Cars on the lower prom Blackpool

I have been a keen sea angler all my life in Blackpool and for years and years the council have warned that they were going to enforce this by law to stop vehicles on the lower prom that was first introduced in 2005 at that time the council could only fund the signage from star gate to north Pier so the enforcement was only between stargate & North Pier, so in actual fact from 2005 to the 2nd of July when the ratification of this old bye law was renewed making it a no go for any vehicle to drive onto the lower prom anywhere it was never illegal to take your car onto the lower prom between North Pier and Little Bispham (I have received this information from a local Councilor who has been trying to help our cause).

So I have taken it upon myself as a fellow sea angler living in Anchorsholme Blackpool and having some background in local politics and as an angler who’s enjoyed the comfort of taking his car onto the lower prom and by the way I am not lazy myself like other anglers don’t like trying to walk down the side of a cliff at 12 midnight with all my gear wind blowing and no street lights, (How safe is that) to start dialog with Blackpool borough council. firstly I have formed a new association called the Blackpool & Flyde sea Angling Association (web site and forum to launch shortly) that will take in this subject and other sea angling related information. I have already taken it up with Park right and made an official complaint with regards to the actions of some of the park right attendants and the way some people have been spoken to after this bye law was ratified, we now have a petition with over 1000 names and getting stronger every day that I have already sent to the council, I received a reply from them asking to meet us, so I and other members of the BFSAA along with local business people have a meeting with the council on the 3rd August to hopefully find a solution and a win win situation.

I do strongly suggest though that more anglers write letters in support of the cause to the Blackpool and Fylde evening gazette address it to Helen or Joe in the News room.

I have also called a General public meeting that will take place on Tuesday the 1st September at the Venue in Cleveleys at 7.30pm the response already has been overwhelming this is where we will inform anglers from the Fylde coast and beyond how the meeting went with the council and the proposals that we put forward to them. and what was achieved, along with taking the views and ideas of fellow anglers. and the what’s the next step forward.

Blackpool has been and angling resort for as long as I can remember our hobby is the largest in the world and it attracts people to Blackpool from all over the UK and that’s good for many in the resort local tackle shops especially. yes the council haven’t stopped us from fishing but just think of the elderly and disabled what chance have they got to climb down the cliffs at the boating pool to get to the most popular marks they have no chance. as long as i can remember i have never herd of any accidents or the police being called to any disturbance caused by any angler with or without there car on the lower prom, what I have heard of is anglers having to call 999 to save life’s myself being one of them only on the 4th June when there wasn’t a life guard in sight and two children and an adult were stranded on a sandbank, the wessex air sea rescue was scrambled but what if I hadn’t of been there and what if in the past other anglers hadn’t of been there, by this byelaw being enforced life’s are being put at risk Blackpool is supposed to be Europe’s number holiday resort but when it comes to our beach patrol they are understaffed, badly managed, they drive a Land rover that was the old deck chair vehicle and past its sell by date its not an image Blackpool needs to be seen in. I do strongly believe that the anglers on the lower prom are the eyes of the understaffed and overstretched beach patrol. I will be reminding the council of the sad events that transpired last year when an angler who I knew well went into the sea to and saved the lives of two people but sadly lost his life doing so. yes I agree you can still be the eyes and ears for the beach patrol without driving your car onto the lower prom but since this bye law came into force it really has had a large effect and decreased the number of anglers on the lower prom, let’s hope that no one looses there life as a result of this.


The Council have informed me that they have received complaints from the public with dogs and children saying that all they see is anglers drinking beer and blaring there radios out but its been different when those dog owners are breaking the law by letting their dog of the lead i don’t see the council enforcing that by law, or its different when the police and beach patrol come along and say have you seen this child, and I don’t see any children or people with dogs down on the lower prom in December at midnight. but with the system that we are going to propose to the council any angler found to be not abiding by a simple set of rules will be banned.

I know the owner of the hole in the wall cafe at the Gynn he called me last week to tell me that some thugs had attempted to break into the cafe, now would that of happened if the anglers had been on the lower prom its never happened before this bye law came into force.

We have to show the council that the anglers on the lower prom have no time for joy riders, thugs, litter-louts, we are respectable people who just want to enjoy our hobby and part of it is having the shelter of taking ones car onto the lower prom and driving at 10mph with hazards on and parking tight against the sea wall like we have been doing so for years and its not been against the law, I wonder the reason why it wasn’t enforced but then again how can you enforce something that was never a bye law in the first place between North Pier and Little Bispham.

and anyone who has received a ticket between 2005 and 2nd of July 09 have the right to counter claim.

We have formulated a system that can be policed that I believe will make the lower prom even safer for all, this in turn will generate a win win opportunity for both anglers and the council this will be presented to them on the 3rd of August. I have touched on a few points in this post that we propose to put to the council, will be announcing them in full, at the public meeting on the 1st of September, we can only do this if we have the support of many and I am sure we do. we have designed posters for this event if you would like one please send me an PM with your address and I will send you one.

