Talk is cheap ... and they've been talking for years on this one. What we need is action, says Fulwell councillor George Howe. And how!

Now an all-weather facility has been proposed. I like the sound of that and can see it now – a covered walkway filled with palm trees and birds of paradise, a totally tropical experience stretching the length of the coastline.

An ice rink and swimming pool has been suggested. But don't build your hopes up.

I'm certainly not holding my breath because, with our council's track record, we could well see a Tesco going up to vie with Morrisons.

Morrisons should never have been allowed and it's back to front anyway –instead of capitalising on its sea view with a restaurant with a vista, we have to eat our fish and chips looking out onto a carpark.

Vision for our prime locations is as short as the spondulicks. South Shields does indeed knock us into a cocked hat and put us to shame.

First and foremost it has spent £22.5million on improving its seafront in recent years – while our council has a measley £2million up its sleeve.

What's their secret? Shields has ploughed ahead, getting private investors on board to boost cash from the council pot to revamp its park and prom to provide an uplifting holiday ambience with its amphitheatre, new adventure playground, Italian restaurant, bowling alley and plans to build a pool.

We never seem to get it right – our World Heritage bid has been put back for the second year running because we didn't get our act together in time.

The wrangling goes on over Roker Retail Park with Tesco so that's at a standstill. Newcastle Road Baths is standing idle – with no cash to build the proposed college on this site.

And then there's the endless eyesore of the Vaux site – resembling the Russian steppes in the snow.

It is crucial that we make the most of what we have got by showcasing our seafront – few cities have one so close to the main shopping centre.

Flatten the funfair and the sad Seaburn Centre and seize the moment of making something really wonderful and worthwile a reality on that swathe of land to attract and cater for all ages.

Get rid of the run-down that has been crying out for a sea change and combat years of neglect.

Revamping our seafront has been in the melting pot and never come to the boil? And maybe that's all down to our council chiefs needing a bomb behind them, a wake-up call that we are fed-up with being palmed off with second best and living in the shadow of our neighbours.

High time we turned up the heat and the insidious tide of indifference by insisting on visionary investment in our future which for too long has been forgotten, leaving us shortchanged.