Sex sells, but not for the tourists (From Bournemouth Echo)

Sex sells, but not for the tourists

7:00pm Wednesday 22nd April 2009

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IT’S make your mind up time... yet again.

Do we want a resort that’s a family-friendly destination with fun for all ages?

Or a cool party town that caters for every taste, need and/or sexual proclivity?

Of course, Bournemouth wants both and lots more, including a Mediterranean-style evening cafe culture, a unique shopping experience, the best beaches in the land, sunshine 365 days of the year and not an ounce of alcohol-related trouble.

If you take The Triangle as a microcosm of the whole town, the noble intent of providing the kind of culture we would all welcome appears to be failing.

While there is a place for retail outlets catering for the healthy carnal appetites of consenting adults, is there really space for four of them within a few hundred yards of a library, a new retail complex and the town’s main shopping area?

The answer’s no and while it has to be appreciated that there are few laws to prevent such moves, the Town Centre Vision needs to make its point clearer.

If regeneration is to take place in an area like The Triangle and the council is going to reclaim those streets for its (hopefully) growing numbers of home-staying visitors this summer, the sight of run-down stores, empty premises and rows of marital aids and startling lingerie is hardly going to be the gateway to paradise.

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