So we are looking for a solution, and hope compromise can be achieved even if its for the many elderly and disabled anglers so we can prove to the council that the lower prom can be safe at all times after all people do park on the side of the road and the public are safe just like we park tight against the sea wall and the public have been safe for years.


So please attend the meeting on Tuesday the 1st September at the Venue in Cleveleys at 7.30pm.

If you would like more information please email me mark@bfsaa.co.uk

Firstly ... Welcome to the forum Mark.

Many members of our forum regularly accessed the Lower Walk by car especially at night, and particularly disabled anglers, to enjoy their hobby at the only location on the Fylde Coast offering safe and close access.
Your points are well made, and reiterated on the many sea fishing forums including ours, so please have a look in the North West section at the earlier post which makes several other points you may wish to add to the weight of the argument.

I wrote to Blackpool Borough Council and received a couple of replies which I'm going to email to you.
I for one will be at the Royal on Tuesday 1st September to support the cause, and I hope the Evening Gazette, Granada Reports, and several Sea-fishing magazines are there also.

Good Luck
Steve

welcome mark excellent first post i for one will be at the meeting i just hope that more of our members will show some support have you posted this post on the other major sea angling sites as this will certianly generate support for the cause best regards andy

welcome mark
i wish you all the best for your fight and hope it goes well, i fully support what you are doing, but bit far to come to your meeting

i take it that you are mark from fishing club on the prom just wondering why you thought it necassary to re -register your self as you are already a member of this site ive seen your post on wsf under mark 737800 i just hope you get a few more positive comments on there

I did try and log on with my original user name and password but I couldn't gain access and I thought it was important that this information was posted I hope you agree. if you noticed that there were over 16000 views of this topic and over 200 replies on WSF I tagged on the end of the replies. and basically said that lets see how the meeting with the council goes next Monday at least we have a chance by them agreeing to this meeting.

i have prob posted this before but what i think is the council are tarring all cars on the lower prom with the same brush, i fished off there a few times this past couple of months ( i live close so i walk ) and in places kids in Cleo's and Nova's burn ' Doughnuts ' and play loud music drink cider and just hide from the police and its these that the council must be claiming to be anglers as most reports must be cars doing this and cars doing that and of course as soon as the idiots see the blue flashing lights coming along the prom at approx 5 mph usually from a couple of miles away ( cos we know the police darent catch them in case they have to do something ) they vanish leaving anglers as the only vehicle owners anywhere around!

Bump!

I've not heard from Mark, so I presume this Public Meeting is still going to take place.
If I hear any differently, I'll post.

Steve

Steve, Eddie, Dabhand And myself attended the meeting on behalf of our web site ( no sign of the dark side ) Mark brought us all up to date with his dealings with the Blackpool council and a proposal has been forwarded to them everyone there agreed a proposal from an affiliation was better than an individual writing a letter from what he said about some councilors he had contacted this bylaw should never have been implemented but it has and now we have to try and find a solution around it. There is another council meeting in october when this issue is going to brought up again and shortly after Mark is going to organize a meeting to bring us all up to date May i say if you can get to this meeting please go and voice your opinions..almost £300 was raised tonight for the RNLI with the raffel etc...Frank

Definitely a cause worth fighting for........... and Mark is the only person standing up and taking the fight to Blackpool Council.
The Council had not even provided the reply they had promised 4 weeks ago, so unfortunately there was little new info to discuss.
Hopefully with the Council coming under pressure from within (at least 5 councillors support our views) there maybe more to talk about at the next meeting in October.

I for one will be going to that meeting, and I'd encourage anyone who resents the bureaucratic jobs-worths who have destroyed some peoples sole pleasure in life without apparent consideration, to do the same.

Best
Steve
P.S. Raffle prizes: Frank 1x bottle of vodka, Eddie 2X bottle of wine and I damn-well BLANKED (again!)

Intresting read Frank and Steve, could not make it cause of work!!
congratulation to Frank and Eddie with raffle, Steve you cant win them all mate

Regards
Clive

Only just read this thread, I have a lot of reading to do to catch up. Just want to say thanks for taking the time to attend on our behalf guys and for keeping us upto date with this issue. I will do my best to attend in October all being well. I was pleased to read that the RNLI will be receiving a good donation too.

Cheers

Squiresoak

my umble apoligies guys i bl ..... y for got i really wanted to go to this meet but ill be on the next one JONTY

Hi Mark, Thanks for your efforts on this subject, met you a couple of weeks ago when you were giving out details of sept meeting. Unfortunatley could not get there due to work but appreciate what you are doing. Have fished blackpool prom for 35 years with my father who is now coming up 86 and though he is disabled he is still an active sea angler but due to the beurocrats I am running out of places to take him as I need to be able to park close to fishing spot. Good luck.

At last something positive is being done about this problem. Although I cannot attend meetings due to work commitments, you have my total support in the matter and would like to help in any way I can.