ALTHOUGH it s been a week when Weston has been tainted by tragedy, today s headlines contain plenty of good news too.

ALTHOUGH it's been a week when Weston has been tainted by tragedy, today's headlines contain plenty of good news too.

Town morale will inevitably be boosted by news that work on the �34million Grand Pier rebuilding project is underway, and approval for a seafront water park has also comes as a timely fillip.

It's heartening, too, to see some long-awaited acclaim for some of Weston's hardest-working and best-loved characters.

While the leisure industry and its attractions have morphed almost beyond recognition over the past 100 years, Weston's donkeys continue to prove as popular as ever.

Being voted Britain's number one tourist attraction is a huge achievement for the donkeys and the Mager family who own them.

It is also a reminder of the simple pleasures of a trip to the seaside, at a time when Weston has reported a tenfold increase in visitor numbers over Easter.

However, arguably the most exciting news relates to a revolutionary plan to expand the town's retail quarter and build new shopping centres.

North Somerset Council this week unveiled a tentative blueprint to add new retail areas around the Locking Road coach park and Sunnyside Road, including relocating Weston Rugby Club to a new site.

The prospect of new shops will be welcomed by bargain hunters who travel to Bristol or Taunton to spend their cash - but it's also worth sounding a note of caution.

At present, barely a week goes by without another shop going belly-up and pulling down the shutters. The former Woolworths stands empty as a dire reminder of the current financial crisis.

It's been months, and no new firm has come forward to snap up arguably the biggest and best-located of Weston's High Street stores - so what makes people think the nation's big names will be clamouring for space in a new centre?

Clearly this project is still in its infancy, but a vital first step is finding tenants before too much time and money is spent on a project which could prove a costly white elephant if the demand is not there.