Today we report on the outcome of an appeal made by Blackpool Pier Company in response to Blackpool Council’s refusal to allow them to build new rides at the entrance.

You may remember that we first reported on this back in July - when Jamie was the only reporter who was present. That meant we were able to hear in real time the arguments from both parties.

Blackpool Pier Company said the rides would allow them to better fund repairs. The council said they aren’t spending the amount that is quoted on repairs in the first place.

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Blackpool briefing

🛎️ New plans for a luxurious hotel on Blackpool seafront has sparked renewed interest in another hotel project already granted planning permission – but still not built after two years.

On Friday ambitious proposals were announced for a stylish four/five star hotel, designed by noted architect Joseph Boniface, which was still going through the planning process. The hotel has been earmarked for a seafront site whose location has yet to be confirmed.

Meanwhile, another ambitious four-star hotel scheme for a £30m hotel on Blackpool Promenade was given the go-ahead by town hall planners back in April 2024.

At that time, the developers pledged to start work as soon as possible on the 143-bedroom hotel on a Promenade site previously occupied by the demolished St Chad’s Hotel.

The applicant was the Singapore-based hotel chain Fragrance Group, which owns some of Blackpool’s most prominent hotels, specifically The Imperial Hotel and the Lyndene Hotel.

Alistair Shepherd, representing the Fragrance Group, told the planning meeting in April 2024 that if the scheme was approved, work would begin on site straight away.

🎥 Proposals to use part of the former Odeon Cinema building in Blackpool as a storage facility have been lodged with planners.

The former Odeon multiplex on Rigby Road permanently closed on June 5, 2023, after its lease expired. However, in June this year more than half of the building was re-opened as a major entertainment complex by operator Tenpin.

The Tenpin site includes 24 state-of-the-art bowling lanes, an immersive 4D laser tag arena for high-energy group battles, Houdini’s escape rooms, private karaoke rooms, a games arcade, modern darts, a children’ play area and a bar with light bites.

In spite of this, there is still considerable space left in the other side of the building which currently lies vacant. The building’s owners, Preston-based developer Austringer Capital, which operates locally as AIM Land Ltd, have been advised by property agents that only two uses would be deemed appropriate to fill the premises – either cinema use or storage.

A planning application for a nine-screen cinema has also been submitted, as a separate proposal.

🍺 Blackpool is to get a vibrant, new Irish bar which is set take over the premises of the former resort mainstay Brannigans Bar.

The new venue, to be called Nelly Mulligans, is being launched at the Market Street site by the operators of Ma Kelly’s, who have established a string of popular outlets in the town. Brannigans Bar, which for many years was one of Blackpool’s busiest weekend venues, closed earlier this year.

Nelly Mulligans will be offering live music seven days a week, live screenings of all major sports, multiple giant screens, drinks offers and bar snacks. Andy Johnston, marketing manager for the project, said the new venue would be different from Blackpool’s existing Irish bars by being a predominantly live music venue, which will also screen major live sports events.

He said: “It’s a live music venue which will include single performers, live bands, Irish acts and commercial acts as well.

“We’ll be screening plenty of live sports and there’ll be lots of Irish drinks, including excellent Guinness, proper Irish Tayto crisps and some really good merchandise. This will be the place to go for an out-and-out good time in Blackpool.”

No opening date has been confirmed yet.

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Back to the drawing board for Blackpool Pier Company after appeal thrown out by government

By Jamie Lopez

The company responsible for South Pier has said it will consider how to refine its plans after a planning inspector agreed with Blackpool Council’s decision to refuse permission for new rides.

Blackpool Pier Company, which also owns Central Pier, wanted to operate a Star Flyer and Log Flume either side of South Pier for six months each year but was refused planning permission by the council.

In rejecting the applications, the local authority concluded the plans would harm the character and appearance of the area; constitute piecemeal development; harm the heritage assets of the pier and Blackpool Tower; and go against its own development plan for the Promenade.

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Following a three-day public hearing in Marton, government planning inspector Paul Freer agreed with the council’s decision and rejected an appeal.

In a statement shared with The Blackpool Lead, the company said it was disappointed with the decision but welcomed recognition of the financial challenges it faces in maintaining the historic structures.

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It’s feasible you’d never heard of ‘vertical drinking’ before this week. Actually, it’s feasible you’ve never heard of ‘vertical drinking’ before.

It essentially refers to standing up when you’re having a pint - something thought of generally as a very British thing.

And there’s nothing that gets outlets like GB News and The Sun out of newsy bed quite like suggesting something British is under threat. “Can we get the word woke into this headline?” you imagine they ask. Whether something is actually under threat is secondary.

So from that comes the reports over the last week that Blackpool Council is looking to BAN vertical drinking. Reader: it is not looking to do that.

For today’s edition, we unpick exactly what’s happened there because reading writing about Blackpool put together from London is never a good plan.

Blackpool briefing

🎞️ Part of the former Odeon Cinema building in Blackpool could return to its former use as a cinema under new proposals.

A scheme is being put forward which would see a nine-screen cinema complex operating from the west side of the huge Rigby Road premises.

The former Odeon multiplex on Rigby Road permanently closed on June 5, 2023, after its lease expired.
However, in June this year more than half of the building was re-opened as a major entertainments complex by operator Tenpin.

The Tenpin site includes 24 state-of-the-art bowling lanes, an immersive 4D laser tag arena for high-energy group battles, Houdini’s escape rooms, private karaoke rooms, a games arcade, modern darts, a children’ play area and a bar with light bites.

However, there is still considerable space left in the other side of the building which currently lies vacant.

📚 A Blackpool primary school has been given the green light to construct an external canopy and two metre high mesh fencing.

Westminster Primary Academy, on Westminster Road in North Shore, submitted a planning application to Blackpool Council seeking permission for the scheme.

The proposals were aimed at improving security in the school, particularly to support its special educational needs (SEND) provision.

The application was for a Lawful Development Certificate, which would mean the application would not require planning permission.

Blackpool Council’s Head of Development management said the proposals would come under ‘permitted development’, meaning that in this case the applicant would be able to build, expand, or change the use of a property without submitting a formal planning application.

Accordingly, the application was permitted.

🏠 Proposals have been made to use a semi-detached house in Blackpool as a residential home for up to two adults in receipt of care.

A planning application has been submitted to Blackpool Council for a Lawful Development Certificate for the scheme, at a property at 7 Sandon Place, South Shore.

A Lawful Development Certificate (LDC) is an official legal document from the council, confirming that a building use or development is lawful for planning purposes.

If granted, it proves that the specific work or use cannot face council enforcement action. The statement says the proposal does not materially alter the planning character of the existing dwellinghouse.

In particular, no physical alterations are proposed and the property will remain visually indistinguishable from neighbouring houses. There will be no commercial signage, no reception or administrative office and no members of the public will visit the property as part of its operation.

Staffing will comprise daytime support together with one overnight sleep-in worker, while vehicle movements will remain comparable to those associated with a typical family home.

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No, Blackpool is not about to ban ‘vertical drinking’ in pubs

By Michael Holmes

Hold on to your kiss-me-quick hats - because town hall bosses in Blackpool have promised not to ban so-called “vertical drinking”.

It comes after pint-sized panic was sparked by speculation in corners of the national press that standing up while enjoying a drink in the resort would be outlawed for locals and tourists alike.

Reports in The Sun and GB News had suggested - based on language used in licensing papers - that it will be bottoms down when it comes to bottoms up by the seaside.

Blackpool Council was branded a ‘woke council’ in those reports.

But the claims have been blasted as “misleading” by authority chiefs, who say they are simply trying to clean up Blackpool’s party hub image.

“Applications for premises whose predominant offer is vertical drinking are not encouraged,” the cited documents say.

“But if applications are made for such premises, it is expected that the operating schedule will demonstrate robust arrangements for promoting the licensing objectives.”

Speaking after London’s Westminster Council triggered widespread furore by consulting on a policy encouraging bar staff to put out tables and chairs in place of space to drink standing up, a spokesperson for Blackpool said discouraging predominantly vertical-drinking holes has been part of its policy for over a decade.

“It isn’t a ban on ‘vertical-drinking’ establishments and it also doesn’t mean people can’t order drinks at a bar or stand within premises,” they told The Blackpool Lead, however.

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The Metropole may be finished as an asylum hotel, but that doesn’t mean the auditors will leave Blackpool alone.

A transgender march of visibility and solidarity was held in Blackpool last week. And while there was a counter-protest alongside it, what that really means is an opportunity to verbally abuse a different minority in Blackpool.

This matters. Scepticism towards transgender rights have grown across the board since 2022.

All of which makes a statement like “they all need slaughtering” being given by a counter protestor - and police taking no action - especially hard to stomach.

We dig into the story of the march - and counter protest - for today’s edition.

Blackpool briefing

🩺 More than 140 members of managerial staff at Blackpool Victoria Hospital are facing demotion to a lower pay grade as part of emergency savings proposals.

Worried and unhappy employees say they morale is at an all-time low as cash-strapped Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust looks to make saving of around half a million pounds.

The Trust employs 6,000 personnel providing acute and community healthcare services across the Fylde Coast, Lancashire, and South Cumbria. The staff affected by the proposals, employees at Band 6-8 level, have been informed that a 30-day consultation period has been launched into the proposals, which is due to end on August 30.

It comes as Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is experiencing significant financial difficulties, as part of the wider NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB), which needs to make massive savings.

Some staff would see pay cuts by as much as £300 a month – up to £3,600 a year.

🏠 Blackpool Council is seeking a development partner for its ambitious - but controversial - regeneration project around Central Drive.

Backed by £90.4m of Homes England grant funding, the plan will see the demolition of up to 300 properties to be replaced by 230 ‘energy-efficient’ homes.

While most accept the area is in need of regeneration, campaigners feel they are being forced out of their home by the process.

Cllr Lynn Williams, leader of Blackpool Council, said: “People who live in central Blackpool deserve quality housing, nice neighbourhoods and green spaces where they want to raise their children.

“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for a developer to be part of Blackpool’s transformation story. We are looking for a development partner who shares our ambition to create high-quality homes, attractive public spaces and a thriving community that will improve the lives of local people for decades to come.

“Central Blackpool has enormous potential. This project is about far more than housing. It is about creating a sustainable neighbourhood, tackling long-standing challenges and providing the foundations for future growth and investment. The project doesn’t stand alone either. We are bringing new social housing, jobs and community facilities to the central Blackpool area already and are in the middle of a wider £2bn transformation of Blackpool as a place.

“We want to hear from organisations who have the vision, expertise and commitment to join us on this journey to make Blackpool better for the people who live here.”

🫣 Reform UK home affairs spokesperson Zia Yusuf has been caught in a war of words on the former-Twitter with former Conservative defence secretary Ben Wallace.

Wallace, once MP for Lancaster and Wyre and Wyre and Preston North, criticised Reform UK’s pledge to deport foreign nationals from jails to countries such as El Salvador. In response, Yusuf called him a moron and a traitor.

It was beyond the pale for even Nigel Farage, who promised to give him a ‘ticking off’.

Andrew Snowden, Conservative MP for Fylde, told The Blackpool Lead: “Zia Yusuf, a former banker, calling Ben Wallace, a former Army officer who was mentioned in despatches for gallantry, a ‘moron, says far more about Reform’s leadership than it does about anything else.

“Reform tells people what they want to hear, without any credible plans to actually deliver. When challenged, its leaders resort to lashing out and trading insults rather than answering serious questions.”

📚 A disciplinary case against a now-former Blackpool teacher has ended with her being cleared of wrongdoing.

Clare Percival’s impending hearing was covered by The Gazette in June, though the accusation against her was not detailed.

At Percival’s request, the Teacher Regulation Agency has revealed that its professional conduct panel “did not find the case proved”.

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March marred by counter-protest calls for trans people to be slaughtered - and no action taken

By Luke Beardsworth

Protestors who marched in solidarity with the transgender community in Blackpool have expressed their shock that no action will be taken by police against a counter protestor who called for them to be slaughtered.

A march was held on Wednesday, 5 August, after the new rules were brought in which mean single-sex toilets, changing-rooms and hospital wards must be used based on a person’s birth sex rather than the gender by which they identify.

This followed the April 2025 Supreme Court ruling which confirmed that the legal definition of a man and a woman is made from their biological sex at birth.

But critics believe that the ruling, and new rules brought in by the UK government in response to the ruling, will create extra challenges for an already vulnerable community.

The march in Blackpool was broadly deemed to be successful by organisers but they were met by a counter protest which included the recording of the march, abuse being shouted, one person walking across the transgender flag brought to the comedy carpet by protestors, and another saying that transgender people should be ‘slaughtered’.

