of the Wirral Metropolitan District; this resulted in the end of independence as a county and was now part of a much larger district which has resulted in no investment towards the resort for the rest of the 1970s.
6. Post 1970s 500 – 1000 words
1. Further decline after 1980.
2. Further Planning permission rejection
3. Rejuvenation post 2008
7. Summary 500 – 1000 words
.
8. Bibliography

Hate to think the smell of the river when 25% of the UK's sewage in the 1970s flowed out through the Mersey.

i hope that i do not get a mental image when i research that part haha. in the late 80s early 90s down on the shore anything and everything used to pop up, pretty sick really isnt it, why the heelwas it aloud? can not believe my parents aloud me to be brought up in such a bad environment haha

My parents allowed me and my sister to swim in it!

Only point I would disagree with is the bit about more ships causing oil pollution. If anything shipping declined with the advent of bigger ships, i.e. bulk carriers and container vessels. In the fifties the river was crowded with shipping hence more oil pollution and they weren't as fussy about dumping it as they were in later years.

Seaforth being the first dock as you came in the river meant that less shipping went up the river so pollution from them should have become less not more.

oops dont think i have worded that bit correctly, luckily i can change it before it is sent off tomorrow

Hope you remember to put the right name on the front of your dissertation paper. It seems to keep changing!

Don't want that Ashville guy getting credit for all your hard work do we Historical Tony?

haha i just had to go and check what name i had put down then

Looks like an interesting dissertation Tony – hope it goes well. I’ve really enjoyed this thread which has brought back many happy memories. It’s started me off reminiscing (again! - I seem to be spending most of my time in the past these days since discovering wirral history). Here are a few - possibly contentious - random thoughts, comments and ramblings.

Although the introduction of foreign package holidays would have had an impact - as it did on all resorts around the country – it’s possible to overstate the effect it had on New Brighton. I think that for many years New Brighton had relied on day-trippers rather than long-stay visitors. The huge increase in car ownership may have had a bigger impact as it gave people who previously relied on public transport (and New Brighton’s links were excellent) the freedom to travel to previously inaccessible places. It also ushered in the demise of coach trips which had brought in thousands from further afield eager to spend their money. I remember in the 1950s and 1960s the coach parks being filled to overflowing. From memory, by the 1970s, the coaches had all but gone, and the coach parks became car parks – parking spaces that were once used by vehicles bringing in 40-odd visitors being occupied by ones that had a maximum of five. King’s Parade had not been designed for the numbers of cars still arriving in the 1970s and parking became difficult, putting people off from visiting. Since then parking has continued to be a problem at weekends and bank holidays right through until today, despite the Merseyside Development Company turning most of the front into a giant car park in the 1980s.

The problems of pollution (as already described) cannot be overstated!

It’s surprising that the pier lasted as long as it did. After years of mounting losses and escalating repair bills the Council, as owners, finally had enough and obtained permission for its demolition through the Wallasey Corporation Act, 1967 (don’t know why parliamentary agreement was needed). The Corporation were saved from implementing the hugely unpopular decision when Fortes Ltd stepped in and bought the pier in 1968, carrying out much needed repairs to the infrastructure but doing little to improve the amenities on offer. Not surprisingly it was not a success and the pier eventually disappeared in 1978.

The problems with the ferry have been pointed out by Parkgater and Drumhead. To put it in perspective, in 1953, 2,907,000 people sailed to New Brighton but the figure had dropped to 300,000 when the ferry finally closed in 1971. Incidentally, the closure was not Wallasey Corporation’s decision but the MPTE (Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive) which had taken control of the Wallasey and Birkenhead transport undertakings in December 1969. The ferry closure was the first major decision taken by the MPTE. I seem to remember that Wallasey Corporation as well as local trades people and residents were strongly opposed to the subsequent demolition of the pier and landing stage as it meant that there would be no possibility of any future reopening. Didn’t do any good though, and everything had gone by 1973.

