Beach chalets take Blyth back to 1950s heyday
One of Blyth’s life-long residents says the transformation of the town’s new seafront has transported him back almost 60 years to the glory days of this Northumberland town’s vibrant promenade and beach chalets.
Once a lively hub of the seaside town, Blyth promenade and its surrounding Links area has been part of an £800,000 restoration project, which has seen the new beach chalets constructed and the promenade transformed. Blyth Links has benefited from significant investment in recent years and is expected to reinforce the popularity of Blyth Beach with visitors both locally and nationally.
The Links area is the main entrance into the town and its restoration is part of a larger £60m project to regenerate the whole of Blyth over the next few years by linking in with other visitor opportunities nearby such as Seaton Delaval Hall and with improvements to the town centre itself including the newly refurbished Market Square.
Gordon Smith (67), who has lived in Blyth for most of his life and has welcomed the restoration of the iconic beach chalets, said: “I absolutely love the design of the new chalets and the bright colours certainly help to liven up the beach, just like the original ones did back in the 1950s.”
From the 1950s, when the chalets were built, through to the 1980s, when they were demolished, hundreds of families from across Northumberland spent much of their family time there, whilst on Sunday evenings Blyth’s young couples would meet outside the buildings for romantic walks along the promenade.
Although the new chalets are traditional in their style, they also feature state-of-the-art technology, including a live grass roof, an individual terraced area and an in-built art feature using micro-renewable technology.
Alongside the 20 contemporary beach chalets stands a new amenity building which will house the town’s lifeguard service and is fully equipped with meeting rooms, first aid point and changing facilities with outdoor solar-powered showers.
Gordon Smith, who is a Director of Blyth Valley Heritage Ltd, hopes that Blyth’s residents and its visitors will take pride in the new beach chalets and amenity building. He said: “I feel that the redevelopment of the Links area has been a wonderful opportunity for the town of Blyth. The new chalets are very reminiscent of the south coast and I hope they do well. If they do then they will really help to encourage more people to visit this beautiful stretch of coastline, which is second to none.”
Recent developments on Blyth Links include the restoration of the bandstand, new paving on the promenade, an amphitheatre and children’s play area. Work is also currently underway to restore a collection of wartime structures dating back to the First World War. These developments will transform Blyth Battery into a visitor centre and education facility.
Report by Chitra Mogul
Chitra Mogul
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