THING OF THE WEEK

TAX… A charity in the Lake District is pushing for the introduction of a tourist tax to mitigate against some of the impacts of the area’s popularity with people seeking a break in the great outdoors. Friends of the Lake District – a not-for-profit whose mission is to protect Cumbrian landscapes – describes tourism in the Lakes as an “invisible burden”. The charity wants to see a tourist tax imposed similar to models common in European cities.

While the word ‘tax’ immediately conjures negative emotions, a couple of quid to improve infrastructure and protect the environment is surely a long overdue intervention. Anyone who has tried to find somewhere to leave the car close to any of the Lake District’s plentiful beauty spots will welcome this initiative if it means more parking spaces.

The scheme has been refused by the council. Credit: via planning documents

SMASHING… Supermarket Sainsbury’s has had plans for an undulating sculpture outside its huge glass-fronted store at Blackpool’s Talbot Gateway rejected by the local council on account of its appearance.

A scathing summation from the council’s planning department states that the artwork, which is meant to be a nod to the Big Dipper rollercoaster at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, would be “significantly detrimental to the appearance, character and quality of the building”.

This will come as a blow to Sainsbury’s, which wanted to use the sculpture as a barrier to vandals. A planning statement prepared by Alder King states that the proposal is “necessary owing to the unsustainable costs associated with repeatedly replacing the glass windowpanes following acts of vandalism”.

Credit: Google Earth

RAVE ON… Another day, another meanwhile use at Victoria North. The £4bn regeneration project is well underway and developer FEC is seeking to activate parts of the 390-acre site that are a little further down the track in terms of their redevelopment.

Already, plans for a shipping container business park and a padel centre have been approved, which will bring life to the derelict area. Next up is a music venue. Connecting Dots, a creative group behind the Love Factory – another nearby venue – wants to convert a former clothing factory off Burstock, Bromley, Bilbrook, and Peary streets into a nighttime destination. The plans are simple – a stage, a dancefloor, and a bar – what is not to like?

Credit: Zidane Projects

HOOPS… If getting dunked on while you’re eating your leftovers for lunch sounds like your idea of a good time you might want to consider a job at JD Sports. The canteen and communal space at the sports retailer’s Rochdale distribution centre has been overhauled in a fitting manner. Among the design interventions is a basketball hoop positioned right over the dining table.

Zidane Projects is behind the scheme; maybe the company should consider a name change – LeBron Endevours perhaps.

The house would have enviable views of the lake if it was occupied. Credit: Google Earth

CPO-NO… After cutting ties with the Hollywood actor with familial ties to Hopwood Hall, Rochdale Council is feeling more charitable this week. The authority is set to agree to grant the owners of a half-finished property with enviable views of Hollingworth Lake more time to sell the house.

The bungalow began construction in 1999 but has never been completed, prompting the council to initiate a compulsory purchase order to break the impasse. However, Rochdale is now planning to rescind the CPO at the request of the owners who say the process is affecting their ability to sell. The council looks set to oblige and will give the owners another 18 months to do what needs to be done or get off the proverbial pot.

ROBSON RIDES… A Friday shout-out to Project Four chairman Alan Robson who is currently on a nine-day, 400km cycling tour of India to raise money for Liverpool baby hospice Zoe’s Place. So far he has raised a whopping £15,500 and is closing in on his target of £17,500.

Robson’s India sojourn – which has seen him take in the Taj Mahal and breathe in his fair share of toxic fumes – is not the first time he has climbed aboard his bike in a faraway land in the name of Zoe’s Place. Back in 2016, he peddled around Costa Rica, raising just shy of £5,000. If you want to support him this time around, there is still time – cycle4zoes.enthuse.com/pf/alan-robson