IT'S nothing new for Malvern people to complain about the town's decline as a tourist centre - just look at the Malvern Gazette of 1952.

Local hoteliers were lamenting how "disappointing" the summer season had been.

"Two factors are said to account mainly for this state of affairs - lack of publicity and the growing tendency of people to go to seaside places and abroad," said the paper.

It also carried an anonymous letter from a woman who had lived in the town since 1902.

She said: "In those days, Malvern was a beautiful place . . . for those who wanted rest and peace and also the beauty of nature. But today Malvern is an industrial town and for its size could not be equalled for noise of traffic, crowds and hundreds of children, always eating ice cream."

"I can remember when every house along Worcester Road from the Foley was full for the season.

"I can also remember the Duke of Grafton coming regularly every year to the Abbey Hotel and also the Earl and Countess of Dudley taking over the Mount Pleasant for months at a time. The Earl and Countess Crewe would be at the Foley Arms Hotel.

"That was Malvern when I first knew it, but today it is nothing but a noisy country town. It certainly could not be classed as a holiday resort."