Since the 1970s, Weston has suffered a decline in popularity as a holiday destination,
as have most British seaside resorts, due to the advent of cheap foreign
holidays and the demise of the traditional "works holidays" of heavy
and manufacturing industries elsewhere in UK. The town had become a centre of
industries such as helicopter production, and maintenance at the GKN Westland
factory until its closure in 2002, however the company still retains a design
office under the name GKN Aerospace Engineering Services at the Winterstoke
Road site. Road transport links were improved with the M5 motorway running
close by,
