I'm put off visiting the Pleasure Beach again, because while they've built a lovely new ride, they also got rid of the only other decent coaster there :/ Valhalla/Red Arrows are both pretty decent, but I'mma need more than that to justify the 4 hour drive, so hopefully these rumours are true. PB needs some decent rides. Technology has come so far since they've last properly invested in the park, and I'm sure Icon sticks out like a sore thumb.
Blackpool as a town is probably one of the worst examples of what has happened to the British Seaside town, stuck in a rut of pound shops and chavvy hen dos. There are so many derelict rotting buildings, and it has completely oversaturated it's tourism market (did you know there are apparently more hotel rooms in Blackpool than there are in the country of Portugal?!). It just isn't a nice place to visit. And that then becomes difficult when your main source of revenue is getting people to visit. This then has the knock on effect of making it difficult to build visitor numbers at the Pleasure Beach.