Blackpool Council accused of not making enough effort to reach out to residents who could lose homes to Multiversity project
PLUS: Winter Gardens hotel likely to get the go-ahead + calls for Saturday funeral costs to be waived
Hello and welcome to The Blackpool Lead - our first Wednesday edition of December.
This week sees the return of the Multiversity public inquiry - which aims get to the bottom of whether residents who live within the area planned for the site will be forced to move.
When the first week of the public inquiry was held in November, it was The Blackpool Lead - rather than the Gazette, BBC or LancsLive - that was present to cover every minute of every day it sat.
None of this is free or easy for us to produce compared to our competitors so if you can support our efforts to give a voice to the people most affected by the project, please consider taking a paid subscription.
We’ll be there this week and you can see our initial report from Tuesday as part of today’s newsletter. Further coverage will follow in Sunday’s newsletter.
We also have the latest on ambitious plans to open a hotel opposite the Winter Gardens and concerns that Saturday premiums on funeral costs are creating delays for people wishing to say goodbye to loved ones.
Blackpool Council forced to defend engagement and negotiations over demolishing homes for Multiversity project
By Jamie Lopez
Key figures at Blackpool Council have defended its engagement and negotiations with the people whose homes it wants to demolish for its Multiversity project.
A public inquiry into its plans to use Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) powers to force the sale of homes in the town centre resumed at the Imperial Hotel yesterday (3 December) and heard from the council’s last two witnesses.
Once complete, the development will house state-of-the-art education facilities which will link to both the town centre and employment opportunities through the recently completed Talbot Gateway.
However, that will only be made possible by demolishing homes and businesses which are currently located on the development site. The earlier hearing heard evidence from senior figures from the council and Blackpool and the Fylde College about the benefits of the project and how it fit into wider regeneration aims.
Before the witnesses were called on Tuesday, the inquiry heard an update which said negotiations had continued since the last hearings took place in November and that only six objectors remained. That represented a drop from 13 when the last hearings took place and it was suggested throughout that there was confidence most would be resolved in the coming weeks.
First to speak was the authority’s Head of Investment Talha Yakub who is responsible for the land acquisition and negotiations. He explained that talks had been ongoing with residents and building owners since 2022 and that the council had gone beyond the statutory requirements in its dealing with those affected.
One objection, sent by agents Carter Jonas on behalf of JCB Northern Lights, had argued the council had failed to undertake a realistic valuation and made an offer which was not “the starting point for any meaningful negotiation”.
Mr Yakub disputed this, saying valuations were made based on various evidence-based factors and updated once building inspections had been carried out. Mr Yakub also explained that the council had factored in Home Loss Payments and Displacement Compensation when making offers and that it had agreed to pay for agents to represent the residents.
He added that Carter Jonas was the only agency which had disputed its proposed hourly rate when agreeing that budget for representation.
Explaining the lengths gone to ensure proper negotiations, Mr Yakub said the council had employed tracing agents to find the owner of a plot of land on the site who was eventually traced to the Netherlands.
The final witness was Katy Aldridge who, as Head of Commissioning and Corporate Delivery, has been responsible for leading the service which is supporting affected residents. She said the council had made extensive efforts to reach out to those affected and had made its service available in person, by phone, email or text message based on individual preferences.
She said her team had visited people at their homes to ensure they were aware of what was going on, arranged public meetings with independent support to aid those who could be struggling to understand the letters, and engaged with helping find alternative accommodation for those being displaced.
Referencing recent discussions with Robert Farrell, the owner of three properties on the site including one where the tenant has been present for 30 years, she said: “While I’m very confident we’ll be able to overcome the concerns he has for his tenants, I recognise this is a very challenging situation for him and I hope that negotiations are successful for him.”
Responding to another objection which suggested there hadn’t been enough effort to make contact, Ms Aldridge: “I accept that people have the right to believe that but I think our support has been available, offered and tailored and it has been proportional and responsible for the situation people are in while recognising they are unfortunate to be impacted.”
As none of the objectors have chosen to speak at the inquiry, it will hear the council’s closing submission today and a decision will be made in private by the chair and issued in writing.
Landmark hotel opposite Winter Gardens likely to be waved through after tree row resolved
A row over landscaping around a proposed new landmark hotel looks set to be resolved after the developer agreed to pay out for tree planting elsewhere.
Councillors had stalled on making a decision over the scheme to build a five-storey apart-hotel with 266 bedrooms on land opposite the Winter Gardens.
The application is now set to go back before the council’s Planning Committee on Tuesday December 10 with a recommendation for approval.
A report says updated proposals now include planting at ground level along Leopold Grove, Alfred Street and Adelaide Street.
Calls to scrap extra fee for Saturday funerals to free up slots and reduce waits
Calls have been made for more expensive Saturday funerals to be brought in line with the cost of a weekday service to help reduce delays for mourners.
Relatives are having to wait longer now for death certificates which is putting pressure on demand for burials and cremations, according to Norbreck councillor Julie Sloman.
She is asking Blackpool Council to free up more funeral slots on Saturdays, and scrap the extra £440 cost of a Saturday service to help reduce waits.
Raising concerns at a meeting of the full council, she said changes came into force in September in the way death certificates are issued nationally. The process now requires additional scrutiny by a medical examiner before a certificate can be given out.
News in headlines 🗞️
My dad died while living in a tent on the beach - please help me give him a decent funeral (The Gazette)
Blackpool Council’s executive asked to approve £90m housing regeneration plan (The Gazette)
Downfall of 'the Big fella' and his fruit and veg gang who smuggled £7bn of drugs into the UK (LancsLive)
The chilling murder of 'Blackpool Albert' and the innocent man who spent three months in jail (LancsLive)
Every resident in Blackpool deserves to live in an affordable, warm home. Cosy Homes in Lancashire offers a straightforward way to do just that, with energy-efficient upgrades like better insulation, eco-friendly heating systems, new windows, and much more. Check your eligibility today.
A theme of the last few weeks has been politicians in more affluent areas of Lancashire - Wyre and Fylde in this instance - baulking at the idea of pairing with Blackpool to form a council.
Now Blackpool’s not alone in being picked on by the other areas. In the last week, plans have emerged for Chorley, South Ribble and West Lancashire to make a unitary council, and exclude Preston!
But the strangest slight on Blackpool we’ve seen over the past week came from the Ribble Valley. I’m not sure what we’ve done to offend Longridge!
Speaking on plans - now rejected - for business units on a Longridge farm, Labour’s Kieren Spencer said: “I was not a councillor when the previous application was considered. I would have had no issue supporting it. But what concerns me is seeing a pattern of strong, well thought-out applications being approved, only for them to replaced later with sub-standard alternatives.
“Over time, we lose sight of the original benchmark. This is a prime example of that regression. Instead of delivering the Eiffel Tower, we are being asked to accept a Blackpool Tower. A far cry from what was originally planned.”
The Ribble Valley would be lucky to have a Blackpool Tower.
Enjoy the rest of your week and we will speak to you again on Sunday. Remember, if you have anything you think we should be covering then email blackpool@thelead.uk
Luke & Ed.
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They submitted their objections in writing and had the option to add if anything new had come up. At least one of the objector was in hospital, and some being on benefits they could not afford a Barrister unlike the Council.