Hello and welcome to The Blackpool Lead.
Facial recognition technology is a thoroughly divisive matter and views will range from it being a necessary step to keep us safe to it being a dangerous infringements of our civil rights.
It’s 2026, so there is no room for nuance or middle ground in most debates. But we have done our best to capture that nuance in our reporting today.
Blackpool briefing
🪨 A decision on 17 rock headlands on Blackpool’s beach has been deferred by Blackpool Council’s planning committee.
Blackpool Council has vowed to spend more time working with the RNLI on the safety measures attached to the scheme.
The RNLI had delivered a 27-page objection against the proposal saying it would create a level of risk that could not be adequately protected against.
A spokesperson for the RNLI said: “The RNLI has objected to the scheme and welcomes the decision to defer the application for further consideration following representations made to the Planning Committee by the Chair of Blackpool RNLI.
“Our detailed objection sets out concerns about the effect the project, in its current form, could have on the RNLI’s ability to save lives and on the safety of those using the coastline.
“Many of the incidents attended by Blackpool RNLI occur close to the seawall, often during hours of darkness and in challenging sea conditions. The proposed introduction of multiple rock groynes could significantly affect our volunteers’ ability to launch quickly and access, assess and assist casualties. There are also concerns that the groynes could restrict access to areas of the foreshore currently used for safe lifeboat operations.
“While the RNLI supports efforts to protect and preserve the coastline, it is vital that any proposal does not adversely affect our lifesaving service or our ability to operate effectively. Our focus remains firmly on saving lives at sea.”
A spokesperson for Blackpool Council said: “The Planning Committee has deferred a decision on the Blackpool Beach Management Scheme so that more time can be spent working with the RNLI on the scheme’s safety measures.
“The planning committee report recognised the work already undertaken to mitigate safety concerns and acknowledged that the council has taken its duty to protect the public seriously.
“The Blackpool Beach Management Scheme is vital for protecting more than 4,000 properties from flooding and coastal erosion, while helping to preserve Blackpool’s sandy beaches for future generations.”
🍔 Police are objecting to a Blackpool restaurant and takeaway’s late night premises licence application after raising safety concerns.
Fusion Bites, based at 54 Talbot Road, submitted an application to Blackpool Council to obtain a premises licence for the first time.
Applicants CM worldwide Ltd have requested permission for the provision of late night refreshment, covering Monday to Sunday between the hours of 11pm and 5am, with opening hours from 8am through to 5am each Monday to Sunday.
The applicants have made it clear the licence will not be used to allow alcohol or live music, but simply to provide food at a later hour each night.
However, Lancashire Police say the establishment’s lack of experience in late night opening in a busy location surrounded by bars, coupled with the lack of CCTV and door staff, means there is a genuine concern about crime and disorder.
☔ A Blackpool mental health charity has reopened its South Shore hub almost a year after massive storm damage left it uninhabitable.
Counselling In The Community’s (CITC) Waterloo Road base was reopened this afternoon by Chris Webb, MP for Blackpool South, alongside CEO and Founder Stuart Hutton-Brown.
The hub was forced to close last October after storms caused extensive damage throughout the building, with water ingress badly damaging ceilings, walls and floors on both floors and leaving more than 100 people a week at risk of losing access to their therapy sessions.
Its reopening has been made possible by funding from the government’s £1.5m Pride in Place Impact Fund, secured by Chris Webb MP and allocated by Blackpool Council.
Around £40,000 of those funds has gone towards the repair works, while a further £100,000 has been put up to allow the council to purchase the building outright – securing its future as a community-owned asset.
The refurbishment has also added two extra counselling suites and improved accessibility throughout, alongside the hub’s existing sensory room.
Facial recognition software watched Switch-On punters for the first time
By Michael Holmes
Police in Lancashire have been accused of being Big Brother bobbies by privacy groups after rolling out facial recognition technology at the Switch-On.
Top brass said a live camera feed was used to compare revellers on Friday against a “predetermined, secure watchlist of individuals for serious offences, subject to court orders, or who pose a risk to the public or to themselves”.
They claim that the controversial technology - introduced amid increased anti-terror measures along the Promenade - can keep innocent people safe and help officers net bad guys.
The cameras are now expected to be used elsewhere in the county, too.
But they have been criticised by human rights organisations, including Liberty, a non-profit aimed at defending freedom, and Big Brother Watch, a civil liberties campaign group.
“This is an enormous expansion of the surveillance state,” Big Brother Watch said.
It added: “We must stop this dangerously authoritarian surveillance now.”
In a media release posted to its website on Tuesday, Lancashire Police quoted Ch Supt Chris Hardy, who oversaw policing in Blackpool and on the Fylde coast as superintendent, as saying that the force takes people’s “privacy very seriously”.
