Agenda item

To consider progress on the various projects being undertaken to secure the regeneration of Blackpool Town Centre following the last update in April 2021, and to inform the Committee of planned future work.

Mr Nick Gerrard, Growth and Prosperity Programme Director gave a presentation on the regeneration projects ongoing in the town centre as part of the Councils £1bn+ Growth and Prosperity Programme. Information was provided on the progress of individual projects and funding opportunities going forward.

The Committee was informed that data showed that people were returning to the town centre following the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions. This included footfall in the town centre being recorded at 2.5m visits in December 2021 which represented an 85% increase on 2020 and a 34% increase on 2019.

Town centre shop vacancy remained a concern with 23.2% of shops being vacant in November 2021, although this had since fallen. This issue would therefore be taken into consideration as part of the revision of the Town Centre Strategy. The Strategy had been created in 2013 and would be updated to take into account issues such as the changing local and national priorities, Covid-19 recovery and the Climate Emergency Declaration. Initial consultations on the Strategy had started in January 2022 and an action plan would also be developed which would be refreshed every five-years. In response to a query, Mr Gerrard confirmed that the action plan would also include a communications plan to highlight the benefits of the work being undertaken in the town centre to local businesses and residents.

The Strategy would look to address the number of shop vacancies by making the town centre more attractive to retailers. It was hoped that if footfall could be increased through bringing more people into the town through projects such as new offices and leisure attractions then new shops might be opened.

Mr Gerrard updated the Committee on major investments in the town centre. He reported that over £830m had been spent in the last ten-years and a further £1bn was being or would be invested in the town centre and the wider borough on projects such as the Talbot Gateway Phases Two and Three, the Winter Gardens Conference Centre and Blackpool Central.

It was forecast that phase two of the Talbot Gateway project would be complete by the end of 2022 and would deliver a new hotel and pedestrian links from Blackpool North Train Station to the tramway and other public transport. Phase three of the project had also been agreed for a major new office block in the town centre which would house approximately 3,000 employees of the Department for Work and Pensions. Enabling work for the project had begun in early 2022, with contract working beginning in the summer with completion planned for 2024.

Work had also begun to prepare for the £300m leisure investment in Blackpool Central. The project would create new leisure attractions in the town centre and create up to one thousand new jobs. The opening of a “flying” theatre in Windsor was highlighted by the Committee, asking if this meant the claim that Blackpool’s theatre would be the first of its kind in the country would no longer be correct. Mr Gerrard responded that the planned flying theatre in Blackpool would be much bigger than the one opened in Windsor and would be unique in the experience it could offer.

Elsewhere in the town investment in the quality and stock of hotel rooms would eventually deliver an additional nine-hundred and seventy new beds across Blackpool in existing and new hotels such as the four star Holiday Inn at Talbot Gateway.

The Committee was also informed that the Winter Gardens Conference Centre had opened following its completion and that the first major event, a party political conference, was scheduled for spring 2022.

Mr Gerrard also reported that work on Blackpool’s first dedicated town museum, “Showtown” had begun at the new Sands hotel in August 2021 and was planned for completion by April 2023. It was estimated that once finished the museum would attract nearly 300,000 visitors each year.

Main works had also begun on the Houndshill Phase Two Extension. The extension would house the relocated Wilko store from Talbot Road, two restaurants and a unique multimedia cinema/conferencing and entertainment centre. The project was estimated to cost approximately £20m of which £5m had been provided by the national Getting Building Fund.

Abingdon Street Market’s refurbishment was also considered, with Mr Gerrard reporting that £3.64m would be invested to improve the existing retail area and create new food and drink areas to attract visitors. He also stated that the project, which was funded by the Getting Building Fund, had shown the importance of preparation work which had enabled a successful bid to be made and allowed refurbishment work to begin on the site promptly after funding had been received.

The use of funding received from the Welcome Back Fund of £345,543, was highlighted. This money had been used to fund projects such as the creation of an outdoor eating area in St John’s Square, the beautification of the town centre and a number of safe celebration events during the summer of 2021.

Members of the Committee were also informed of the £1.5m invested in the Heritage Action Zone (HAZ) project. This money had been used improve storefronts in the façade of the Winter Gardens, establishing a creative hub on Topping Street, a pilot of lets in the town centre for creatives to live and work, and support a high street cultural events programme.

Money had also been secured as part of the Blackpool Town Deal for five town centre projects. This included £500k for a Youth Hub to support young people into work, £4.5m for The Edge project to create new modern office space for new start-up businesses, a further £4.5m for the Illuminations to deliver new attractions and upgrade infrastructure and £9m for the site assembly for the Multiversity project to relocate Blackpool and the Fylde Coast College to a new carbon neutral campus in the town centre.

The Town Deal would also deliver £7m towards the £34m required for the relocation of the Blackpool Courts to a new site on Devonshire Road. This project would deliver the land needed for additional leisure attractions in central area and allow for the construction of modern new court buildings for Blackpool. Noting that it was important for the Council to have control of the land for any proposed new development, the Committee asked why a compulsory purchase order had not been used to secure the Courts site. Mr Gerrard explained that as the land was owned by the Crown, a CPO could not be used and therefore the Courts’ agreement to a move was needed.

Mr Gerrard also reported that whilst the Council had not been successful in securing funding for three projects in its first round of bidding from the Levelling-Up Fund this did not prevent it being able to bid into the second round that would be held later in 2022, for which the Council was awaiting the publishing of the relevant criteria.

The Committee also discussed the release and subsequent retraction, of information that could have potentially been used to identify the location of the Multiversity project in November 2021. Mr Gerrard explained that until the Council was certain that it had the funds to pursue the site assembly it did not want to prematurely release information that could cause unnecessary uncertainty.  Discussions would only commence with those affected after the Government had confirmed the funding. He also explained the compulsory purchase process and noted that if such a course of action were necessary then it would be the responsibility of the Council to demonstrate that there was a compelling case in the public interest.

Risk associated with the various projects was discussed, with members of the Committee asking what mitigation was in place. Mr Gerrard explained that all projects had a number of hurdles to overcome which required work to ensure they were viable and risks mitigated. All proposals were also monitored by the Council’s statutory Section 151 Officer, Mr Steve Thompson, ensuring that all projects were properly developed financially. The Council also undertook vigorous due diligence of any proposals by potential partners to determine if they were deliverable. Important mitigation also included the Council retaining control of the land even if a project could not be delivered.

The Committee agreed:

1.         That the report be noted; and

2.         That the presentation slides be shared with members of the Committee.