Rossall Point Observation Tower opens in Fleetwood
A new observation tower has officially opened on the Lancashire coastline.
Rossall Point Observation Tower is on the sand dunes between Cleveleys and Fleetwood and will provide a base for the National Coastwatch Institution.
The 46ft (14m) high tower will also provide a viewing platform for the general public and bird watchers.
It has views over to the Lakeland fells, out across Morecambe Bay and the Irish Sea and is part of Wyre Council's £2.1m Sea Change project.
The scheme includes the restoration of the Marine Hall Gardens at Fleetwood, the Mythic Coast artwork trail and the specially commissioned children's book The Sea Swallow.
The four-storey tower replaces the old observation tower which was no longer fit for purpose.
The ground floor gallery area will be used as an education facility by Wyre Council's Coast and Countryside Rangers.
The first floor will provide a facility for bird watching and the second floor will be home to the National Coastwatch Institution.
The top level is an open observation deck with a camera which will project images of the view onto a screen on the ground floor for anyone unable to make the climb to the top floor.
Councillor Gordon McCann, cabinet member with responsibility for economic development at Wyre Council, said it is a distinctive building and the views from the tower are stunning.
"We're very proud of it," he said.
"We're going to put it in for all sorts of competitions bearing in mind what its function is; with its green credentials, bird watching and all the other stuff which goes with it and of course the safety aspect of it with shipping."