After decades in dire straits, Whitley Bay leads renaissance of northern resorts

Inspired by the reinvention of southern seaside towns, the pleasure beach immortalised by Mark Knopfler is enjoying a multimillion-pound revamp

Dire Straits sang in 1981 about Whitley Bay’s Spanish City pleasure beach, where lead singer Mark Knopfler first heard loud rock music. Twenty years after the song, Tunnel of Love, hit the charts, Spanish City’s domed Edwardian concert hall closed and fell derelict. Now the seaside resort, like many of its northern contemporaries, is gearing up for an ambitious renaissance.

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Source: Guardian Environment