A town centre car park is set for an upgrade after a deal has been struck with Network Rail

Work will see the entrance to Banks Street Car Park relocated from Banks Street to just north of Blackpool North Station on Springfield Road, as part of the Talbot Gateway regeneration scheme.

Blackpool Council has struck a deal with Network Rail to enable the changes to be made, with the project involving land swaps and the need to relocate a building on the station site.

Muse Developments, which is the council’s partner in the Talbot Gateway, applied for planning permission back in 2017 for the work.

Agreement has now been reached for the council to contribute £470,000 towards the scheme, with Network Rail providing a similar sum.

A council report says the investment “will remove traffic from residential roads and improve the access and accessibility to this parking area.”

The car park, which has 230 bays, is close to Blackpool North Station, the new Holiday Inn Hotel nearing completion and office space being built in the Talbot Gateway.

A wider underpass is being built under High Street to give people access between the train station and the new tram stop being built as part of the Holiday Inn site.

To create the new car park entrance, a mess building on the station site which is used by drivers and conductors will be relocated, and the existing building demolished.

The report adds: “The council has been in negotiations with both Network Rail and Northern Rail regarding this for a number of years and have recently come to an agreement that if the council contributes £470,000 (approximately 50 per cent) to the cost of the building relocation the remainder will be found by Network Rail.

“These negotiations have now reached a stage where Network Rail have completed all of their necessary consultations and have identified a source of funding for the remaining relocation of the ‘mess building’ work.”

The council will also contribute £50,000 towards the cost of designing the new building as part of the deal, and must also find further funding to pay for a new junction layout at High Street and Springfield Road.