Hello and welcome to The Blackpool Lead.
Blackpool Council will be abolished in 2028 - and share power with shadow authorities in 2027 - but do not expect the Claremont by-election to be any less heated as a result.
Following the death of Cllr Ivan Taylor - who drew tributes from across the political spectrum and from across the country due to the length of time of his service and scale of his achievements - Claremont is expected to go to the polls on 1 October.
It will be a short term for whoever is elected thanks to local government reorganisation, but the candidates are already campaigning before Blackpool Council has even confirmed their identity.
The Blackpool Lead will be covering the build-up - and the by-election day itself - extensively in the coming weeks. Make sure you’re signed up to get it all .
Blackpool briefing
🪨 A plan to install 17 rock groynes on the southern end of Blackpool’s beach has been hailed as the saviour of its famous golden sands – but almost 60 people and the RNLI are objecting.
And councillors on Blackpool’s planning committee are set to make a decision on this controversial scheme when it comes up for determination next week.
The heavy rock groynes are seen by many as the only workable solution to halt the worrying loss of the resort’s precious golden sands, a habitat which is at risk of being eroded away forever.
Apart from the importance as a tourist attraction and as a natural marine habitat, the beach sand provides vital protection to the shoreline from the ravages of the sea at a time of climate change.
But opponents say the solid rock structures are not safe for children who face the risk of being trapped in the face of oncoming tides.
🛎️ Planners at Blackpool will make a decision next week on ambitious proposals to demolish an empty hotel near South Shore seafront and replace it with 15 self-contained flats.
The proposals will offer 33 percent of the apartments (a total of five) as affordable housing, if the scheme gets the go ahead.
The application is for the erection of a four storey building comprising 15 self-contained permanent apartments, following demolition of the former Henderson Hotel at 1 Wimbourne Place, a site close to Blackpool Pleasure Beach Resort.
The Henderson Hotel was one of three adjoining hotels being offered for sale early in 2025 at £1.9m as part of a potential redevelopment project.
The site comprised three buildings – the Waldorf Hotel, the Kimberley Hotel and the Henderson Hotel – which required demolition before development takes place.
However, the current application involves the Henderson Hotel only, with no reference made to the other two properties.
🐀 Residents living close to a former civil service office which is being transformed into flats say they are suffering from an outbreak of rats.
And they fear the rodents are coming from Mexford House, the one-time DWP office where work on the site is still ongoing.
The site, on Mexford Avenue in North Shore, was home to the DWP civil service offices until its closure in 2009.
In June 2024, a planning application for the “use of premises as 120 self contained flats with associated parking, access, bike store and bin store” was approved by planners at Blackpool Council, with a number of conditions.
That large-scale project is still ongoing on behalf of the owners, the Manchester-based Mexford Group, and residents believe the more recent site clearance has disturbed the rats.
Reform UK’s big Blackpool figure Mark Butcher hoping to take his seat at Blackpool Council
By Luke Beardsworth
A by-election will be held in Claremont after the death of Ivan Taylor - who was the UK’s longest serving councillor before his passing in July.
Cllr Taylor, who shared the ward with council leader Cllr Lynn Williams, died at age 86 after almost 60 years serving his community.
And while there is still over a week until candidates for the by-election are confirmed by Blackpool Council, it’s clear that Reform UK are going to campaign hard to take their fifth seat at the authority.
The election is expected to take place on Thursday, 1 October.
Mark Butcher, who twice lost to Labour’s Chris Webb in parliamentary contests for Blackpool South in 2024 but grew his vote significantly the second time round, is arguably Reform UK’s most recognisable face in Blackpool and will stand for Claremont ward.
He is known for his years at the head of the Amazing Graze Charity - the Bolton Street charity set up with the aim of helping the homeless and otherwise vulnerable in Blackpool.
When, in 2025, The Talbot was rechristened as the UK’s first ever Reform UK pub, it was Butcher who was smiling for the camera next to Nigel Farage as GB News and the Daily Mail visited.
And the pull of Reform UK in Blackpool continues to be strong - in campaign images shared over the last week is Rick Scott. In 2025, Rick Scott was the Conservative candidate in Greenlands ward as they finished second to Jonathan Morgan representing Reform UK. Before that, he had stood as an independent in the Bispham by-election of 2024.
But while Butcher has twice been selected as a parliamentary candidate in Blackpool for Reform UK, and is chairman of the Blackpool & Fleetwood branch, he remains a divisive figure. How much of that is because Reform UK continue to be divisive as a party is not entirely clear.
The enmity between Butcher and Reform UK’s leader of Blackpool Council, Jim O’Neill, is not especially well-documented - neither is keen to criticise the other on the record - but it is common knowledge.