Blackpool Post Office building hotel scheme in doubt as funding bid fails again

Blackpool Council had sought £8m from the Levelling Up fund towards the cost of converting the historic building on Abingdon Street into a hotel.

But while the town received £40m towards creating a multiversity campus in the town centre, the Post Office project and a traffic access project were both rejected.

The council says it will now investigate alternative options to secure the funding for the Post Office but could not say what these might be.

Ashall Projects, which is proposing to develop the building, said it would also be looking at other ways of proceeding.

A Blackpool Council spokesperson said: “We are obviously disappointed that the Post Office hotel scheme has not been successful in this bidding round.

“It is nevertheless an excellent scheme that would deliver an exceptional offer to Blackpool and we will now review next steps to determine whether there are any other funding options that are open to us.”

Mark Ashall, the managing director of Ashall Projects, said: “We’re disappointed at the decision and reviewing the position to see whether we can find other ways of proceeding.”

A previous bid for £7m from the Levelling Up fund towards the Post Office development was turned down in November 2021.

Ashall Projects wants to convert the building, which has been empty for 15 years, into a 144-room boutique style hotel which would be part of the Hotel Indigo brand.

Full planning permission was granted in November 2021 but a revised planning application was submitted in December 2022.

The latest application is for construction of a four and five storey link extension with roof top terraces between the former Post Office and sorting office, a three storey rear extension to the former Post Office and internal and external alterations to both buildings.

Also proposed are terraced areas in the courtyard following the demolition of the existing fourth floor roof extension to the former sorting office.

The Post Office closed in 2007, with the sorting office moving to a new site in Bispham in 2015.