It was that remark that caused the most upset and, while Lancashire Constabulary investigated the incident, they concluded that no further action was necessary.

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Cllr Matthew Thomas, who represents Brunswick ward but also acts as LGBT community champion for Blackpool Council, says the failure to take action is dangerous.

He told The Blackpool Lead: “I can’t understand why the police have not taken action. I can’t see any logical reason behind it other than perhaps it has not been shared enough. If more people have seen it, there is potential the CPS realise they have made a mistake.

“But without a doubt, the language and the words used were a hate crime and incitement of violence towards a particular community. Unchecked, that could be incredibly dangerous.”

The protest was held with the aim primarily of being ‘visible’ but also highlighting the challenges the new rules will create for the transgender community. But it very quickly became apparent that it was not going to pass completely smoothly.

Cllr Thomas said: “Police were well aware there was going to be a counter protest. When I got there, there were already a few of these so-called auditors gathered around trying to get footage for their TikToks and their YouTubes. At that point, things were fairly calm.

“However, throughout the walk it was increasingly more intimidating. When a few more people that are well-known in those circles were there, they started weaving in and out of the march. That included Tom O’Keefe, who has a restraining order, putting himself right in front of Chris Webb [whom the order refers to] to start shouting at the march.

“These counter protestors weren’t representative of the people that were around in Blackpool. There were families that clapped and cheered when they saw the banner, so it was a shame that the counter protesters sought to intimidate in the way that they did.”

O’Keefe was arrested but later released with no action taken.

Things took a turn for the worse when the protest reached the Comedy Carpet.

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In 2017, residents were moved out of a care home as part of an ‘urgent decision’ to keep them safe.

That care home then reopened and, in 2020, it was told improvement was required. By 2025, it was placed in special measures.

Now inspected again, and under new management, we’ve looked into what inspectors found when they visited this time around.

Before you proceed, a little warning. The snippet at the top of the briefing section features an individual issuing a phrase that ranks among the worst things we have ever published.

We would typically not publish something like that, but the apparent decision by Lancashire Constabulary to take no action necessitates it.

Blackpool briefing

🚔 A peaceful pro-trans march took place on Wednesday in Blackpool, but were met with a counter protest led by far-right figure Ryan Ferguson.

Footage, taken from multiple vantage points, saw the transgender flag stepped on by Ferguson who was cheered on by a handful of counter protestors.

A 42-year-old counter protestor (not Ferguson) was arrested on suspicion of breaching a restraining order but has since been released without further action.

Reports of transphobic language being used were made to Lancashire Constabulary but no action has been taken.

Ferguson was recorded as saying: “A National Socialist government would not have allowed all this, And that is why that man, I won’t mention his name, that man many years ago was right. Because he’d have slaughtered all these and that’s what they need, they need slaughtering.”

🌹 Family, friends and Blackpool residents have paid respects to the late Cllr Ivan Taylor whose funeral was held on Friday.

The veteran Labour man, confirmed as Britain’s longest serving councillor, died early last month at the age of 86.

For 20 years, Ivan served alongside his wife Sylvia. Cllr Sylvia Taylor represented Claremont ward and was also Mayor of Blackpool in 2012-13. She died in 2021, aged 82.

Ivan’s funeral service was held at Blackpool’s Salvation Army Citadel, where a moving eulogy was given by his grandson Luke and the service was officiated by Major Richard Thompson, the Corps Officer.

Grandson Luke, who was particularly close to Ivan, invited those who wished to pay their respects at the services.

Blackpool Council has paid its respects to the councillor, who served on the council for six decades, most of it in the Claremont ward in North Shore.

And Blackpool South MP Chris Webb described as a man who “dedicated six decades of his life to serving the people of Blackpool.”

🎭 Blackpool is in with a brilliant chance of of being named the UK City of Culture 2029, says council leader Cllr Lynn Williams.

Cllr Williams was speaking just days before Blackpool’s bid for the accolade is sent off on Monday.

The council leader was in bullish mood about the resort’s chances, insisting that the town’s cultural significance is massive and should be celebrated.

Blackpool is one of nine places across the UK listed by the government’s Department of Culture, Media and Sport to be in the running for the prestigious accolade. Rivals include Middlesbrough, Wrexham and Ipswich.

Despite the name, it is not just for cities.

If successful, Blackpool would receive £10m from the government towards a year-long celebration of arts and culture, to be enjoyed by local people as well as increasing the tourism economy.

Fresh warning notices for care home after decade of trouble

By Michael Holmes

A troubled care home has been taken out of special measures - despite inspectors uncovering a string of dangerous issues.

Abode, in Moorland Road, Poulton, has been handed two fresh warning notices by the health watchdog the Care Quality Commission (CQC) a year after being given three and being found in breach of six regulations.

Bosses there continued to breach two regulations linked to safe care and treatment and good governance, and one in respect of dignity and respect, documents show.

A garden gate - used as an escape in case of a fire - had no key for the lock, while “sharp objects” were left in the garden and paint was left in a smoking area, “posing a fire risk”.

A broken and loose dead electrical wire was trapped in a fire door, leaving the door without an alarm and people at risk of getting in or out of the building unnoticed.

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Not all toilets had privacy locks, while some residents said it was not up to them when they got up or went to bed. Others said they were not always given a choice when it came to food or activities.

One said: “Having my meals made for me is lovely but the food is not that good. If you don’t want the meal available, soup is not always a good alternative at lunchtime because it’s another soup at night.”

Another added: “The food is very ordinary and choice is poor. It’s always the same if you don’t want the set meals: eggs some way or a toastie.”

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One of the very first stories we covered on The Blackpool Lead, back in 2024, was the death of Blackpool couple Joshua Pearson and Danielle Bamber.

Even the rapid arrival of emergency services was not enough to save the parents when a fire broke out at their home on Peter Street in July of that year.

Now, the fire service have told The Blackpool Lead that it was ‘highly likely’ to be a converted e-bike that started the fire.

We explore the issue of e-vehicle fires in depth for today’s edition.

Blackpool briefing

☕ A community café in the middle of Anchorsholme Park is to close permanently at the end of this month.

A notice has gone up in the window of the Brew Café which announced the forthcoming closure but states the café will continue to offer a window-only service for three days after the closure.

The Brew Café first launched in July 2020 when the revamped park was reopened after five years of closure due to an £80 million water project by United Utilities.

After operating a limited service due to Covid restrictions at that time, the café went on to become a recognised community hub and central point to the park.

🚐 A Blackpool councillor has called for a crackdown on the increasing number of camper vans parking up for free on a main seafront road.

Cllr Julie Sloman says on a recent weekend up to 17 vehicles were parked on the promenade side of Queens Promenade, across the road from the Norbreck Castle Hotel and nearby houses.

She says residents have complained that some of the occupants appear to be living there permanently and even more of them appear to be coming than previously.

Cllr Sloman is calling on Blackpool Council to begin levying charges like the one introduced by Lancashire County Council in St Annes and Lytham two years ago. She has also reiterated earlier calls to impose double yellow lines on the prom side.

🚍 Plans have been put forward to set up an enlarged traveller site in Blackpool’s Marton Moss area.

An application has been lodged with Blackpool Council planners for the proposals.

The applicants are seeking permission for use of land as a residential traveller site on land north of School Road and east of Midgeland Road, with four pitches, each with one static caravan or chalet, one touring caravan, one ancillary greenhouse structure, associated amenity space, car parking and shared access off School Road.

The area in question is considered the largest area of green space in Blackpool and is a semi-rural in character.

Although the land in question is currently in use as a traveller site, at present it is much smaller than that being proposed, which will include landscaping.

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Dodgy e-bikes and e-scooters leading to ‘the stuff of nightmares’ for families in Blackpool

By Michael Holmes

A nondescript e-scooter leans against a wall in a similarly nondescript hallway leading into a kitchen.

It is 9am on the dot.

Two seconds later, in less time than it has taken to read this far, the scooter releases a brief wisp of smoke and then explodes into flames.

Within 10 seconds, the only thing visible through the black smoke on nearby CCTV is a scooter-shaped fireball.

The video, released by the Government to warn about the volatile nature of lithium-ion batteries, shows how a perfectly safe home can become a death-trap within the blink of an eye.

It is the stuff of nightmares - but it has also been the horrific reality for a string of families in Blackpool.

Firefighters in the resort have been to seven e-bike fires in the past year alone.

One of them, in Redcar Road, North Shore, last month, killed 13-year-old Coby Keogh, and 19-year-old Joey Gregory.

Police said early on that they believe the blaze, on June 30, was sparked by an e-bike, with an investigation also involving trading standards under way.

After an e-bike fire claimed the lives of Josh Pearson, 28, and Danielle Bamber, 24, in Peter Street, on July 17 2024, an electrical fault on the battery was blamed.

The make and model of the bike remains unknown - it is believed to have been destroyed by flames - but it was “highly likely a converted e-bike”, fire chiefs told The Blackpool Lead.

In fact, while lithium-ion batteries found in e-bikes, as well as mobile phones and laptops, all pose a risk when charging, there is an important distinction between bikes bought from the likes of Halfords and those bought second-hand online or modified.

“In recent years, the number of fires caused by lithium batteries has rapidly increased,” the Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service said.

“In the last three years, over 70% of these incidents involved a charger.”

But the service added: “LFRS does not regularly attend e-bike incidents that have been supplied by reputable manufacturers/retailers.

“Most of our e-bike incidents involve converted e-bikes or second-hand e-bikes and/or batteries.”

While all e-bikes are technically legal, there are rules that users must follow to use them in public.

They must have pedals and have riders aged 14 or older, their motor must not exceed 250W and the electronic assistance must automatically switch off when the bike hits 15.5mph.

Using bikes with a more powerful motor, faster speeds or twist throttle that propels the bike without pedalling classes them as a motor vehicle and requires registration, a licence and insurance to ride in public.

Modifying e-bikes to become faster - or adding conversion kits to turn regular bikes into e-bikes - is also not illegal.

But there is a legal responsibility for work to be done safely, and there is a particular risk when people tamper with legitimate batteries or conversion kits to boost power output with the sole aim of making bikes go faster.

There are also concerns about grey market imports, which “usually” come from abroad and “do not offer the same safety protections as those sold through reputable sources”, a spokesperson for Lancashire Police said.

“The same risks of overheating exist.”

The force has now issued a “warning to anyone currently in possession of such e-machines not to charge these within the home, never to leave these unattended, only use equipment as per manufacturers’ guidance and be very careful to understand what is being purchased”.

It added: “Cheaper products are cheaper for a reason.”

The council’s public protection boss, Cllr Dave Flanagan, said: “Our trading standards team have been visiting and advising local businesses concerned in the sale or modification of e-bikes.

“During spot checks on seven premises, we have issued guidance and advice. One business was found to be modifying and advertising bikes illegally, and eight modified pedal bikes were seized.

“Each had been retrofitted with conversion kits and then listed for sale as an e-bike without proper manufacturer testing, putting both buyers and the business at risk should an incident occur.”

The bikes are not just being sold in brick-and-mortar shops.

It took less than a minute for The Blackpool Lead to see e-bikes capable of 30mph being sold locally on Facebook.

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When Blackpool Council announced that Silicon Sands would be home to a data centre, those of an environmental mindset likely raised at least one eyebrow in concern. Data centres consume a lot of energy and, done badly, they can impact a community significantly.

It was an acknowledgement of that which means that Blackpool Council has taken steps to ensure the first data centre at Silicon Sands is as energy efficient as possible.

But as vast parts of the UK sit in drought and wildfires have wrapped around Lancashire through the summer, it is important to scrutinise how energy efficient and green a data centre can actually be.

Climate change coverage has been remarkably light in the UK this year despite some of the issues we’ve faced and that’s not a healthy position to be in. You’ll see that The Blackpool Lead is the only title to hold those claims from Blackpool Council up to the light for inspection.

The answer is quite nuanced.

Blackpool briefing

🌹 Blackpool Council’s leader has released a statement addressing the scale of the authority’s debt.

The topic has been front of people’s minds - particularly in Fylde and Wyre - as the two debt-free lower tier authorities look set to merge with Blackpool’s £500m indebted unitary authority.

Cllr Lynn Williams said the debt is not automatically a bad thing and compared it to a business borrowing to invest - noting that the area has significant challenges and the investment has brought in jobs.

She wrote: “It is easy to compare balance sheets without comparing responsibilities.

