LETTERS Need good attractions

My wife and I vistited Seaburn with our grandson on Friday, August 9, but finished up in South Shields and played crazy golf, watched young children playing football on safe sites, also cycling areas, all to the back drop of the steam train chugging around the lake.

There were eight or nine boats on the water and music from the fairground resonated in our ears.

The point I am making is that we wanted to have an enjoyable afternoon at Seaburn but were disappointed at the lack of family entertainments available.

Yes, there were a couple of ageing arcades, two or three fish shops, the Fat Bhuda and that was all.

No wonder Seaburn, as a place to visit was a disappointment to the three of us.

It is patently obvious why people will travel along Whitburn Road to South Shields to enjoy the leisure facilities it has in abundance.

South Shields has spent £80million in redevelopment over the past 10 years.

They have a new library and the market place has ben up-graded, together with a new leisure centre, and there are further plans for £100million investment from private and other sources to be spent on the town.

How can they successfully introduce innovative development, while here in Sunderland all we can do is watch and hope that within our time we can catch up with other authorities as they produce the new facilities that will attract and bring enjoyment to families.

Here on Sunderland’s seafront we have great beach, and a sometime used recreational field opposite the Victorian bus shelter, but sadly there are no new developments on the drawing board but we do have a ‘Meanwhile Plan’ or is it a ‘Meantime Plan’ instead of the one that was going to revitalise the seafront.

Most people want good worthwhile recreational facilities not hundreds of high cost, executive houses at the seafront.

If South Shields can do it, why can’t we?

A simple question but then our council seems not able to produce simple answers, just poor excuses. Coun George Howe, Conservative Fulwell ward