Blackpool homes set for demolition as planners approve £65m town centre campus

A Blackpool town centre neighbourhood is set to be demolished after planners gave the go-ahead for a £65m multiversity campus to be built.

The council’s planning committee unanimously approved an application for the demolition of an area including 59 homes, and an outline application for the construction of three buildings on the site.

The campus will be known as University Centre Blackpool (UCB) with buildings to be used by Blackpool and the Fylde College collaborating with Lancaster University.

Ed Harvey, associate director of real estate company Avison Young and acting as agent for the application, told the committee the area was a “sustainable location” for the development which would “help revitalise this part of town.”

The council has been assembling a site on streets between Cookson Street, Milbourne Street, George Street and Grosvenor Street in readiness for the development, and could also use compulsory purchase powers if necessary.

George Whyte, of George Street, told the meeting some residents were concerned about losing their homes and said other sites should have been considered instead.

These included land opposite Sainsbury’s on Talbot Road or the site of the former Syndicate nightclub on Church Street, which he said would have been “better than tearing down people’s homes.”

The campus will be built in two phases, with the first phase being a three to five-storey block to be occupied by Blackpool and the Fylde College.

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Phase two comprises two buildings which could also be used by the college, or used as flexible office space. Plans also include the pedestrianisation of George Street, public realm, tree-planting and the provision of 22 car parking spaces. 

Following the meeting Mr Harvey said: “It’s a big step forward for Blackpool’s future and an important next step in the ongoing regeneration of the town centre. The multiversity campus will be a beacon of opportunity for the town, inspiring lifelong learning and encouraging people to upskill. 

 “The Multiversity is just one of several projects that Avison Young is working on in Blackpool currently – including working with Muse and the council on the Talbot Gateway regeneration, Blackpool Football Club’s Revoe Community Sports Village and East Stand, and also the Blackpool Inner Area housing delivery project. We really believe in the potential of Blackpool and look forward to continuing our work in the town.” 

The council has received £9m from the Town Deal towards assembling the site, and £40m from the government’s Levelling Up fund towards the building of the campus.