“The truth is that Blackpool has chosen to tackle the difficult issues rather than simply manage decline. We’ve invested in regeneration, jobs, housing, tourism and public services because our residents deserve opportunity.”

🚔 A man has been charged with manslaughter after the death of a man in 2024.

Robert Kerr, 42, died in Blackpool in September of that year after attending A&E with significant injuries. Initial police investigation suggested that he had been the victim of an assault in the weeks prior to attending hospital.

Five men were arrested on suspicion of murder over the last two years.

One of those men - Andrew McElwee, 29 of Sutherland Road in Blackpool, has been charged with manslaughter and will appear at Lancaster Magistrates’ Court on 21 August.

Four men have been released with no further action.

🎢 The Big Dipper has remained closed for the last week after an incident where parts of the wooden structure appeared to snap.

Pleasure Beach Resorts has not commented extensively on the closure, only to confirm there was a safe evacuation of the ride and that an investigation into the incident would take place.

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Can Blackpool Council’s Silicon Sands data centre really be energy efficient?

By Luke Beardsworth

Blackpool Council is in the process of finalising procurement for the development of an ‘energy efficient’ data centre at the Silicon Sands development.

The council intends to award the contract to HOCHTIEF Data Centre Partner UK Ltd who they said submitted the most ‘advantageous tender’.

The deal would mean the investment, construction and running costs will be met entirely by the private sector, after previous work to prepare the Blackpool Airport Enterprise Zone site by Blackpool Council and the Lancashire Combined County Authority.

The new data centre will form the first phase of Silicon Sands, a new business park designed to attract technology and digital companies to the area, creating new jobs for residents. 

But there are an estimated 500-565 data centres operating in the UK - making it the largest data centre market in Western Europe. Research shows that number is set to grow by almost 100 over the next five years as the growth and investment in artificial intelligence increases the need for processing power.

The government considers it to be critical national infrastructure but the National Energy System Operator (NESO) says that the growth of data centres is projected to add up to 71 TWh of electricity demand over the next 25 years. That’s enough energy to power 26.2 million homes for an entire year, or 200 billion miles of driving in an electric vehicle.

Blackpool Council is framing the data centre at Silicon Sands as an environmental win.

Cllr Mark Smith, cabinet member for Economy and Built Environment at Blackpool Council, said: “This is a huge step forward for the future of Blackpool and showing the UK that data centres can create jobs and also tackle the climate emergency.   

“Silicon Sands is a transformational opportunity not just for Blackpool, but for Lancashire as a whole. It has the potential to attract significant investment, create thousands of well-paid jobs and establish our region as a leader in sustainable digital infrastructure.   

“This project is about more than just data centres. We’re working with responsible suppliers to develop energy-efficient data centres that are also environmentally friendly by using renewable energy, innovative cooling technology and a district heat network to maximise energy use and reduce waste heat.   

“Blackpool is becoming a leader in green technology with Silicon Sands leading the way in making the entire data industry more environmentally friendly, all while creating skilled jobs for local people. It’s all part of our plan to make Blackpool better for the people who live here.” 

But the expert spoken to by The Blackpool Lead said that while the Silicon Sands data centre is taking all the steps it can to mitigate against environmental impact, the impact is unavoidable.

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Adrian Friday, who is a professor in Computing and Sustainability at Lancaster University, told The Blackpool Lead: “My understanding of the Blackpool project is that they’re trying to be as good as they can be.

“They’re using what’s called immersion cooling. You literally immerse the servers in a liquid which has a better heat transfer property. What that means is that you’re not just taking drinking water and evaporating it.

“The plan to connect it to a heat network means that they maybe don’t need boilers because they’ve got a heat exchanger to the network. So I think if they’re going to build a data centre anyway, they’re doing the right sort of things.”

Whenever you build technology, there is an environmental impact. But data centres have been a source of particular concern to anyone with one eye on the climate.

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There can be no doubt that our reporting has caused a few headaches at Blackpool Council, and frankly that’s the way things should be.

But the publication of Ofsted’s inspection into Children’s Services provided by Blackpool Council is something truly worthy of celebration and the improvements described will have made a difference to thousands of young people.

It isn’t all good news - these things rarely are. The quality of the services should never have been allowed to get into the state they were in by 2017. A year later, Ofsted’s inspection was damning and shamed all involved.

But the improvement is stark, significant and transformational. It deserves credit.

To address one thing, the case of Preston Davey was harrowing and there are serious questions in the aftermath. But those questions are for the trust running Blackpool Victoria Hospital, regional adoption agency Adoption Now and Oldham Council, rather than Blackpool Council’s children’s services. Its involvement was through the Local Authority Designated Officer.

Blackpool briefing

🎸 Over 2,500 people travelled from across the North West for a free concert at the Opera House on Sunday.

KT Tunstall, Jack Savoretti and the Hallé Orchestra were joined by local acts Little Boots and Rae Morris for a show which saw performers cover David Bowie.

Over 10,000 requests for the free ballot were made.

Cllr Lynn Williams, leader of Blackpool Council, said: “[Sunday] was something really special. It was one of those occasions that reminded us exactly why we are so proud of Blackpool. It wasn’t just a fantastic concert, it was a celebration of who we are. We saw world-class artists sharing the stage with local talent, an audience full of people who care deeply about this town, and an atmosphere of optimism, pride and togetherness. Our City of Culture bid is about so much more than a title.

“It’s about creating opportunities for local people, inspiring the next generation and giving Blackpool the national recognition it deserves for the creativity that has always existed here. As John Robb said - this was a civic statement. It showed the country the confidence, ambition and imagination that Blackpool has in abundance. There really is nowhere quite like Blackpool.”

🛎️ A Fylde coast hotel which has been rated as one of the best in the UK on several occasions could be transformed into a private house.

Planners at Blackpool Council have granted approval to proposals to down-size the building and change its use, should the eventual new owners prefer it.

Last year the hotel went up for online auction with starting bids from £400,000, as Chris and Christine looked to retire from the industry.

But the couple who have run it so successfully for several years said they struggled to sell it as a hotel – so they decided to transform it to help sell it – and fetch a better price.

An application was submitted to Blackpool Council’s planners seeking permission for the erection of a single storey extension to the front elevation with a balcony above and use of premises as altered as a single private dwelling house – following demolition of front, side and rear extensions.

Children’s services in Blackpool rated Outstanding in remarkable turnaround from 2018’s damning verdict

By Luke Beardsworth

Children’s services in Blackpool have been rated as Outstanding by Ofsted - marking a clear and significant turnaround for the authority’s performance in this area.

An inspection of Blackpool Council’s children’s services, which took place between 8-19 June with the full report published on Tuesday (28 July) found that leaders have delivered ‘sustained improvements for children, young people and families in Blackpool’

It added: “Children and their families now benefit from consistently high-quality, innovative services that respond to and meet their needs effectively.”

It marks an astounding turnaround of the authority’s children’s services which in 2018 were found by Ofsted to be Inadequate - the worst possible rating. The inspection said that children live in situations of ‘chronic neglect’ for long periods of time and their situations often deteriorate rather than improve.

The challenges Blackpool faces are significant and well-documented, but in stark contrast to the 2018 inspection report, the 2026 inspection says that this is no longer used as an excuse for poor results.

The 2026 report reads: “Leaders have remained resolutely focused on the community, children and families, positioning children’s services as a core priority across the council and wider partnership.

“This highly ambitious work has been transformational, well-coordinated and firmly rooted in safeguarding and inclusion, leading to significant improvements in the experiences and progress of children who need help and protection, children in care and care leavers.”

Children’s services at local authorities like Blackpool Council help to protect vulnerable children, support families and oversee education. They investigate abuse and neglect, offer family support and will take emergency intervention where required.

In total, there are 65 points that talk glowingly of Blackpool Council’s improvements, citing everywhere from the protection of children, the performance of emergency teams, adoption and fostering services and the treatment of separated migrant children.

Cllr Jim Hobson, cabinet member for children’s services at Blackpool Council, said: “This is a fantastic rating for our town, reflecting the care, determination and professionalism that goes into supporting children and families.

“Those of us who have the privilege of working alongside the children’s services team here in Blackpool know just how hard they work. Their work is so often transformational for families.

“I am thrilled that that has been recognised by Ofsted too. I can’t praise all involved in delivering this rating highly enough.”

Blackpool Council’s 600-person children’s services team celebrated their success at an event in the Tower Ballroom. Blackpool Council sits alongside Manchester Council as the only two local authorities in the North West to be rated majority outstanding for children’s service.

It was not always this way in Blackpool.

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The rarest of things happened this week - both local and national media wrote a story about Blackpool but it wasn’t local journalists who nailed what had happened. It was actually The S*n.

A closure of a roller coaster is not an altogether rare thing and not every incident is The Smiler in 2015. This is not that.

But what it was not is an everyday incident either. A train on the Big Dipper failed to make it over a hill and the wood beneath the track has snapped in half in the process.

The Big Dipper, one of the most historic rides in the world, unsurprisingly remains closed while investigations into exactly what happened go on.

Blackpool briefing

🎹 Blackpool-born singer-songwriter Rae Morris has spoken about the City of Culture bid ahead of this evening’s (26 July) gig at the Opera House.

She forms part of the line-up for a free gig that also includes the Hallé Orchestra, Jack Savoretti and Little Boots. It is part of Blackpool’s campaign to become City of Culture 2029 and will see each artist perform a cover of a David Bowie song.

Morris told The Blackpool Lead on Friday: “There is a general perception that can be negative about Blackpool - and I notice it so much now I don’t live there but I always push back on it. There’s never any grounding for that response.

“The truth is Blackpool does have challenges and the stats do back that up. But it’s also a joyous place for lots of people. When I get involved in things like this, it’s because I want to see more interest in the town.

“I’m so pleased that they’re going for the City of Culture bid, because it could make a huge difference to so many people - particularly young people. I was a kid there and I can see now, as an adult, that there weren’t always opportunities and it would be nice to see that change.”

🚔 Two men have been arrested after two other men were the victims of serious assaults in Blackpool.

Police were called to a ‘disturbance’ in the area of Queen Street, Abingdon Street and Talbot Road at around 3am on Thursday morning (23 July).

The first incident happened outside Bar 19 on Queen Street and a man in his 30s was stabbed in his hand. He was taken to hospital and has been discharged. A 38-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of assault causing grievous bodily harm.

Slightly later, a man in his 20s suffered serious head injuries on Talbot Road and was taken to hospital. A 40-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of assault causing grievous bodily harm.

The incidents are linked and police are asking for footage as they build evidence.

🏠 The owners of a ‘small house HMO’ have applied to Blackpool Council for permission for it to lawfully retain that usage.

They say that the property has been in that class of usage since before a change in rules was implemented by the council which made it more difficult to change a property into an HMO (House of Multiple Occupation).

An application has been lodged with planners seeking a Certificate of Lawfulness Existing which would allow retention of a 4 person use class C4 small HMO for the property at 15 Glen Street, a street that runs parallel to Whitegate Drive.

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Big Dipper closed while Pleasure Beach investigates incident where wood between track snapped in two

By Luke Beardsworth

A roller coaster so iconic it has been granted Grade II listed building status was evacuated this week after the wood appeared to split.

There was a partial derailment on the Big Dipper at Blackpool Pleasure Beach at around 1-2pm on Thursday (23 July) - though it is important to note there were no injuries reported and the train did not actually leave the track.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Pleasure Beach Resorts has looked to play down the nature of the incident - stressing only that the ride came to a stop at a low point and that those on the ride were guided to safety.

But The Blackpool Lead understands that riders heard a large crack before the train failed to make it over one of the hills on the ride.

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An odd smell was noted as coming from the ride, which was at capacity, and both the ride and the area around the ride were evacuated and closed by management of the park.

Images shared with The Blackpool Lead show that the wood between the track had splintered or snapped and so the two sections had at least partially separated.

A spokesperson for Pleasure Beach Resorts told The Blackpool Lead: “The Big Dipper came to a stop today (Thursday July 23) around 2pm, at a very low point in the ride.

“Following this, a manual de-boarding took place with guests guided safely by trained operators.”

The Big Dipper had recently undergone routine maintenance and was closed on 20, 21 and 22 July.

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When Kevin Winder, a Blackpool FC season ticket holder and member of staff at the M&S inside The Vic, died suddenly last year, his son Matt had significant grief to navigate.

In the middle of that, Lancashire County Council - for whom Kevin worked for over a decade - sent an invoice for £345 that would later be followed up by a debt collection agency.

It was only when The Blackpool Lead made contact that the debt was dropped.

