Planners propose marina for Morecambe

LANCASTER City Council could abandon Urban Splash’s plan for the Morecambe promenade and replace it with a marina.

The authority’s planning committee has still not made a decision on the Manchester-based developer’s designs for the area adjacent to its Midland Hotel. The council has detailed the potential alternative in a report prepared ahead of a planning meeting on December 7.

Officers admit the marina idea is at an early stage and it is not yet clear whether it would be technically viable because of Morecambe’s low tides, or financially sustainable.

A study is being carried out and if a marina is considered feasible the council said it would seek to renegotiate with Urban Splash which has already indicated it would like to continue as a development partner. The report states that a change of heart without the agreement of Urban Splash could leave it open to legal action for breach of contract.

Urban Splash has spent several years working on the 7.5 hectare site but early plans were deemed “excessive” and “overbearing” by the council. They included hundreds of apartments, retail and leisure space and new public realm. These proposals were revised and re-submitted in March but have not yet been considered by the planning committee.