Blackpool in 2025 - Multiversity, housing upgrade and sea defences
Hundreds of millions of pounds of investment coming to Blackpool in 2025 but making it a better place to live - not just visit - must be central to plans
Hello and welcome to the very first edition of The Blackpool Lead in 2025.
Come next Saturday (January 11), we will have been writing for you for a full year, in which we have reported exclusively on the extent of Blackpool’s housing crisis, the sewage in our sea, the loss of the heritage trams, food hygiene nightmares, the Multiversity and the inquiry that followed.
We also brought you hustings events ahead of the general election (and that by-election too!) to give residents in and around Blackpool a chance to directly quiz candidates to become the next MP.
We’re proud of what we achieved in 2024 but now we turned our attention to 2025 - and that will be the focus of today’s issue.
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Ten projects to transform Blackpool in 2025
Blackpool’s ambitious regeneration programme is set to make more progress in 2025 with the resort poised for hundreds of millions of pounds of investment.
Council leader Coun Lynn Williams said the new year would see further steps taken to improve residents’ lives.
It comes after a number of key projects were completed n 2024 including the Holiday Inn hotel and tramway extension and the opening of the Showtown museum and Backlot Cinema and Diner.
Coun Williams said: “After a year of significant openings in 2024, we are looking to continue that progress in 2025.
“Every regeneration project we do has a purpose designed to make Blackpool better for everybody who lives here. That includes regenerating the town centre at the Talbot Gateway, extending the tourism season to support local employment, or looking at new jobs that can be created in growing industries.
“The reason we are doing this is to support local people, either by creating jobs and training opportunities from the construction of buildings, or from the wider business impact of bringing a new office or business space into an area.
“In 2025, we start to deliver the £90m of funding we won from Homes England to create hundreds more genuinely affordable, quality homes for Blackpool residents which in turn will improve health and educational outcomes. We are currently seeking the views of local residents before this transformational scheme begins.
“Next year promises to be another exciting one for the town. January will see work start on demolition of the former police station and courts, paving the way for new opportunities in that area.
“The DWP offices will open in Talbot Gateway in the spring as will the new youth centre on Gorton Street. The work to protect our coastline will start in the summer with a new coastal protection scheme in Anchorsholme, further schemes are under development for Bispham and Central sections.
“All of these projects will bring growth and prosperity to Blackpool in 2025 and the years ahead.”
Projects include
Start of a £90m government funded scheme for whole-scale transformation of poor quality housing, focusing on the deprived inner wards including the Foxhall and Central Drive area.
Work to begin to build a £65m multiversity campus providing site assembly continues, with a decision due in January on a bid for a compulsory purchase order.
Project to protect Anchorsholme beach from rising sea levels to begin, with £11m of funding from the Environment Agency.
Development of new sea defence schemes which include £57m for the Blackpool Central Area Beach Nourishment Scheme, and £61m for the Little Bispham to Bispham Coast Protection Scheme, and the Gynn Square to Cocker Square Coast Protection Scheme.
Demolition of the police station and courts and marketing of the Blackpool Central site to find a new leisure developer.
Work to begin on building a new passenger handling facility at Blackpool Airport.
Completion of the new road linking the Blackpool Airport Enterprise Zone to Common Edge Road.
Completion of the £100m Civil Service hub on Cookson Street, and the start of construction of a £45m new office block on Talbot Road.
Completion of work to transform Stanley Buildings into a small business hub.
Work will hopefully begin on a new hotel opposite the Winter Gardens, and to transform the former Post Office on Abingdon Street into a hotel.
Decision on Multiversity CPOs due for early 2025
Blackpool’s £65m multiversity development is described as being a key part of the town’s regeneration plans. Designed to offer a “a world class learning facility”, the plan aims to attract more students, improve prospects for locals and create better links with businesses.
To enable those ambitious plans, homes and businesses living on a parcel of land between Cookson Street, Milbourne Street, George Street and Grosvenor Street, right next to the town centre and within the Talbot Gateway development area, will be demolished.
Thanks to a £9m pot of Government funding, offers have been made for all the affected properties but for those where no sale is agreed, Blackpool Council may be able to force their sales.
All of this was heard in late-2024 when evidence was heard at the Multiversity inquiry - reported on in full exclusively by The Blackpool Lead. The council is looking to use Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPOs) to complete the deals.
It feels inevitable that the council will be given licence to enact those CPOs in early 2025 when a decision is due. But it will be important to ensure the council is held to account in mitigating the impact on those affected in the area.
Housing upgrade overdue, but essential, for Blackpool
A £90m housing investment programme which will transform Blackpool’s rundown inner areas was approved in May 2024.
It was agreed to designate streets between Chapel Street, Central Drive, Rigby Road and the Promenade as the Central Intervention Area which will be the focus for the first phase of redevelopment.
Interventions proposed to improve the housing landscape in Blackpool’s inner area – and in turn the lives of its residents – include:
Private renting enforcement action
Selective stock clearance
Redevelopment along with refurbishment with a focus on investment in quality
Energy efficiency improvements
Public realm enhancements ensuring a balance of public and private space to enable sustainable communities to thrive.
Lynn Williams, Leader of Blackpool Council, said: “Housing-led regeneration has been our obsession for over 10 years, it is a huge priority for us.
“The scale of transformation needed is not to be underestimated. We want to create a mix of high-quality homes in safe and welcoming neighbourhoods with good local amenities, green open spaces and places to play and be together.
“We want to see communities where people want to live and stay for the long term”.
We have reported extensively on the challenges faced by some residents in Blackpool - particularly when it comes to damp and mould.
Blackpool will continue face challenges around social, economic and demographic deprivation and regenerating areas in a way that keeps them affordable for people who need places to live needs to be a priority.
Work to begin on Blackpool Airport passenger handling facility as part of 2025 investment
Work is due to begin early in the new year on a new passenger handling facility at Blackpool Airport as part of major investment in the air hub in 2025.
It is hoped the development, which is part of a replacement administration block, will be ready by the spring after a planning application was approved last September.
It will enable the airport to handle larger aircraft than at present such as charter flights.
January is a challenging time for the hospitality and leisure industries as people recover from Christmas expenditure.
This can mean there’s less to do in any area and, with that in mind, we’re working extra hard in January to bring you our recommendations of things you can do.
Thank you for reading. We’ll speak to you again soon.
Luke & Ed
Things to do in Blackpool in the first full week of January
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