A leading local councillor has voiced concerns that Bridlington is failing to realise the full economic potential of its evening visitor offer, leading to complaints from tourists about the lack of activities after sunset.
Councillor Jayne Phoenix, who represents Bridlington North, says that the coastal town’s after-hours appeal is lagging behind other nearby settlements, describing the missed opportunities as a "huge income earner".
Councillor Phoenix highlighted the stark difference in atmosphere when comparing Bridlington to another East Riding location, attributing her feelings to the lack of evening activity:
"My concern is we are not getting to grips with the potential of the night-time economy.
I walked through Beverly one evening and I was so jealous because we have a flourishing night-time economy in Beverly at weekends, evenings, particularly in the summer. People are sitting outside drinking. The buzz is amazing.
But in Bridlington in the evening, if you don't go to the spa or you don't go in a pub, there is absolutely nothing to do after half.
Go around the harbour, it's deserted. A lot of holiday makers complain that there's nothing to do after half past five, six o'clock.
What are we doing? Because that is to me a huge income earner".
In response to these concerns regarding the night-time economy, East Riding Council's Head of Economic Development, Claire Watts, confirmed that the issue is being addressed as part of wider strategic planning for the region's coastal areas.
Ms Watts provided detail on the council’s current focus, confirming that the future of the evening economy is an active consideration within ongoing development work:
"At the moment we have underway a coastal economic study where we are trying to look at the future economy of the coastal towns of Bridlington, Hornsea, Withernsea. Tourism and the night-time economy will absolutely come into that.
There are some workshops where you can feed into that.
We've done a lot particularly in terms of the physical environment in Bridlington. We've done some stuff around community led local development making sure that our residents do have access to skills and employment and opportunity.
We've had the area action plan. We've had the community led local development plan. We had the townscape heritage plan. We're working on a new plan. So I hope collectively we can all come up with that new plan. And it has to include those kind of things".
The East Riding of Yorkshire Council has, however, pursued various strategies intended to bolster the visitor economy and community assets in coastal areas, including Bridlington. Recent investments have aimed to diversify the tourism offer and extend the traditional holiday season.
A new high ropes course was introduced, creating approximately 14 jobs and attracting additional tourism, with the aim of extending the holiday season into the winter months. The council also noted that the Bridlington Spa has a comprehensive approach to promoting community well-being through initiatives such as providing free movie screenings and hosting cultural events like Bridlington Pride.
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