Just a short distance from the bright lights of a loud and busy Blackpool lies a small, historic town thriving at its side.
'An almost complete skeleton of a 12,000 year old elk was found as foundations were being dug for a new house on Blackpool Old Road, Carleton. What made the find so important was the discovery of hunting barbs embedded in the leg bones - indicating that human hunters had lived in this area around 10,000 BC.
Walk through the town centre and you’ll see the market cross still standing in the square. Albeit on a smaller scale, it continues to host regular markets to this day with outdoor stalls set up every Monday. One man visiting the town, Alan Ballentine, had walked from his home in Bispham on a trip he makes regularly. He said: “It’s got a nice little village feel. I like the charity shops, I like sitting here in this little square. It’s just quirky. That's what I'd call it.”
One element seen as crucial to boosting the town’s fortunes is reviving railway links with Fleetwood. The project remains ongoing after the government progressed it upon receiving a strategic outline business case. The next phase of work will provide a more detailed forecast of likely demand for the service, examine the value for money of reopening the line, and identify the best option to deliver the scheme.
The plans also include efforts to pay greater tribute to the town’s rich heritage, improve cycling and walking infrastructure in and around the town centre, and to expand the offering at Cottam Hall Playing Field.