Hello and welcome to The Blackpool Lead.
It is likely no surprise to see United Utilities back on these pages. It was back in May that we reported United Utilities had more than doubled its pre-tax profits to £779m.
And while the subject of today’s report doubtless had a significant impact on water quality in Blackpool - it is absolutely worth noting that Blackpool North has been branded ‘poor’ since 2022.
United Utilities have been slapped with a big fine and promised to put the work in to make things right. But as Chris Webb told us, this is far from an isolated incident.
The Blackpool Lead spent the day at Preston Magistrates’ Court yesterday to hear all about it.
Blackpool briefing
🗳️ There are calls for a wholesale rethink of plans to abolish and replace all of Lancashire’s councils after ministers announced the process had been paused while checks are carried out to ensure it is lawful.
All 15 main local authorities in the county are due to be scrapped in April 2028 as part of a government-ordered restructure designed to streamline the council landscape in almost two dozen areas nationwide.
News of the hold-up prompted Lancashire County Council leader Stephen Atkinson to renew his previously rejected push for a local referendum on the subject.
Meanwhile, Wyre Council leader Michael Vincent said the process should now be abandoned completely – and the leader of Lancaster City Council, Caroline Jackson, insisted the government should go “back to the drawing board”.
The 15 existing Lancashire councils had already agreed to set aside £30m between them to cover the cost of the transition to the new arrangements. While it is understood that that cash pot has not yet been significantly dipped into, the individual authorities have had to absorb the direct and indirect costs of the work involved in answering the government’s call to come up proposals for their replacement. Five different visions were produced over the course of last year, collectively running to more than 800 pages.
Any elections set for 2027 will now go ahead as planned.
A spokesperson for Blackpool Labour, who lead Blackpool Council, said: “The reorganisation in Lancashire has been paused with immediate effect to allow due process to be followed. Lancashire joins 13 other areas announced in July, while decisions affecting four areas have been withdrawn, all to ensure the proper review can take place.
“Elections next May will still proceed on the existing Blackpool Council boundaries, and there will be no shadow elections for the new authority.
“We understand that many people will have questions, and we will continue to share updates as further information becomes available.
“Whatever happens next, our priority remains clear. We will keep working every day to build a better Blackpool, to make our town an even better place to live, work, and visit, and to deliver the best possible future for our residents.”
🛝 Demolition work has been carried out on an unsafe fire-damaged play ship in Anchorsholme Park which was targeted by arsonists last December.
The attack on the much-loved climbing ship on December 28 last year caused thousands of pounds of damage and much upset in the community and for the past nine months the ship has been fenced off.
Now £10,000 raised by the Friends of Anchorsholme Park towards the cost of replacement play equipment and an overhaul of the play area had been presented to Blackpool Council, which has overall responsibility for the park.
Anchorsholme councillors Paul Galley and Anita Cooper, along with Norbreck member Julie Sloman presented the community-raised funds to the council.
They had recently called on the council to push forward with the upgrade scheme and offer an update , raising concerns about the pace of progress on the project.
The councillors were also concerned that the £10,000 would have to be used for the demolition of the ship.
However, the council has confirmed it is paying for the demolition work so the money raised will go towards the upgrade of play equipment instead.
🏚️ Plans are being drawn up by Blackpool Council to tackle the issue of the town’s empty and derelict buildings which have been an ongoing scourge in the resort.
Latest reports show there were 1,500 empty homes in the resort last year, among the highest in the country.
Unoccupied shops, long-term empty B&Bs and deteriorating, disused hotels create a number of serious issues for Blackpool, but the council is also concerned about the number of empty houses.
Apart from the negative visual impression, empty houses also raise health and safety concerns, conflict with a serious shortage of affordable homes in the town and also impact financially through the deficit in council tax payments. They are also a magnet for vandalism.
Blackpool Council is the primary driver and co-investor behind the £350 million mixed-use regeneration Talbot Gateway scheme around Blackpool North train station, including the Multiversity, and has put an impressive bid in for the 2029 City of Culture accolade.
To deal with the run-down buildings issue, the council is setting up an Empty Property Strategy which will look at using a broad scale of approaches, ranging from guidance and support to various enforcement measures extending as far as Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPO).
United Utilities fined almost £1m after collapsed pipe during peak summer season
By Jamie Lopez
Significant economic and reputational impacts were felt across the Fylde Coast when a collapsed pipe resulted in untreated sewage being pumped into the sea.
United Utilities has been fined almost £1m following an incident which led to the public being warned against swimming in eight designated bathing waters in June 2023. Bacteria including E. coli was found in the sea after the water company pumped untreated sewage for 35 hours across 12 days in June 2023.
Preston Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday (7 September) heard the discharge was caused when a pipe which had been laid at the incorrect depth collapsed. The pipe had barely been inspected in almost three decades after installation and its breakdown meant the maximum water which could be processed at Fleetwood Wastewater Treatment Works was reduced by more than half.
When heavy rainfall occurred, this led to huge amounts of untreated waste being discharged into the Irish Sea from three pumping stations in Blackpool, Fleetwood and Anchorsholme and high levels of bacterial contamination being found by the Environment Agency. Checks by Surfers Against Sewage and the Citizens Scientists Group found E. coli was present in water which would normally be used by swimmers.
As well as causing a public health risk, the breach had a significant impact on visitor numbers which lasted throughout the summer, the court heard.
According to Blackpool Council, the spillage coincided with the start of Scottish summer holidays - when many flock to the resort - and at a time when the authority had spent £600k on an advertising campaign.
It said the negative press from the ‘no swimming’ warnings effectively wiped out the effects of this campaign and led to the water company paying it £250k to counteract this. The fall in visitor numbers across the summer was estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands.