Inside the collapse of the Indigo Hotel scheme as Blackpool Council step in

Plus: Spire Fylde Coast Hospital being lined up for sale

Hello and welcome to The Blackpool Lead.

The plans to turn the Abingdon Street Post Office building into a four-star hotel have been in the works for a long time, but it was recently announced developers would be walking away from the multi-million pound scheme.

It leaves Blackpool Council with another stalled regeneration project on their hands, and books. Michael Holmes reports on how we ended up here as the Indigo Hotel group pulled out.

There’s also news on a potential sale of the Spire Fylde Coast Hospital in St Walburgas Road.

Luke’s taking a well-earned break this week, but the news doesn’t stop and we’ll be back in your inbox on Sunday with plenty more digging into what’s happening under the surface of Blackpool. You’ll need to be a paid subscriber to The Blackpool Lead to view Michael’s full report into Abingdon Street.

Private hospital Spire being considered for sell-off

The group behind the private Spire Fylde Coast Hospital in Blackpool has confirmed it is considering a sale.

In a statement to the stock market, Spire Healthcare said it is exploring a “range of potential options, which may include (but is not limited to) a potential sale of the company”.

But it said the process is “highly preliminary and no decision has been made regarding whether any such option will be pursued at this stage”.

It cannot guarantee any offer will be made and confirmed it has yet to receive an approach.

Spire is working with its lead financial adviser Rothschild & Co to “actively evaluate appropriate action that could drive long-term shareholder value”.

The group’s statement was made in response to media reports, which said top investors had called on the healthcare firm to consider selling at a price of at least £3.40 per share.

One expert said private hospital groups are being eyed by overseas companies.

Michelle Tempest from the consultancy Candesic said: “There is a lot of US appetite for UK hospitals at the moment as private providers in the US are under pressure from Medicaid cutbacks, whereas in the UK there are opportunities to expand.”

Spire Fylde Coast in St Walburgas Road, a stone’s throw from the NHS-run Blackpool Victoria Hospital, is one of 38 hospitals and more than 50 clinics across the UK run by Spire Healthcare.

It does not offer emergency care but says on its website it provides “a full range of treatments, tests and scans”, specialising in bones and joints, cosmetic surgery, eye surgery and treatments, men’s health, scans and investigations and women’s health.

It also offers back surgery, cataract removal surgery, gallbladder/gallstones removal, hernia surgery, hip replacement surgery and knee replacement surgery.

Recommended reading this week

💡 Some news to light up those darkening evenings as the town's Lightpool Festival is to run on for longer. Additional funding has been put in by the Business Improvement District. A total of 18 nights will see the glow of the national and internationally made light installations. Richard Hunt has more detail on what's happening in The Gazette.

🎧 Some listening rather than reading, the latest episode of The Other Side of Blackpool Podcast is out and it digs into the lack of disabled parking spaces in Blackpool. As a town, more disabled people live here than any other town in England. Yet, good luck trying to find somewhere to park!

🧒From our national title, The Lead, there's a stark story about the choices women, and their partners, are making when it comes to the rising cost of childcare. Scarlet Hannington reports on strategic c-sections and a birthday date lottery when it comes to promises of funded childcare support despite the expansion of the 'free' childcare scheme in recent years. Scarlet’s also penned a very useful edition of The Lead Untangles looking at the cost of childcare.

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Another high-profile Blackpool regeneration project is in ruin

The former Post Office building

By Michael Holmes

“Blackpool is edging closer to a tipping point.”

That was the verdict from a leading resort councillor after plans to open a £26m, four-star hotel in a prominent derelict town centre building collapsed.

Town hall bosses tried to spin the news positively, saying its move to buy the former post office in Abingdon Street, which has become a magnet for antisocial behaviour and vandalism since closing in 2007, means the Grade II-listed building's future is secure.

But the reality is another high-profile regeneration project lies in ruin after almost £1m has already been spent - the latest in a recent line of failures that includes the proposed £300m Blackpool Central scheme, which remains on ice after its developer went bust.

The Showtown Museum has been forced to make cuts and bring in new managers as part of its struggle for success.

And the Backlot Cinema has changed hands after its original operator said he could not make the finances work.