Transport company handed almost £500,000 to keep buses and trams running

The finer details of the bailout are being kept out of the public eye

Hello and welcome to The Blackpool Lead.

It’s back to the trams and the buses for us in today’s issue, an issue we first reported in depth in December 2024.

The news of an almost £500,000 bailout being issued to Blackpool Transport comes in the same week it was revealed that the future of Tramtown was at serious risk.

We have the very latest on that included in today’s edition, too.

The Blackpool Lead is marking two years of publishing thorough, independent journalism this month. This January we are giving you a 20 per cent discount if you want to support our work and if you think proper reporting is important. Join us here.

Blackpool briefing

🎥 The new era may already be well underway at Blackpool’s Arc Cinema but the ink has only just dried on consent given for the huge new signage on the building. The former Backlot Cinema officially became part of the Arc Cinema group on Friday, November, 28, introducing a bold new identity and refreshed branding. That included the huge new, illuminated signage outside the building. Despite being in place since before Christmas, the planning application for the signs have only now just been formally approved by the council.

🍸 Police have raised concerns over a new premises licence application in respect of a Blackpool bar. Blackpool Council’s licensing Panel meets next week to consider a proposed variation of the designate premises supervisor (DPS) for the venue known as Pinkies, at 14 Dickson Road. The panel will need to consider whether the granting of this licence would adversely impact on the crime prevention objective. The application, for the transfer of the premises licence at the LGBT+ venue, is coming before the panel after Lancashire Police raised concerns that the designated supervisor would not be in the best position to take on that role.

🍔 The boss of a new food destination which will feature 19 repurposed shipping containers says it will be like nothing else in Blackpool. The Southbeach Streetfood project, which will open across the road from the Sandcastle Water Park and close to the Pleasure Beach Resort, will be a dynamic hub where locals and visitors can enjoy a wide variety of cuisines and live entertainment. Although originally expected to open around Easter, it is now planned to be launched in the early summer, offering a lively community atmosphere. Behind the fencing which currently surrounds the site, work has been underway for months after Blackpool Council granted the scheme planning permission.

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Transport company handed almost £500,000 to keep buses and trams running

A bus and a tram in Blackpool

By Michael Holmes

Almost £500,000 of taxpayers’ cash has been handed to Blackpool’s transport chiefs to keep the town’s buses and trams running, it can be revealed.

Town Hall bosses have lent Blackpool Transport Services (BTS), a council arms-length company, £478,000 to cover its bills for the month, though the finer details about the bailout are being kept under wraps.

It comes after claims that the resort’s heritage tram service was suspended last winter for financial reasons and not, as was claimed at the time, because of operational and safety-related concerns.

BTS needed the “financial support” in order to “make its January 2026 payments”, according to a report, which said the company was “facing a shortfall” for the month.

The document, seen by The Blackpool Lead, add: “The council proposes to provide an unconditional short-term loan … predicated on the company providing a business recovery plan at a future date within 18 months.”

As with all loans, there is “concern about repayments being made”, the papers warn, adding: “Blackpool Transport Services has a number of existing loan facilities with the council and loan repayments are included within their financial planning.

“The future restructuring of loans seeks to reduce the company’s loan repayment requirements, thereby reducing the risk of default.

“Should the required recovery plan not demonstrate a sustainable business model within a reasonable period of time, the ability of the borrower to meet these repayments is likely to be compromised.”

In a statement, the council’s cabinet member for economy and built environment, Cllr Mark Smith, said: “We’re really lucky in Blackpool to have a local authority-owned public transport company that can put the people of Blackpool first, which is the envy of many other places around the country.

“Like any company in the current climate, there are financial challenges that come from rising prices.

“By working together in the public interest, we can make sure that the impact isn’t felt by the people who use the buses and trams.

“In other situations with a privately run bus company focused on profits, increased costs would mean cutting routes or frequencies, but our control can make sure we balance the challenges in the short term, without impacting local people and the services they rely on to get around town.”

Blackpool’s heritage trams were taken off the tracks in December 2024, with BTS initially blaming operational and safety issues.

It later emerged that the railway regulator visited Blackpool shortly before the decision to halt the service and that two senior figures within the organisation had been suspended.

There were also redundancies among the team of engineers that service the tram.

The Blackpool Lead’s reporting on claims the decision was made for financial reasons was effectively confirmed when BTS’s head of heritage Bryan Lindop told the BBC £150,000 was needed to restore the service.