Blackpool briefing

🪂 An internal investigation is underway at the council-owned company which runs Blackpool Tower after three people unlocked a window before parachuting down onto the promenade below.

Particular concern was given to the fact that they were able to open a window at the top of the Tower, but Blackpool Tourism said that they did this with specialist tools.

Lancashire Constabulary were also made aware of the incident, which was posted openly on social media.

🗳️ A new standalone council for the whole of the Fylde coast can be a success – in spite of Blackpool likely acting as “a drain on the resources” of the two other areas that will be served by it.

That was the verdict of Wyre Council leader Michael Vincent, who said the new authority would also have to overcome a raft of difficulties inherent in the overhaul that was bringing it about.

Cllr Vincent stressed he had never supported the principle of the government-ordered shake-up, which will end the ‘two-tier’ split that exists across most of Lancashire and sees delivery of local services divided between the county council and a dozen district authorities, of which Wyre and Fylde are two.

However he said: “If [the new council] is run well, I think that can be mitigated and it can thrive.

“It does also address some of the issues with Blackpool being run so independently and not really working with anybody [else] – so I think Fylde and Wyre tourism can probably benefit from this.”

😺 Blackpool’s first cat café has applied to the resort’s council for a new premises licence.

Café Meow Ltd was established at 20-22 Birley Street by Rick Marsh and Katie Buchanan in October 2022 in order to combine their love of felines and years of hospitality experience.

The new application includes on-premises alcohol sales, occasional film exhibitions, and recorded music indoors.

The consultation period runs through July 31, 2026, during which time residents and local businesses can submit representations.

If there are no representations during the 28-day public consultation period, the licence is automatically granted as applied for by the council’s licensing officers, without a committee hearing.

Son hounded for £345 by Lancashire County Council after unexpected death of his Blackpool dad

By Michael Holmes

A grieving son was hounded for £345 after the death of his father - by the county council where he spent more than a decade labouring.

Kevin Winder, 62, and living in South Shore, died from a heart attack mid-August last year and, just weeks later, his son Matt received a demand from Lancashire County Council for pension money that had been paid for the rest of the month.

The debt was later passed to bailiffs, leaving Matt, 26, furious that officials were chasing what he called a “nominal amount” from an estate with no real assets while he and his loved ones were still coming to terms with their sudden loss.

“There’s been no ounce of sympathy from them,” Matt said. “My dad gave them 10-plus years of physical labour and the first thing they send me is an invoice.”

After being contacted by The Blackpool Lead, the authority apologised and said it would cancel the debt.

“We understand that dealing with financial matters after the death of a loved one can be a difficult experience, and we always aim to communicate with sensitivity and respect,” a spokesperson said.

Kevin, of Kimberley Avenue in South Shore, left the county council in the late 1990s after working his way up to head groundskeeper over the course of 10 to 15 years, Matt said.

When neck problems began to make manual work too painful, Kevin moved into IT.

After getting a degree, he was employed in data analytics at the Department for Work and Pensions at Peel Park before retiring in 2024 and taking a part-time role at Marks & Spencer at Blackpool Victoria Hospital.

He was in his local pub, the Farmer’s Arms in Lytham Road, when he collapsed and died last summer.

Matt, who lives with his mother in Fleetwood, said: “He took a sip of his pint and just slumped to the side.”

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After more than a decade of debating and disagreements, the plan for the abolition of Blackpool Council has been set - and its coming in 2028.

Ahead of that, there will be shadow elections in May 2027 which will give the Blackpool, Wyre and Fylde public the chance to elect an entirely new council. They will work in collaboration ahead of the planned changeover.

Local government reorganisation has been controversial. Certainly more controversial in this round than in previous examples such as Cumbria and Somerset. Some support it and some don’t - but there seems to be a near universal agreement (looking at you, Snowden) that everyone needs to come together to make it work.

We pick through the reaction in today’s edition.

Blackpool briefing

🍴 Plans to create one of Blackpool’s most innovative food destinations are pressing ahead as 19 converted shipping containers were moved on site for the first time. The ambitious Southbeach Street Food project will give the resort the type of attraction which Blackpool residents would normally have to travel to outside the town to experience.

Now, in just a few weeks, it will be on their doorstep – and provide a key attraction for visitors too, in addition to creating 120 new jobs. With Blackpool bidding for the City of Culture in 2029, Southbeach Street Food is one of the new amenities which will help broaden the appeal of the town, introducing an element that would not look out of place in Liverpool or Manchester.

🎸 Speaking of City of Culture, a free gig celebrating David Bowie, along with Blackpool’s campaign, with be held later in July at Blackpool’s Opera House. The Hallé Orchestra, Jack Savoretti, the All-Star House Band featuring musicians from Britpop favourites, and Blackpool-born performers like Little Boots and Rae Morris will all perform.

The show will be hosted by Blackpool-born journalist John Robb and in association with Showtown - which is hosting the David Bowie: On Tour showcase. All artists will perform a cover of a David Bowie track on the evening. The gig is free and 2,500 tickets will be available through a public ballot that is now open.

🛎️ Plans to create additional rooms in the attic space of an un-named and apparently empty Blackpool hotel have been refused by planners. The proposals were lodged with Blackpool Council for alterations to a property at 36 Lonsdale Road in South Shore. Despite the proposals, the council’s principal planning officer noted that the property appeared to have been empty since 2020 and had seemingly not been used as a hotel since 2007.

Refusing the application, the planning office said it unclear what the current lawful use of the property was or what the proposed use of the property would be, from the information submitted. Due to insufficient information on the use, layout, operation and management of the proposal it was therefore not possible to come to a full and proper conclusion on the application.

Plans to merge Blackpool with Fylde and Wyre, predictably, split the room and cut through party lines

By Luke Beardsworth

Blackpool found itself in the odd position of the Conservative leader of the opposition backing Labour government plans while the Labour council leader condemned them.

Cllr Lynn Williams, the Labour leader at Blackpool Council, did not pull her punches when discussing the plans which will see Blackpool’s unitary authority merge with Fylde and Wyre’s lower tier authorities to create a new so-called super council.

Blackpool Council had previously put forward a preference which cut the borough of Wyre in half and included the Preston City Council area, although it was never considered one of the favourites for selection in political circles.

The four new unitary councils, replacing the 15 councils from before, are made up of North Lancashire (Lancaster, Preston, Ribble Valley) East Lancashire (Blackburn with Darwen, Hyndburn, Rossendale, Pendle and Burnley), South Lancashire (West Lancashire, South Ribble and Chorley) and West Lancashire (Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre).

Those names are not the finalised names for the new local authorities but rather working titles.

But while Cllr Williams spoke of being ‘disappointed’ that their proposal was not brought forward, while acknowledging it was the most difficult to do, the leader of the Conservative opposition chose a different approach.

It is not unusual to see Cllr Paul Galley disagree with Cllr Williams - it is unusual to see him agree with the Labour government, however.

He said in one of his now-trademark videos on Facebook: “There are great opportunities. I think we’re a natural border, we’ll be able to sort out things like out transport hubs, certainly things around tram lines, the railway line on the south Fylde, the harbour at Fleetwood needs to be brought back - so there’s a lot of things that we can do together.

“It is about focusing for what works best for the people of the Fylde Coast. There are great opportunities, although it will come with a lot of responsibility over the next few years on all the councillors to make it work.”

He continued: “There are great opportunities and that’s what we’ve got to focus on. I see a lot of positives if we get this right and that’s what our focus should be.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Fylde’s Conservative MP Andrew Snowden does not echo his party colleague’s enthusiasm for the plan.

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Very often we focus on the nitty gritty of politics in this newsletter, but today we shift our attention to Blackpool’s underground nightlife scene. We look at what it was, and what it could still be.

Our reporter Ella was at Black Lights Festival - set across a number of venues in Blackpool - at the end of June. She spoke with people in attendance from across the globe on their impressions of Blackpool - among a great number of other things.

I’ll be forthright and admit to having little knowledge on dance music - but this one was a joy for me to read and I hope it is for you too.

Blackpool briefing

🌹 Former Blackpool South MP Gordon Marsden has paid tribute to the man who became Britain’s longest-serving councillor shortly before his death.

Cllr Ivan Taylor served as a Labour councillor for a remarkable 60 years before his recent death at the age of 86.

Marsden first met the veteran councillor in 1992, when he unsuccessfully contested the Blackpool South seat, before winning it five years later.

The two Labour politicians hit it off, despite being very different characters. Marsden, who went on to hold the Blackpool South seat from 1997 to 2019, said: “I was very sad to hear about Ivan’s passing.

“He played a crucial role before and after Blackpool became a unitary authority. It was controversial at the time but he had a strong vision that it would be the best thing for Blackpool and he saw it through.

“It will go down as a key moment in Blackpool’s history, affecting things like schools, health, transport and many other aspects.

“Looking back on it, it was a very dynamic period. Now things are changing again with the local authority and we don’t know how that will work out.”

🚔 A school teacher who murdered his adopted baby during a sex attack has appeared in court.

Jamie Varley, 37, was given a whole life term last month for the murder of 13-month-old Preston Davey who suffered “unremitting abuse” at the hands of the former high school head of year.

Varley appeared at Preston Crown Court via video from HMP Wakefield. He spoke only to confirm his identity.

He appeared for a brief, two-minute hearing under the “slip rule” which allows judges to correct legal errors or rectify accidental mistakes. He had not been sentenced in error for one count of sexual assault.

Mr Justice Turner, also appearing via videolink along with other lawyers involved in the trial, sentenced Varley to seven years jail on count 12, the sexual assault of the child, to run concurrent with his other sentences.

It will have no practical effect as Varley was given a whole life term.

🗳️ Andy Burnham will be good for Blackpool because he genuinely supports areas which are fighting against deprivation, says Blackpool South MP Chris Webb.

He was responding after being asked about Labour’s leadership struggle and whether he had a conflict of opinion over support for Prime Minister-in-waiting Burnham or loyalty to outgoing leader Keir Starmer.

Webb said that although he had positive views about working with Starmer, he felt that Burnham would work out best for the country and for Blackpool.

He said: “I do believe Keir did the right thing for the party and the country and I’m looking forward to Andy becoming Prime Minister and to delivering on the vision that he set out for the country.

“I believe that vision will improve the forgotten areas like Blackpool and Markerfield (Burnham’s constituency) and we’ve had many a conversation since he’s been an MP, and will continue to do so, on how we can work together to improve Blackpool – and communities like it across the country.

“I think there’s hope again, the country’s already responded to this, we’ve seen the polls and now Labour are pretty much neck and neck with the the next party (Reform UK) and I think they will only get better as people hear more from Andy Burnham in the weeks and months ahead, as he becomes Prime Minister.”

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Is Blackpool ready for a clubbing renaissance?

By Ella Glover

“People used to come in bus loads to Blackpool, just for clubbing,” says local dance music DJ D-Foc. “There’s not much of that anymore.”

He’s referencing the halcyon days of events like Fever at Sequins and Zone at Jenks and The Venue. Clubbers still remember when DJ Sasha, one of the biggest DJs of the 90s, performed at the legendary Club Shaboo in the summer of 1990.

But with the closure of Syndicate – the UK’s most iconic superclub – in 2011, Blackpool’s dance music scene has struggled to get back to previous heights. Now, a new generation of local DJs, producers and promoters are hoping to kick things back off.

D-Foc recently moved back to Blackpool after living in Manchester. He has tried his hand at revitalising Blackpool’s dance music scene in the past. Before the pandemic, he was throwing a regular techno night called Resonate at The Underbar – which is now the Comedy Station Comedy Club – and was booking world-class DJs like London’s Dax J.

“The first few events sold out, but it started to drop off,” he tells the Blackpool Lead. Eventually, they moved the event to Leeds. “We outgrew Blackpool because the novelty seemed to wear off, and Leeds had bigger venues and there was already a scene there,” he says.

These days, says Daniel Uss, who used to own Club Underground on Talbot Road, another legendary electronic dance music venue that operated between 2002 and 2004, Blackpool’s clubbing scene is “terrible” – “there is no underground scene at all,” he tells the Blackpool Lead. “You’ll never find anything, no techno, you might find a little bit of drum and bass.”

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While there are still some DJs here, he says, they don’t do anything in Blackpool. “The problem is, people don’t chance going out in Blackpool, where it’s going to be half empty, when you could drive only 40 minutes up the road and you’re in the heart of Manchester.”

D-Foc says that crowds in Blackpool are “fair weather” and unless you’re booking big names, it’s hard for a small clubnight to compete with a night at the pub. “Blackpool nightlife is so pub-heavy, and because there isn’t an outlet to get people into clubbing, they won’t be as club-savvy,” he says.

Both Uss and D-Foc name the lack of dedicated spaces as one of the main reasons for Blackpool’s lacking scene. Indeed, the venues D-foc used for his Resonate nights have either closed or changed hands, and the remaining venues are not completely fit for purpose for a proper scene, whether it’s due to noise complaints, location or the lack of a proper sound system.

“It’s mostly bars and pubs that are used to put on events, rather than dedicated clubs,” says Uss. “A decent club, with a proper sound system and light does twice as well. I recently brought a sound system to Bootleg Social, but all night we were getting complaints that it was too loud for the Airbnbs upstairs.”

Bootleg is one of the most promising venues in the town – as D-Foc says, it’s just out of the way enough to avoid “stragglers” and as a basement club, it’s got the right feel. But it’s still not an electronic music venue; it’s better suited for indie rock.

Last month, though, Blackpool saw a glimmer of a revival of those club-tourism days of the 2000s. The Black Lights festival, an art and music festival put on by Manchester institution The White Hotel and backed by Blackpool Council and Arts Council England was held across three days on a sweltering weekend in June. Train loads of experimental music fans, dressed in all black outfits and Nike trainers, were crawling over the prom – a stark contrast to the fancy dress of the usual summer crowd – and many said they’d come again.

It was there I met Ryan, a 20-year-old electronic music producer and Dubstep fan from Blackpool, in the makeshift smoking area outside the Winter Gardens on Saturday night. He echoes the point. “There’s no scene in Blackpool,” he says. “I think I’ve been on two nights out here ever.” He’s moving to Manchester in September to study music production at university.

But outsiders saw Blackpool in a new light – and DJs like D-Foc saw new potential in their old stomping ground.

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It was reported [not by The Blackpool Lead] earlier this week that a public hearing that would hear arguments from both Blackpool Council and Blackpool Pier Company would last one day and be heard at Blackpool Town Hall.

Readers: it lasted three days and was heard in Layton.

Fortunately, Jamie Lopez was in attendance. As often transpires, our journalist was the only one there.

The battle for South Pier is an interesting one. North Pier has now been sold, and the bill for carrying out rolling repairs on the Victorian structures is only going in one direction.

Blackpool Pier Company says the rides would allow them to better fund repairs. The council says they aren’t spending the amount that is quoted on repairs in the first place.

That hearing is the topic of today’s newsletter, but first we dedicate the full briefing on the newsletter to the passing of Cllr Ivan Taylor.

Blackpool briefing

🗳️ Blackpool Council is mourning the death of a councillor who served continually from 1973 until 2026 and was the longest serving in the country at the time of his death.

Ivan Taylor, who was ward councillor for Claremont, was first elected in 1966 and served as council leader from 1991 until 2000.

He led on the building of the town’s first ever publicly run leisure centre at Blackpool Sports Centre. Now, Blackpool Council runs three leisure centres, as well as a sports village, supporting more than 7,000 local people with access to affordable exercise, sport and health related benefits.

Ivan also led on the roll out of valuable Sure Start children’s centres across the town, which still support thousands of families in their new role as Family Hubs.

Cllr Lynn Williams, leader of Blackpool Council, said: “Blackpool has lost one of its greatest champions.

“Councillor Ivan Taylor devoted his life to the town he loved, serving the people of Blackpool with unwavering commitment for longer than any other councillor in the United Kingdom. His record of public service is extraordinary, but those of us who knew Ivan will remember far more than the years he served.

“I had the privilege of serving alongside Ivan as a ward councillor for Claremont. Working with him was an education in what public service should be. He was so proud to represent Claremont and never took for granted the honour of representing our residents. He loved meeting residents, hearing their stories and doing everything he could to help.

“I was incredibly fortunate to call him not just a colleague but a friend. He was generous with his time, wise in his advice and unwavering in his principles. His support, kindness and humour meant a great deal to me, and I know so many others feel exactly the same. The loss I feel is not only for an outstanding public servant, but for someone I treasured personally.

“Politics was never about status or recognition for Ivan; he never forgot that politics was about improving lives, standing up for those without a voice, and ensuring everyone was treated with dignity and fairness.

“Ivan was a proud socialist whose values never wavered. He believed passionately in equality, opportunity and social justice, and those beliefs guided every decision he made. When he was Leader of the Council, he helped secure Blackpool’s future by leading the move to become a unitary authority, giving our town the power to make the right decisions for itself. He also fought tirelessly to keep our council housing, buses and trams in public ownership because he believed they belonged to the people of Blackpool and locally owned transport is foundational to a fair and connected community.

“Ivan’s passing leaves an enormous void. Blackpool has lost a giant of local government, and we have lost a dear friend, a mentor, and someone who was deeply loved and respected. His dedication, compassion and love for our town will never be forgotten.

“Rest in peace, Ivan. Thank you for everything you gave to Blackpool and its people. We will miss you more than words can say.”

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Character, cost and claims: Inside the battle between the council and Blackpool Pier Company

By Jamie Lopez

A decision on whether to allow the company responsible for two of Blackpool’s piers to build new rides will be handed down later this summer.

Over three days this week, a government planning inspector oversaw an appeal against Blackpool Council’s decision to reject planning permission - and then an alternative of a certificate of proposed lawfulness - for a log flume and star flyer which would sit next to South Pier.

Had planning permission been granted, Blackpool Pier Company would have installed and operated the rides between April and October each year but the council concluded the plans would harm the character and appearance of the area; constitute piecemeal development; harm the heritage assets of the pier and Blackpool Tower; and go against the council’s own development plan for the Promenade.

An appeal was lodged against the decision and led to this week’s public hearing which was overseen by chartered town planner Paul Freer and concluded with a site visit.

Among the arguments which had been presented in favour of allowing the application were the need to bring in extra money for maintenance of the historic structures. Appearing as a witness for Blackpool Pier Company, chartered engineer Chris Pratt warned the piers are currently deteriorating faster than they are being maintained.

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Mr Pratt explained his company, Westlakes Engineering, has been tasked by the pier owners with reviewing safety of the structure since 2021. According to his estimates, expenditure of at least an average of £530,000 is needed each year across the next decade just to maintain the current condition.

“The rate of deterioration is outstripping the rate of repair, it has been for a long time. Therefore if you don’t turn this around the incidences and individual problems will increase and the pier will no longer be safe. I can’t say when that will be but you will reach that point.”

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Before we get into today’s issue, I wanted to share a small piece of reader feedback we received recently.

It came from Julian Allitt, who is CEO and Programme Director of JazzRadio in Berlin. If it seems strange that he might write in to The Blackpool Lead, he spent seven years as political correspondent at United Newspapers - which is the business who used to own the Blackpool Gazette.

He wrote:

Congratulations on the support you are giving to those residents in the Revoe area of Blackpool who are opposed to the council’s redevelopment plans. In early January, I wrote about it to the Blackpool South MP, Chris Webb. I received an automated reply acknowledging my mail but no response on the actual subject I had raised.

If these properties were in London, they would be celebrated as Mews Houses - there are examples off Oxford Street, close to Mayfair.

It must be heartbreaking for local residents when the very people they elect to serve and protect their interests are the ones bringing about the destruction of their community.

Although I am currently living and working in Berlin, my heart belongs to Blackpool and I still have a business registered there.

My congratulations to the Rev Matthew Lockwood and the housing community union ACORN.

A very useful first step for people to get behind them would be to take out a subscription, as I have, to The Blackpool Lead, a great example of what an excellent campaigning newspaper can achieve through fearless reporting on behalf of its readers.

Today’s reporting continues on a thread we have been reporting on for the entire existence of The Blackpool Lead, but one which has taken on greater focus since details regarding the death of Preston Davey came to light.

That is that the number of staff who have completed safeguarding training at the hospital is a matter of ‘significant concern’ and ‘unacceptable’. Full report below the briefing as always.

Blackpool briefing

💦 Blackpool’s piers are deteriorating faster than they are being maintained, a structural engineer has warned. Chris Pratt, a chartered engineer with 40 years’ experience, gave the warning as part of evidence given in an appeal against Blackpool Council’s decision to refuse planning permission for new rides next to South Pier.

The Blackpool Pier Company was refused permission to erect and operate a Star Flyer and Log Flume next to the historic structure between April and October each year and as part of its appeal argues that the extra funds generated by the rides are needed to fund its maintenance.

Mr Pratt appeared as a witness at the opening day of a public inquiry which will decide the appeal and explained his company Westlakes Engineering has been tasked with reviewing safety of the structure since 2021 and reporting back to the pier’s owner.

According to Mr Pratt’s estimate, expenditure of at least £530,000 is needed each year just to maintain the current condition. He said: “The rate of deterioration is outstripping the rate of repair, it has been for a long time. Therefore if you don’t turn this around the incidences and individual problems will increase and the pier will no longer be safe.

“I can’t say when that will be but you will reach that point [...] It is ongoing, if you catch up on the backlog of work now, that would not be the end of it. The structure would continue to deteriorate while you were working on it.

“It is one of these ongoing jobs, we think of painting the Forth Bridge, well the piers are the same. The issue is there is a backlog as well as the ongoing needs.”

🚔 A man has been convicted after a pub car park assault on the night of the Euro 2024 final in which England were beaten by Spain. Luke Bagshaw, 35, had been at the pub watching the final before becoming involved in an argument involving a group. He approached and punched a man in the face in an unprovoked assault.

The man was taken to hospital where a scan showed he had suffered traumatic bleeding on the brain, swelling and inflammation, and a two skull fractures. He had to relearn how to walk independently.

He was last week found guilty by a jury following a trial of Section 20 causing grievous bodily harm. Sentencing in September.

🎭 Blackpool’s Winter Gardens Pavilion has been removed from the Theatres Trust Theatres at Risk Register. In doing so, the trust said that it is confident Blackpool Council will not allow the wider building to deteriorate further.

The Pavilion area has undergone renovation with the stage area converted into a café, meaning it is unlikely to be used for theatrical purposes in future, the trust said.

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Fewer than 60 per cent of doctors at Blackpool Victoria Hospital have completed adult safeguarding training

By Michael Holmes

Fewer than six in 10 doctors at Blackpool Victoria Hospital were up to date with adult safeguarding training, sparking “significant concern” from boss Maggie Oldham, it can be revealed.

It comes as tough questions continue to be asked of the Vic after two high-profile child murder victims - Preston Davey and Damion Russell - were treated there in the run up to their deaths.

Preston, 13 months, was seen three times with suspicious injuries that failed to trigger an intervention in the four months before he was killed by his adoptive father Jamie Varley.

And medics failed to ask Damion’s father how the boy, two, had suffered a bruise when he attended A&E less than eight weeks before he was subjected to a violent and deadly attack.

Oldham, who became permanent CEO in September 2024 and has been tasked with turning things around at the beleaguered hospital, voiced her frustration at a recent meeting.

She said the 58 per cent compliance rate among “medical staff” was “unacceptable” and required urgent improvement, according to documents seen by The Blackpool Lead.

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When Chris Webb first became MP for Blackpool South two years ago - a few weeks earlier than most of his colleagues given the by-election - he likely at least hoped things would go better than they have.

It has been a challenging two years in government for the Labour Party, and some of the decisions made by Keir Starmer have only made life more difficult for MPs like Webb (and others in Lancashire).

But for all of them, their chances of continuing their work as an MP past the next general election improve considerably (at least, for the time being) with Andy Burnham as Prime Minister.

We interviewed Webb a few weeks ago - as Starmer was about to announce his resignation - and he talked about the challenges of the last few years, but also some of the victories that get lost in the Westminster chaos.

Blackpool briefing

🩺 A senior heart surgeon at Blackpool Victoria Hospital faces being struck off after being jailed for sexually assaulting junior colleagues. Amal Bose, 56, of Lancaster, will face a medical tribunal at the end of this month. The three-day hearing will look into his criminal conviction before a panel decides if the disgraced medic will ever be allowed to practise medicine again. Bose denied the attacks, claiming they either did not happen or were down to flirting or workplace banter. He was found guilty at Preston Court Court of 12 counts of sexual assault.

Speaking after Bose was sentenced last September, Sacha Coyne from the Crown Prosecution Service said: “Amal Bose was in a trusted position at the hospital. He abused this by creating a toxic environment, making sexual comments, and sexually assaulting five women who worked at the hospital.”

Vic boss Maggie Oldham said previously: “Our thoughts remain with all those affected by the actions of Mr Bose, and we thank our staff for the bravery and courage they have shown throughout the police investigation and trial of Mr Bose.

“As a trust, we have co-operated with the police throughout their investigation into Mr Bose, who has not worked at the trust since December 2022.

“We have been truly shocked and saddened by the experiences of the victims, and we will now be supporting all colleagues as we move forward together.”

🌟 A national tour showcasing highlights from the David Bowie archive is to travel the UK for the first time - and will visit Blackpool.

David Bowie: On Tour will kick off at V&A Dundee in November 2026 before visiting Blackpool’s Showtown in June 2027 and then travelling to the Bowes Museum in County Durham, the Ferens Art Gallery in Hull and finally Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, with further venues to be announced.

Items will include Bowie’s legendary costumes, musical instruments, career spanning photography and personal treasures, including the stopwatch he used when songwriting; plus never-before-seen items including Polaroids of make-up tests, a Ziggy Stardust-era acoustic guitar, unrealised scripts, and handwritten lyrics, performance notes and costumes from Bowie’s final albums, The Next Day and★ (Blackstar)

Cllr Lynn Williams, leader of Blackpool Council, added: “Bowie in Blackpool. This is a match made in heaven. We’re delighted to continue our excellent relationship with the V&A and be the only place in the North West of England for people to enjoy this fantastic collection. We have such an eclectic range of culture in Blackpool, and David Bowie: On Tour is another great addition for local people and visitors to enjoy.”

🍴 The Blue Diamond on Highfield Road in Blackpool’s South Shore has had its premises licence revoked after councillors heard an employee had been working there illegally.

A Home Office immigration team requested that the eatery have its premises licence reviewed by Blackpool Council’s licensing panel over claims that employment rules related to immigration controls had been breached.

Immigration Officer Shaun Wright attended the panel hearing and outlined the potential exploitation implications and the unfair competitive advantage gained by businesses employing staff without the correct right to work.

Mr Mohammed Malik, director of Gulu Gulu BPL Ltd, told the panel he had taken over the lease of the premises in September and that the issues relating to the illegal worker had occurred under the previous licence holder.

But the panel had concerns that the overall control of the business had not truly changed hands since the immigration enforcement visit the previous year.

It was therefore agreed to revoke the licence on the grounds of prevention of crime and disorder, specifically the prevention of illegal working in licensed premises.

Chris Webb on backing Andy Burnham, two years as MP for Blackpool South - and The Metropole

By Michael Holmes

Seven seconds pass before Chris Webb answers. That’s an eternity for a politician used to thinking on his feet. But then it’s a tough question for one to answer.

If I went on to the Prom and asked 10 people if they are better off now than a year ago, what does he think they will tell me?

The Labour MP, who has just marked two years in office when we chat, is speaking to The Blackpool Lead from The Glass Tower, a boutique luxury hotel in South Shore that has just undergone a seven-figure transformation.

Wearing a black Stone Island polo shirt with navy jeans and white Nike Air Force Ones, he is dressed down as we meet in the venue’s bar at 9.30am on a Sunday.

Sipping from a cup of tea, he looks into the air and contemplates.

And then he says: “I think you get a mixed reaction.”

Webb reels off a list of accomplishments since he came to power in a byelection in May 2024.

A rise in the minimum wage has “definitely put more money in people’s pockets”, he says, while the Renters’ Rights Act has capped rent increases to open market rates.

So there are “those that have more money in their pockets, without a doubt”.

But he accepts that, with the debacle in the Middle East between the US/Israel and Iran, which has choked the Strait of Hormuz, some continue to feel the impact, especially at the petrol pumps and on their energy bills.

“We have tried our best with that,” he says. “We’ve frozen prescription (charges), we’ve frozen rail fares.

“We are working to tackle the cost-of-living crisis.”

And there is prosperity in Blackpool, he insists.

Take The Glass Tower, which cost £3.8m to transform from the shuttered Royal Carlton Hotel and now sells £26 roast dinners in its bougie Eleven restaurant, which boasts Michelin-trained chefs.

“They’re telling me they’re packed. They are busy. They’re booked out for Sunday lunch,” Webb says.

“On the weekends, the hotel, the apartment rooms upstairs, are booked out. So there is a buzz.”

The resort is getting a record number of visitors and the barometers of local success, like Notarianni’s in Waterloo Road, are saying business is booming.

Webb says: “We know people are spending money and going out.

“But when you ask, ‘Are (people) feeling a bit better off?’ we’re British, we like to have a grumble.”

Speaking to Webb at Stanley Park a year ago to mark his first year in office, the mood seemed more relaxed.

His personal life was on the agenda and we were able to talk about his balancing of politics with family life.

But now, despite the fancy surroundings of marble and brass, with gold highlights and a spotless dining room, there is an underlying feeling that The Blackpool Lead’s line of questioning should be more urgent.

After all, we are meeting at a time when Sir Keir Starmer’s premiership is crumbling.

Andy Burnham has just won a by-election and is on a march to Downing Street.

“I think it’s evident now that we do need a change in leader,” Webb says.

Unbeknownst to me at the time, while Webb was talking my phone had buzzed with the news that Sir Keir was considering his future. Just weeks later, we know how this story ends.

“I think Keir Starmer is a decent man, I think he’s come with the best intentions, but mistakes have been made,” with the PM being forced into U-turns on controversial policies over the likes of welfare.

Webb continues: “I think we have seen with recent local election results that the public sent us a clear, strong message: they’re not happy with Labour and they’re not happy with the direction. They’re not happy with our comms or what our vision for the country is.

“They made that loud and clear and you have to respect the voters.”

Burnham’s victory in Makerfield, which ultimately led to the resignation of Sir Keir and Burnham’s apparent unopposed trip to Downing Street, was “remarkable”, Webb says, showing pollsters up and also showing “a message of hope and optimism”.

“Andy has my full support. He’s a friend, he’s a remarkable politician and I think he can give this country the hope and the change we need, focusing on the forgotten areas.”

Asked how far back he would have to go to say he’d back Sir Keir as PM over Burnham, Webb suggests that would never have been the case.

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The news of the publication of a report from Lancashire County Council regarding the harmful impact of the Jameson Road landfill has been welcomed - but campaigners say it does not go far enough.

The report vindicates what residents have now been saying for a substantial period of time, which is positive and frustrating in equal measure.

They say that the conversation now needs to switch to planning the closure of the site - and that given the evidence in the report, it is unhelpful to describe toxic harm as ‘unlikely’ in its wording.

And then, shortly before publication, came the news that Wyre Council will face Transwaste in court.

We’ve been reporting extensively on the campaign against the Jameson Road landfill since the beginning. We have been able to do so thanks to paying subscribers and we hope you can join in support us today.

Blackpool briefing

🛎️ Owners of a Blackpool hotel where a child died after suffering an electric shock in the lobby have been fined £120,000 over health and safety offences. Blackpool Council successfully brought charges against Y7 Hotels Ltd, owner of the Tiffany Hotel on North Promenade, following the incident in September 2023. Jack Piper-Sheach, 10, suffered an electric shock in the reception area of the hotel and died in hospital four days later. He and his family had been visiting Blackpool from Lincolnshire. Investigations were launched by Lancashire Police and Blackpool Council. Lancashire Police found no criminal case to answer relating to the death. Blackpool Council later brought charges against Y7 Hotels Ltd for offences contrary to the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. None of the charges related to the death of the child. Representatives of the business attended Preston Crown Court on Wednesday 15 April 2026 and entered a guilty plea to two offences, in relation to the Tiffany Hotel, Blackpool. At a sentencing hearing on Friday 26 June, Y7 Hotels Ltd was fined £120,000 and ordered to pay £24,000 costs to Blackpool Council.

🎵 The government has committed £20m towards the development of an arena at the Blackpool Central site after successful lobbying from the area’s MP Chris Webb. This is not a ‘deal to build a huge £20m indoor arena’ as has been reported elsewhere - that is getting far too giddy about things. Instead, it will fund the next stage of work which includes assessing any arena’s feasibility, developing a business case and seeking private-sector investment. The funding comes from Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Lisa Nandy. Webb said: “This funding gives Blackpool the opportunity to properly test whether the project is commercially viable and put us in the strongest possible position to attract an experienced private-sector partner with the expertise to develop, operate and programme a world-class venue. “If an arena is to succeed, it must be the right arena, with the right operator and the right business case. That means bringing major concerts, sporting events, e-sports, comedy, exhibitions and live entertainment to Blackpool while complementing, not competing with, our existing attractions and cultural venues.”

🥟 Blackpool’s oldest pier has been sold - with the new owners vowing a £10m investment package to restore it. North Pier, which opened in 1863 and is Grade-II listed, has been purchased by London-based Okken Limited after being listed for sale last year. The company said it would given the structure the refurbishment it clearly needs, while improving the theatre and opening a new bar. More on this in future editions.

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Wyre Council braced for court battle with Transwaste over Jameson Road landfill

By Luke Beardsworth

Wyre Council will face the operator of the Jameson Road landfill - Transwaste - in court after the firm appealed an abatement notice.

The authority issues the abatement notice to Transwaste on 30 April with it legally requiring them to stop unwanted odour from impacting residents by the deadline of the end of June.

But The Blackpool Lead has learned that Transwaste has appealed the terms of that abatement notice and that Wyre Council will present the evidence it has gathered - driven by those in the community affected - in court.

A decision is expected within the next few months. Separately, Wyre Council will be undertaking a review to determine whether the nuisance has abated over the previous 60 days or not with a view to reaching a ‘robust and defensible’ decision.

The news comes after the publication of a report that concludes the landfill is having a significant impact on the lives of people in Fleetwood.

The Environment Agency, who advised The Blackpool Lead for the first time in May that closure of the landfill that has impacted residents for over two years was being seriously considered, have now said that they intend to treat closure as a ‘last resort’.

And that follows the publication of a community impact report by Lancashire County Council last week (26 June) which found that the odour from the site was having a ‘significant and ongoing impact on health and wellbeing’ in Fleetwood. That report, while positive in acknowledging the impact, stopped short of recommending the closure of the site and instead recommends ‘strengthened action’ and ‘transparent communication’.

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It means that the residents of Fleetwood have been told by two public bodies that they will need to continue to live with the odours of the landfill - and the symptoms that include nausea, headaches, respiratory issues and nausea - something one campaigner described as ‘pathetic’.

Jess Brown, from Action Against Jameson Road Landfill, told The Blackpool Lead: “There are definitely some positives [from the LCC report]. The report finally shows what we’ve all been saying for the last two years.

“But it doesn’t go far enough. The report recommends that no additional waste should be brought into Jameson Road until the odour problems are effectively managed.

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On Wednesday, we reported that the cases of Preston Davey and Damion Russell had deeply concerning parallels - most notably that Damion had been seen at Blackpool Victoria Hospital the day before Preston Davey was treated there. In both instances, the hospital did not raise the alarm despite opportunities to do so. In both instances, the children would go on to be murdered.

Our reporting ultimately led that evening’s BBC North West Tonight bulletin at 6.30pm and we thank the BBC for mentioning that it was The Blackpool Lead who uncovered these facts.

It was also picked up - without mentioning who did the work and the research - by The Gazette, Daily Mail, LancsLive, Daily Express, Mirror and Daily Star.

We felt strongly that the reporting was important and crucial to any campaign work to bring about any change to ensure children get the protection they are owed - that’s why we made it free for everyone to read.

But it’s an important reminder of the need to support investigative journalism at its source. This story was reported because of our work - and we hope you can take a paid subscription to back what we do.

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Blackpool briefing

🚗 Blackpool Council has spent nearly £6 million improving road surfaces across the town, including repairing potholes, since the end of last year. The council’s highways department have fixed more than 50 roads, with more repairs on the way. But a councillor has called on the authority to be more pro-active in dealing with erosion, to prevent the roads developing potholes in the first place Cllr Julie Sloman said the issue was particularly urgent in the case of the Fylde coast’s cyclists, who risk serious injury when they encounter potholes. She has asked the council to consider dealing with repairs whilst they are minor rather than for them to breach the minimum 40 mm intervention threshold. The scale of the council’s effort to improve roads was highlighted in a report by Cllr Paula Burdess, Cabinet Member for Community Safety, Street Scene and Neighbourhoods, who presented a report to Full Council on Wednesday.

🚧 Work is finally set to start on a multi-million pound project to build a seven-storey block of luxury apartments on Blackpool seafront. The project is based on the site of the former Ambassador Hotel, on the Promenade at North Shore, which was demolished in 2020 after it was deemed unsafe after a huge blaze there in 2018. The ambitious proposals entail plans for a development of 26 two-bedroom, “5-star luxury” serviced apartments for holiday rentals after planners gave the seven-storey scheme the green light. It was initially anticipated that work would begin in early 2023, with a spring 2024 launch, but three years down the line there was no sign of that. However, this week one of the leading figures involved with the scheme said progress would get underway very soon. The project, officially named “The New Ambassador”, is being led by the Dutch investment group Ciconia, with Cifra Solutions has been involved in cost planning, design coordination, and managing approvals. As the site currently stands, hoardings are advertising that the holiday let project will be “coming soon in 2027”.

🩺 Blackpool Council has released a statement clarifying its involvement with the Preston Davey case. Preston became the subject of a national tragedy after he was physically abused, sexually assaulted, and then murdered by his prospective adoptive father, Jamie Varley, in July 2023. Varley, 38, was handed a whole life term last week after a lengthy trial. He was found guilty of murder and a raft of child sex offences, while partner John McGowan Fazakerley was given a 25 year term for allowing the death of a child, child cruelty and one count of the sexual assault of a child. The pair were living in Grimsargh at the time of their arrest. Blackpool Council says that while its thoughts continue to be with Preston’s devastated family, it is also keen to clarify its involvement with the case which, although linked to Blackpool, did not directly involve the council. The authority says that Preston was not known to Blackpool Council during his short life, as the care and adoption proceedings of his case were undertaken by Oldham Children’s Services. Additionally, the council says the couple who adopted him and went on to cause his death, Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley, lived within the Lancashire County Council area.

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Carnival atmosphere forecast for Tour of Britain’s time in Blackpool

By Michael Holmes

A “carnival atmosphere” is expected to descend on Blackpool when it hosts the Tour of Britain’s Women’s race later this summer.

The elite race’s second stage will come to an end at the Solaris Centre on the Prom in South Shore, with millions expected to tune in to see some of cycling’s finest female athletes speeding along the seafront towards their destination.

Town hall bosses, who have pledged £50,000 to the cause, hope to showcase the “pinnacle of women’s professional road racing” and give the resort’s economy and reputation a welcome boost.

They also hope the publicity and buzz around the five-stage event, which will arrive in Blackpool on August 20, will spark a love of cycling in local women and girls.

“The women’s tour provides visible role models at the very highest level of sport, helping to break down barriers and show what’s possible,” a council spokesperson told The Blackpool Lead.

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They added: “It brings a major sporting event right into the heart of the resort, highlighting iconic locations and creating a vibrant atmosphere for residents and visitors alike.

“It also reinforces Blackpool’s position as a destination for world-class events.

“The tour is designed to bring communities together and create moments of civic pride, while showcasing local character to a wider broadcast audience.”

About 2,000 resort hotel beds will be needed to accommodate the event entourage - plus more for spectators.

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The death of Preston Davey made national headlines and there have rightly been calls - led by The Post and The Gazette - for an inquiry into the failures that allowed such prolonged and cruel abuse to take place despite opportunities from both adoption services and Blackpool Victoria Hospital to raise the alarm.

Our investigation, published today, shows that Preston was not the first. The day before an opportunity was missed to save Preston, another child was taken into Blackpool Victoria Hospital. He had a bruise on his head, the alarm wasn’t raised. That child, too, was later murdered.

The Blackpool Lead can only continue to publish investigations like today’s if we have paying subscribers. We are ad-free and clickbait free - only the news that matters most before everyone else gets to it. Consider taking a paid subscription here - for less than £1 per week - and keep independent journalism thriving in Blackpool.

This edition of particular importance and, for that reason, we have made it completely free for all readers.

Blackpool briefing

🗳️ Both Blackpool MPs have thrown their weight behind Andy Burnham to become the new leader of the Labour Party - and Prime Minister - after the news of Keir Starmer’s resignation. Chris Webb, for Blackpool South, said: “Andy Burnham has my full support. I voted for Andy in both the 2010 and 2015 leadership contests because I believed then, as I do now, that he understands the challenges facing working people and communities like ours. He has the ability to connect with the public, to inspire hope and to honestly articulate why difficult decisions sometimes need to be made.” While Lorraine Beavers, for Blackpool North and Fleetwood, said: “Communities like mine, who have been decimated by years of austerity and privatisation, still feel unheard. This is why I called for his resignation. For too long, the voice of the North has been drowned out by a Westminster too focussed on London – and I know that other communities across the country feel the same. Andy Burnham ran a campaign in Makerfield based on hope, fairness, justice and a redistribution of power, securing an overwhelming victory. His success proves that these are the values people want to see and, as the Labour Party, we must now work to the same goal.”

⛪ A funding problem has hit ambitious plans for a vital new youth amenity in an area of Blackpool. The proposals for a new Youth & Skills Space at Layton Methodist Church are approved and ready to move into the construction phase. However, rising costs have created a final funding gap which must be closed before work can begin. The project has been developed over the past three years through conversations with young people, families, residents and local partners. At the recent Layton Youth Forum, young people again highlighted the importance of somewhere welcoming to meet, practical activities to take part in, trusted adults around them and clearer routes into skills, training and work. The Youth & Skills Space will respond to that remit. It will create a dedicated, accessible base for activities, digital learning, cookery, mentoring, wellbeing support, volunteering and support into training, apprenticeships and employment.

🍴 An empty site within Blackpool town centre could feature a shiny aluminium hot food kiosk, if plans get the go ahead. The “visually distinct” American Airstream-style unit would be sited at a vacant plot on the corner of East Topping Street and Deangate. An application has been submitted to planners for use of land for the siting of a catering trailer – with associated generator – for the sale of refreshments and installation of hard surfacing, planters, and 2.4m security fencing. The applicant is listed as Mr Paul Wilson, of the company Location Sensation Ltd. A heritage statement submitted in support of the proposals notes that the site falls within the Blackpool Extended Town Centre Conservation Area.

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Blackpool Victoria Hospital saw two children, later murdered, in 24 hours and failed to raise alarm

By Michael Holmes

Medics at Blackpool Victoria Hospital failed to flag a suspicious injury to another child murder victim just hours before a crucial missed opportunity to save Preston Davey, it can be revealed.

Healthcare workers noticed a bruise on two-year-old Damion Russell’s head but did not ask his father how it had happened, despite safeguarding rules requiring them to do so.

Less than eight weeks later, Damion was dead, killed in a “horrifically violent” attack by his father Daniel Hardcastle.

Damion’s Vic visit came on June 29 2023 - a day before a poorly Preston was taken to A&E with bruising that also failed to trigger an intervention.

A month later, Preston was murdered by his adoptive father, 37-year-old South Shore Academy teacher Jamie Varley.

It was the second of three A&E trips in the run-up to the 13-month-old’s slaying.

Today’s revelation, which follows a Blackpool Lead investigation, raises more questions about safeguarding at the Vic.

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Blackpool South’s Labour MP Chris Webb said: “We need to do better, and we know that the state has been failing these young kids, young babies.”

Damion was born in July 2021 and spent his first 10 months with his mother before being taken into care.

He then lived for almost nine months with foster parents, who described him as a “delight” who would “light up any room with his smile and his chuckle”.

After a DNA test proved he was Damion’s father, Hardcastle was granted sole custody and the pair moved into a Central Drive flat in May 2023.

He died three months later from a brain injury after being attacked by Hardcastle, whose murder trial was told the boy was “covered in injuries, top to toe and front to back”.

They included an adult bite mark, broken ribs, bruising and a tear inside his lip as if a drinking bottle had been shoved into his mouth.

Hardcastle claimed Damion had fallen and banged his head on a coffee table - but his trial was told the defendant had either forcefully shaken the child and banged his head or smacked it against a solid object.

Hardcastle is now serving a jail term of at least 22 years, with Preston Crown Court told he had googled several times for how to treat bruising in children and how long it lasts.

A later child protection review by Blackpool Council, similar to the one now being carried out into Preston’s life and death by Oldham Council, said Damion was seen with bruising four times between going to live with his father and his death.

A family support worker on a weekly visit saw a small bruise on the boy’s head on May 20 2023 and raised it with Hardcastle, who blamed his son for being unsteady on his feet.

Six days later, Damion was seen with a “small, faded bruise” on his head at the Home-Start toddler group. After being challenged, Hardcastle again blamed Damion’s lack of balance.

And on May 31, the support worker saw bruises on the child’s head that appeared to be “fading” - with Hardcastle telling her they were from “multiple stumbles” over the last week.

The review found: “On all of the occasions set out above, when a bruise was observed, practitioners followed expected practice by asking about the bruise.

“The conclusion of the Child Safeguarding Practice Review is that practitioners’ acceptance of the father’s explanation for the bruising on each occasion was reasonable.

“(Damion) was known to have developmental delay and the unsteadiness on his feet aligned with his development stage.

“(The boy) was also observed by professionals as being unsteady on his feet on numerous occasions and the bruises were on an exposed and prominent part of the body, which is a natural place for accidental bruising to occur.”

But the review continued: “The only time practitioners did not follow expected practice was when (Damion) was taken to hospital, having suffered a febrile convulsion, on June 29 2023.

“It was noted that (Damion) had an ‘old, mild black bruise spot’ on his forehead. The father was not asked about this, which was the expected practice.”

The Blackpool Lead asked the Vic why it was the one setting where such a basic safeguarding question was not asked.

It did not answer.

It also did not say, when asked, if Damion and Preston were seen by the same medics, or answer several other key questions.

Instead, it released a statement from chief executive Maggie Oldham saying: “This was a deeply tragic and upsetting case, and our thoughts remain with Damion’s family and loved ones.”

She said the Vic “fully accepts” the reviews findings and, while it made “no specific recommendations relating to Damion’s treatment while under the care of Blackpool Teaching Hospitals, we recognise the importance of continuing to strengthen practice and provide reassurance to families using our services”.

Oldham continued: “Importantly, work was already underway before the review was published to support staff in the Emergency Department and in other areas where children are cared for.

“This has focused on making sure appropriate examinations take place, that staff are confident in asking the right questions, and that any concerns are considered and escalated in line with safeguarding processes.

“Families bringing their children to our hospital can expect our teams to ask questions about any bumps, bruises or other injuries identified, whether recent or older. For babies who are not walking independently, our teams will carry out a full examination while they are in the Emergency Department.”

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On June 30 2023, the day after Damion’s admission, Preston was taken to the Vic by his adoptive fathers Varley and John McGowan-Fazakerley, with medics noting a bruise on the youngster’s head.

Varley told nurses that Preston had pulled a toy box on to himself while playing and showed them an almost two-week-old video in a bid to hide his evil deeds.

The fact he succeeded has been branded a “massive safeguarding failure” by Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel De Souza, who said last week: “I have huge numbers of questions and I’m not going to let go until I have the answers.”

And Webb told The Blackpool Lead: “We put in vulnerable mechanisms to protect vulnerable individuals who don’t have a voice for themselves.

“But clearly it’s not been as successful as it should be in identifying issues and making sure they’re investigated properly.”

Webb, as well as Fylde MP Andrew Snowden, has called for a public inquiry into possible safeguarding failures linked to Preston Davey.

He said: “This isn’t about pointing a finger at any individual, body, organisation, institution - there’s just been failings right across the board.

“For many of us, especially those of us with young children, especially young boys, it has been a real concern and these cases are just heartbreaking.”

He continued: “We have to do better. This cannot happen. When you read the horrific revelations through baby Preston’s whole case and what occurred there, it’s just unimaginable.

“I had to put the reports I was getting and the briefings I was getting down several times, because it was just so hard to read and imagine that someone could do that to a child.”

Asked what answers he is specifically looking for from the inquiry into Preston’s death, Webb said there is a need to make sure the “right questions are asked, rather than how the hell were these vile, evil individuals” allowed to adopt in the first place.

“I think, for me, this is looking at where did those systems fail? When issues were raised, why weren’t they followed up?

“Why were they dismissed so easily?”

There are concerns locally that those involved in Preston’s care may have positively discriminated against his killers, refusing to believe that a teacher and his privately educated salesman boyfriend could act so malevolently.

“Why were the parents believed so easily and these concerns not flagged?” Webb asked.

“Was there an unconscious bias because they were same-sex parents?

“These are legitimate questions we do have to talk about and ask.

“Was that an issue? Were hospital staff uncomfortable raising that?

“Was it because he was a teacher, so instantly that meant, ‘Oh, he must be a good person, he’s a teacher - it will be fine, his story must check out’?”

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We knew that Blackpool Council was set to submit its plans for the regeneration of Central Drive and those plans are now public.

If approved - and the council clearly expects it will be - the blueprint will see 300 properties demolished to be replaced with 230 new homes.

Few argue with the need to provide a boost to what is one of the most impoverished areas in the country - but calls for the area to be improved without displacing people from their homes have so far fallen on deaf ears.

Today we unpack what was in that planning application and look at how people locally are responding.

If you’re reading this, we need your support. The Blackpool Lead can only continue to publish the news that has much bigger titles scrambling to mimic us if we have paying subscribers. We are ad-free and clickbait free - only the news that matters most before everyone else gets to it. Consider taking a paid subscription here - for less than £1 per week - and keep independent journalism thriving in Blackpool.

Blackpool briefing

🏠 Proposals to use a premises in Blackpool’s North Shore as four self-contained flats have been given consent by planners. The applicants were seeking a Certificate of Lawfulness Existing for a property at 21 Chesterfield Road. Planners at Blackpool Council agreed to grant a Certificate of Lawfulness after investigating the premises. The owners of a property generally require a Lawful Development Certificate to legally regularize the conversion of a property into multiple flats without facing enforcement action, to secure mortgages, and to provide formal assurance to prospective buyers. It requires an application to the local council and if granted, it means that the applicant does not have to apply for planning permission for their plans, which would be potentially more difficult and costly. The owners of this property were able to prove that the premises had been used as four flats for some 20 years.

🩺 A 44 year mum-of-three from Blackpool died in hospital after a number of serious health challenges were made worse by self-neglect and other factors. A review by Blackpool Safeguarding Partnerships also heard that, although there had been no evidence that agencies had failed, a number of lessons would need to be learned. The woman, identified only as ‘Alex’ lived with significant health and mobility challenges linked to morbid obesity. She died in Blackpool Victoria Hospital in 2024 from sepsis, lobar pneumonia, cellulitis and a urinary tract infection, with morbid obesity as a contributing factor. Alex’s death was referred for a Safeguarding Adult Review due to concerns about the living environment and family circumstances.

👷🏻‍♂️ Two in five of Blackpool’s most disadvantaged pupils are not in formal education or training at the start of Year 12, according to new research. It shows that figures for the town are the highest rate in the North West, The report — Class dismissed, commissioned by Teach First and conducted by the Education Policy Institute — reveals the outcome gap that persistently disadvantaged pupils, who are eligible for Free School Meals for at least 80% of their time in school -are facing across England. The research follows the recent publication of the Government’s Young people and work: interim report conducted by Rt Hon Alan Milburn, which found that the UK faces one of the highest rates of NEET youth in Europe, in a ‘national crisis of opportunity’. However, efforts are being made to tackle this and Blackpool South MP Chris Webb welcomed the news last week that the town has been included in a new government-backed AI Native Youth programme to help young people, using digital apprenticeships.

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They want to kick us out and trash our home: Anger as plans for Central Drive regeneration formally submitted

By Luke Beardsworth

Detailed plans setting out the demolition of up to 300 properties to be replaced with 230 homes have now been set out by Blackpool Council.

They are part of what the council describes as a ‘major intervention’ to return the Central Drive area to its heyday but there remain a significant number of local residents who are unhappy with the plans which were previously described as the displacement of a community.

The area being demolished includes homes around Central Drive and roads off it such as Montrose Avenue, Rydal Avenue, Salthouse Avenue, Chadwick Street and Erdington Road.

The council said that its ‘ambition’ is for all the new houses to be social housing, something that would serve to improve the conditions and affordability in an area dominated by private rented housing.

But that remains an ambition for the time being and The Blackpool Lead understands that affordability concerns may result in it being scaled back. We asked a number of questions of Blackpool Council on this point but did not receive a response.

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And there has been significant concern raised in the community by homeowners who say that the cost of moving out of one of the most affordable areas in the country is not being covered by the council’s offers of compensation.

This has resulted in a number of meetings and campaign efforts led by Rev Matthew Lockwood, leader of nearby Beacon Church, and later the housing community union Acorn.

There is a broad consensus from the consultation process and anyone The Blackpool Lead has spoken with that the area is in need of regeneration. While 10% of the properties are already empty and over 100 people have agreed to sell their property, some residents believe the fact that more than 70% of owners have asked for an offer is a red herring because the offers are not substantial enough to properly compensate people.

The scale of the problems that the existing homes face has also been called into question.

Anna Penfold, 41 of Rydal Avenue, told The Blackpool Lead: “We’ve been trying to make them understand by going to all these meetings but because we turn up as a group, they refuse us the information we need.

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A famous old quote of questionable attribution reads: “A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes.” If you think misinformation is a new challenge, there’s a sharper one from 1834 that says: “Falsehood flies, and the truth comes limping after.”

But Facebook has made that all the more challenging. People can post a lie - or even a rumour in good faith - that is read tens of thousands of time before a reporter is able to factcheck and publish the reality. And every time, the truth will reach fewer people than the lie.

It’s why we think it’s important to support local journalism. Misinformation thrives where local journalism isn’t able to dig into what’s being posted and debunk it. Today local MP Chris Webb writes for us on the challenge all of this poses.

It also coincides with Indie News Week which celebrates independent news titles, like The Blackpool Lead, across the UK. The influence and power of big tech companies like Meta, coupled with the dominance of three big companies in the local news space along with a publicly-funded publisher in the BBC, means that it’s an enormous challenge to exist as an independent news publisher that tries to do things the right way.

We hope you can take the opportunity to take a paid subscription to The Blackpool Lead and help us to keep going strong and publishing the sort of journalism that others either don’t have the time or will to publish. Join us here.

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The real threat to democracy is online

By Chris Webb, MP for Blackpool South

When people talk about threats to democracy they often point to Westminster, but one of the biggest threats facing our democracy today is in our hands.

Our smartphones allow us to access a world of information – but not all of it accurate. New research from the Social Market Foundation found that fake news in local online groups quadrupled during the Makerfield by-election campaign. Researchers found AI-generated images, fabricated stories and misleading content being shared widely. In some local Facebook groups, one in six news stories shared was false.

But this isn’t just about one by-election in Greater Manchester. It’s about what happens when more and more people get their news from anonymous social media accounts instead of trusted journalism or official sources like the police.

I regularly see examples of it here in Blackpool. Recently, rumours spread online about an alleged attack on a woman and children by an asylum seeker at a local railway station. The story spread quickly and people were understandably concerned.

The problem was that it wasn’t true. And even after I publicly corrected the record, local journalists were still receiving calls and messages from people who had seen the claims online and believed them.

I’ve seen the same thing happen with rumours about housing developments in Blackpool. Over many months, false claims have circulated online suggesting a new development would be used to house asylum seekers. Time and again those claims have been debunked. I’ve done so publicly, local journalists reported the facts and others in the community tried to put the record straight.

But the rumours kept coming back – peddled by groups seeking to cause division in our communities and create moral panic about asylum seekers.

They understand that once something takes hold online, it can be incredibly difficult to stop. People see the same claim repeated over and over again and eventually some start to assume there must be some truth in it. The result is confusion, mistrust and division.

As MPs, we’re increasingly spending time dealing with online rumours – time that could be spent helping residents with housing issues, NHS problems or benefit cases is instead spent correcting misinformation.

One of the reasons Blackpool residents voted for me was because I am a local lad with an innate understanding of life in Blackpool. But during the Blackpool South by-election and the general election that followed, false claims circulated suggesting I was actually born in Manchester and that I’d spent years misleading residents about my background.

I found it quite funny at first. If opponents were trying that hard to challenge our message that I was Blackpool born and bred, then clearly the message was cutting through. What wasn’t funny was seeing those claims continue long after they had been disproved.

Campaigners in an opposition party who knew they weren’t true continued repeating them. Even now, years later, they still occasionally reappear on social media. I sometimes joke that I could publish my birth certificate like Barack Obama and some people still wouldn’t believe it. But there is a serious point here.

Misinformation doesn’t survive simply because people don’t know the facts. Sometimes it survives because it is useful to those spreading it. Sometimes it’s confirmation bias – people believe it because they want to. And that’s what makes it so dangerous.

If elections become dominated by misinformation, AI-generated content and outrage designed to drive clicks, it becomes harder for voters to make informed decisions. Trust in politics falls even further, public debate becomes more toxic and people stop seeing political opponents as neighbours with different views and start seeing them as enemies. That should concern all of us, regardless of which party we support.

This isn’t about restricting free speech. People have every right to disagree with politicians, to challenge decisions and hold those in power to account. But democracy depends on us all having the facts. Without that, meaningful debate becomes almost impossible.

So how do we challenge this?

Social media companies need to take more responsibility for what is being amplified on their platforms, particularly during elections. They cannot continue profiting from engagement while ignoring the damage caused by coordinated misinformation campaigns.

We also need to support local journalism. Local newspapers and journalists play a vital role in checking facts and holding people like me to account. When local journalism declines, misinformation has an opportunity to fill in the gaps.

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And we need to help people navigate an online world where not everything they see is what it appears to be. That means teaching people how to check sources, question suspicious content and think critically before sharing something online.

Ultimately, we all of have a responsibility to do our best not to spread misinformation. Before sharing something that makes us angry or shocked we need to take a moment – ask where it came from, whether it’s been verified and whether it’s actually true.

The events in Makerfield should be a warning and the rumours we’ve seen spread in Blackpool show that this is not somebody else’s problem. It’s happening here and the threat misinformation poses to our democracy is real.

The question is whether we’re prepared to tackle it before the problem becomes even harder to put right.

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Today Jamie Varley - along with his partner John McGowan-Fazakerley - was sentenced at Preston Crown Court.

Statements were read out from Sarah Davey, Preston’s biological mother, Gary Nolan, his biological father and foster parents Paul and Sandra Cooper.

Among the many emotional elements of those statements, that spoke of an ‘amazing little boy’ who was never allowed a normal life, Paul Cooper described putting trust into a system to care for a child. He said that trust has now been lost.

Questions will now rightly be asked of how two individuals were able to abuse a child so thoroughly, cruelly and brazenly over the course of four months, and several hospital visits, without proper and effective intervention.

This edition is free to read.

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Jamie Varley will never be released - but Preston Davey’s murder was a massive safeguarding failure

A man who was found guilty of murdering and sexually abusing a baby boy he was in the process of adopting will never be released from jail.

Jamie Varley, 37, was given a whole life order at Preston Crown Court on Thursday (18 June) which means he will stay in prison for the rest of his life.

Varley, then a teacher and even a designated safeguarding lead at South Shore Academy in Blackpool, was also found guilty of seriously assaulting Preston Davey on an earlier occasion, as well as five counts of child cruelty and possessing and distributing indecent images of a child. All those offences related to baby Preston.  

His partner John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, was found guilty of causing or allowing a child’s death, two child cruelty offences and a single sexual assault and was sentenced to 25 years, of which he will have to serve two thirds. 

Within weeks of entering the care of Varley and McGown-Fazakerley, Preston was being taken to hospital. On 25 May 2023, Preston was at Blackpool Victoria Hospital. Police were contacted by the safeguarding staff at the hospital but medical staff advised there were no concerns about non-accidental injury.

That was the only contact police received from Blackpool Victoria Hospital until his death on 27 July - during which time Preston was the victim of physical cruelty, psychological cruelty and sexual assault.

He was taken to hospital three times in the run up to his death, with bruises and a broken arm all noted. The Vic’s safeguarding team on one occasion alerted police but no action was taken following input from a consultant.

The Vic did not answer The Blackpool Lead’s numerous questions earlier this week but provided a statement.

Maggie Oldham, the CEO of the NHS trust managing the hospital, said: “We are working closely with other agencies and are continuously improving our child safeguarding. We are committed to encouraging colleagues to speak up about anything they are not comfortable with or concerned about.

“We will now consider carefully all the evidence heard at the trial to identify if any further improvements are necessary, beyond the safeguards already in place.”

The hospital was unable to carry out a full inquiry into Preston’s treatment because of the police investigation and trial, but bosses are now expected to review evidence from court to see if any improvements can be made.

Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel De Souza said the murder was a “massive safeguarding failure” and she will pursue the question of whether it was preventable.

Speaking to the BBC prior to sentencing she said: “What do we know about Preston?

“We know that very early into his adoption, and he was only an adoption with his family for four months, very early, he was taken to hospital with bruises.

“The consultant dismissed it. Did they dismiss it because it was a teacher adopter?

“Did that evil abuser hoodwink people under that professional guise?

“The social worker saw him 20 days before he died. I want to know whether the correct level of professional curiosity was there.

“I have huge numbers of questions, and I’m not going to let go until I have the answers.”

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