BLACKPOOL'S impressive lifeboat station could trawl in a national award.

The one-year-old station is a possible entrant for a Millennium award to be presented by Prince Charles.

That's the message following a visit by the president of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) who are sponsoring the awards.

The unique £600,000 station was funded solely by the people and businesses of the town and was shown off during a special visit by Simon Kolesar, who is also chair of the Urban Design Alliance (UDAL).

Mr Kolesar visited the station on a whistle-stop tour of Lancashire.

Zena Burslam, chair of Blackpool RNLI, said: "We are very proud of the station and were honoured to be hosting the visit by Mr Kolesar."

The station is unique in that it allows members of the public to see and appreciate all of the work done by the RNLI, as well as providing entertainment and gifts.

Mr Kolesar praised Lancashire for its development and regeneration plans.

He said: "I enjoyed visiting Lancashire because of the massive improvements and excellent progress the county continues to make.

"I am pleased to see the partnerships forged between a number of organisation striving to lead the region into the next Millennium.

"At the moment there is a lot of emphasis on urban improvement, but the government and other agencies seem to think that new developments are the answer.

"The RICS believes that conservation is also paramount to regeneration - that's why we feel that Lancashire, with its diverse mix of environments and developments and its commitments to regeneration, should play a major role in the future of the North West."

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