Seaside town crowned one of the UK’s worst reveals plans to become ‘Shoreditch-on-Sea’ with huge £20million revamp
A STRUGGLING seaside town in the UK has revealed plans for its huge revival.
Weston-super-Mare is often named one of the country’s worst seaside towns, as recently as 2023 by Which? and the Telegraph.
It was even the location of Banksy’s Dismaland, a ‘sinister twist on Disneyland’ in 2015.
But there hopes to breathe new life into the seaside town with a number of new additions to it.
The town council’s Tourism and Information Services Manager, Warren Parker-Mills, revealed plans for its new “brand”.
This is part of the £20million Weston Placemaking Strategy which will regenerate the town as part of a 10-year plan.
He told local media: “I used to spend a lot of time in London and actually, I can almost envisage Weston further down the line to have little pockets of Shoreditch or little pockets of Islington.”
Some of these plans include a new waterpark opening this summer, joining the currently Water Adventure & Play Park which is currently being renovated to include new structures and play areas.
He also said there are plans to revamp the 158-year-old Birnbeck Pier – which has been closed since 1994 – with £10million funding.
The pier is the only one in the UK which links to the mainland to an island, with access to Birnbeck Island.
And the Old Town Quarry, also currently closed, could be turned into an event space.
He added: “We could have an opera there, we could have a ballet there, we could have things that are not necessarily associated with Weston-Super-Mare.”
Talking of the empty shops scattered around the town, he said there were plans for a weekly market at the Italian Gardens.
Of the abandoned stores, he put forward: “Could we get a couple of artists to come in and hand paint a green grocers on the inside of the glass, and a barbershop next door, and a butchers next door?”
While the town has fallen into disrepair in recent years, Weston-super-Mare was a popular Victorian seaside resort back in the 18th century.
The railway lines connecting it to Bath, Bristol and South Wales opened in 1841, which saw a huge tourism boost.
However, it fell into decline in the 1960s when cheap package holidays tempted Brits abroad.
For holidaymakers visiting the town now, there is the Grand Pier, with a fairground and rides.
Other top attractions include the interactive Helicopter Museum, as well as the huge main beach stretching two miles along the coast and the protected swimming venue Marine Lake.
One of the town’s biggest attractions is Tropicana, once a huge lido and slide complex that is now an event space.
A new £2.7million redevelopment of the space includes a new 1000-person structure and restoring the 1930s promenade building.
Last year, it was even home to the UK’s largest covered ice rink during the Christmas period.
It hopes to be complete by March 2026.
Last year, interactive and immersive play attraction Little Town Adventure opened.
Here is a ‘secret’ island off the coast of Weston-super-Mare most people don’t know about.
And Brits wanting to go to Shoreditch-on-Sea can head to Margate, which is an example of a revamped seaside town in the UK.