Role of Blackpool Council in death of Alistair Taylor to be scrutinised by a coroner
PLUS: A Blackpool woman who sued the Ministry of Defence after falling off a horse and shattering her shoulder has been branded “fundamentally dishonest” by a judge.
Hello and welcome to The Blackpool Lead.
As of Thursday, The Blackpool Lead is an award-winning newsletter. I was in London for the Press Gazette Future of Media Awards 2025 where The Lead North (which includes our newsletters in Lancashire, Teesside, Southport and Calderdale) won the Best Newsletter (Specialist/Regional) award.
Press Gazette reports The Lead North as being "a wonderful example of local news journalism fighting back with original reporting, and an eye to rebuilding a local news ecosystem fit for the 21st century.”
It doesn’t happen without our reporters like Jamie Lopez and Michael Holmes, Emily and Rachel today, and previously Antonia Stack, and it certainly doesn’t happen without readers who believe in proper reporting, so thank you. Please take a paid subscription today to ensure we can keep bringing you The Blackpool Lead every Wednesday and Sunday direct to your inbox.
The death of Alistair Taylor in October 2024 was a tragedy, and Blackpool Council’s potential role in his death will be examined in some depth over three days at an inquest next month.
A pre-inquest review held on Friday set out that the council’s strategy in trying to acquire the property for its cornerstone Multiversity project would be scrutinised by a coroner.
In the months before his death, Alistair was concerned about the challenges the move would create for his children, particularly in light of a number of costly alterations that had been made for his home. One property consultant acting for Alistair said the authority’s approach had become insidious.
We’ve reported on this story quite a lot so I just want to reiterate that we continue to keep coverage of his death free to read, and that we continue to do it with contact from his family.
We also report today on a Blackpool Invictus Games winner who has been branded dishonest by a judge after having a claim rejecting by the High Court.
Blackpool Council’s role in death of Blackpool dad-of-four to be scrutinised over three days
By Rachel Howarth and Emily Trelfa
An inquest into the death of a Blackpool dad will ‘scrutinise’ the council’s handling of a Compulsory Purchase Order of his home in the months before he died, a court has heard.
Alistair Taylor, a barber with his own shop on Topping Street, was well-known and liked in the community but he was found dead at his Milbourne Street home at the age of 32 on 4 October, 2024.
The dad-of-four, who was once seen as the star of Blackpool Council’s Get Started Programme which helped him to establish his barber shop business, had been embroiled in a two-year dispute with the authority which culminated in the council’s recommendation to purchase his home eight days before his death.
Objections put forward by property consultancy Gateley Hamer during the CPO process said it would have been difficult and costly to replace or replicate the alterations Alistair had made to his Milbourne Street home to accommodate his three youngest children – all of whom have additional needs.
In a pre-inquest review held on Friday (September 12) at Blackpool Town Hall, the court heard how staff at the council will be called to give evidence surrounding the CPO, which was established to acquire Mr Taylor’s home in order to make way for the town’s multi-million pound Multiversity Project.
The coroner for Blackpool and Fylde, Alan Wilson, said: “The family’s position, the plank of their case, is that Alistair was affected by the processes insofar as he didn’t feel that the needs of his children were being appropriately addressed.”
He added that the family’s concerns were about the impact of the CPO issue and that they believed how it was being conducted “failed to fully take into account the impact on his children in relation to the purchase of his property – looking for alternatives, etc.”
“It’s appropriate to scrutinise the CPO process,” he said. “There will be scrutiny of issues in relation to how the process was undertaken.”
This is not the first time Blackpool Council will face scrutiny for its conduct regarding the CPO process.
In November and December 2024 a public inquiry heard from objectors involved in the process, one of whom said that the authority failed to undertake realistic valuations of properties and made an offer which was not “the starting point for any meaningful negotiation”.
Alistair’s father and brother, Paul and Stephen, attended the review hearing on Friday, represented by barrister Christian Weaver.
Weaver also asked for the coroner to consider the treatment of Alistair during the refurbishment of Abingdon Street Market, where he traded before it closed its doors in 2020. Following this, Alistair relocated his business to Topping Street.
According to Weaver, vendors of the market – including Alistair – were initially assured that ‘nothing would change’ when the space was refurbished but the council changed its mind just before lockdown ended and told businesses owners that their contracts had ended and they would ‘have to leave’.
He added that the family felt that this action represented a ‘pattern of behaviour’ from the council, which included the way it dealt with its CPO process.
After deliberation, coroner Mr Wilson determined that evidence regarding Abingdon Street Market was ‘beyond the scope’ of the inquest and that it would not be discussed in great detail.
“This is not going to be an inquest akin to a public inquiry,” Mr Wilson added.
Joseph Hart, the barrister representing Blackpool Council, agreed that to delve into this matter would be ‘beyond what would be appropriate’ for the inquest.
Mr Wilson concluded that the hearing would also need to look at Alistair's mental health, family and personal circumstances, which will be discussed with his brother Stephen and dad Paul.
As part of the inquest, which is set to take place over three days from October 15, two council officials who were intimately involved in the CPO process will also be called to give evidence.
One of these officials is Talha Yakub, the council’s head of investment who wrote to recommend the purchase of Alistair’s home on September 26, just over a week prior to his death.
Negotiations between Alistair and the council had taken place between August 2022 and September 2024.
During this time, offers for the home were objected by Alistair and this culminated in a letter of objection written by David Strafford of Gateley Hamer, which was submitted in May 2024.
From June until September, discussions continued to take place between Talia, Alistair and David.
The report recommending that the sale be allowed, seen by The Blackpool Lead, said: “The acquisition of the property will be for the benefit of the area in that it will improve and develop economic and social wellbeing of the area by providing the Council with assets which will enable future regeneration projects.”
The recommendation made no reference to the previous concerns expressed by Alistair, and cited there were no equality, risk or ethical considerations with the potential purchase.
Blackpool Council was accused of 'insidious' tactics to force sale of home before young dad's death
‘Fundamentally dishonest’ effort ‘over a long period’ as Blackpool woman attempted to sue Ministry of Defence
By Michael Holmes
A Blackpool gunner who sued the Ministry of Defence after falling off a horse and shattering her shoulder has been branded “fundamentally dishonest” by a judge.
Debbie O’Connell, 37, who went on to win two gold medals at the Invictus Games after being medically discharged from the forces, tried to blame the MOD for her accident.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to The Blackpool Lead to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.