Without wishing to decry the professionalism and good intentions of Wallasey’s senior tourism staff and Council members I think they were slow to react to the changes and challenges that the 1960s brought. This is probably true about the tourism industry across the country. Even when they begrudgingly accepted changes they frequently got it wrong. A couple of silly minor examples relating to the pier. In 1962 the Pier Manager reluctantly decided to allow new-fangled beat groups to play in the Arena on Saturday nights. Some friends of mine, who played as a trio, were booked, played and went down a bomb in front of a huge crowd. Hoping for more bookings they were told that there was no chance because they had defrauded the Council because there were only three of them and ‘proper’ groups had four members! When my own group played there later in the year (again to a capacity crowd of teenagers) we were told that at least half our numbers had to be strict tempo just in case there were older people in the audience (and I will always remember his words) ‘who might want to dance proper and not bounce around like Zulus’. We, of course, ignored him and never played there again! Not that we were too worried: the floor of the 'dressing room' had badly patched holes in it and the stage electrics were verging on lethal.

It’s probably unfair to place too much blame on Wallasey Council for New Brighton’s decline, after all they didn’t have a lot to work with by the early 1970s – stinking beaches, no Tower, no fairground, dilapidated buildings, a rundown pier, vacant theatres, cinemas, restaurants and shops, a ferry that only ran every now and then and a bathing pool that only opened for a few months in the year. Also, there’s some truth in the comment by Helles’ mother that "this council does not want a seaside resort, they only want posh houses lining the river". Because of the overloading of the sewerage system, there had been an almost total ban on new development in north Wirral since 1958. This changed with the construction of the North Wirral Sea Outfall in 1971 and it’s understandable if the Council’s priority became the building of much needed housing rather than (as bert1 puts it beautifully) “ investing huge sums of money in a facility that was quickly becoming a Dodo in this country”. Not that New Brighton had been totally ignored – in 1965 the Floral Pavilion Theatre had been modernised and refurbished at a cost of £65,000. Perhaps just as well, because if it had been left as it was there could have been a mysterious fire!

There were also the distractions and time wasting of various grandiose development schemes – Anton and Barnes have already been mentioned – which seemed to offer solutions to the resort’s decline. However, New Brighton was not being totally ignored by the Council. In an update to “The Rise and Progress of Wallasey” published in 1973 (to coincide with the imminent disappearance of Wallasey under local government reorganisation), there are tantalising mentions of plans that were presumably discarded by the new Wirral MBC. There was the Kings Parade development scheme (approved January 1967 but contingent on the planned improvement in the sewage system). This included the building of about 660 bungalows, houses and flats and the provision of a shopping centre at the heart of the scheme. What does that remind you of? There were also plans to incorporate the Tower Stadium and former Tower amusement grounds into a huge sports and leisure complex as part of a proposed North Wirral Coastal Park. Wouldn’t that have been nice? As I recall, there were also plans to put a roof on the bathing pool so it could be open all year round.

The decline of New Brighton was undoubtedly a combination of many things, some large (pollution etc.), some small (I remember talking to an arcade owner who had to close because he couldn’t afford to convert his machines following decimalisation). Even if it sounds like it, this is not intended as an apology for Wallasey Corporation – just trying to put things in perspective!! I love New Brighton and always have and hope that 2011 marks the beginning and not the end of its regeneration.

Nice one and well put. One small thing, wasn't the Rise and Progress of Wallasey published much earlier?

Just googled and there is a signed copy for sale at £295. Says published in 1960 although there is apparently one that was published in 1929? Not sure if they are the same with obvious modern differences or completely different books?

'The Rise & Progress' was originally published in 1926. Second edition (revised and enlarged) in 1960. Reprinted 1974 as per nightwalker's comments.

Think it was also re-printed more recently still (but not updated) within the last ten years. Birkenhead Library were selling copies of this reprint for about £15. The pictures aren't as good quality though.

If you get one of the earlier editions, make sure it's got it's fold-out map in the back.

The 1974 reprint had an additional chapter covering the years 1960 to 1973.

I was told in the '50s and 60's no one actually swam in The Mersey, they just went through the motions!