Windmill cordoned off after sails damaged on Blackpool landmark

Council chiefs have cordoned off the Grade II listed landmark on Preston New Road in Marton amid fears further debris could drop from the structure.

The sail was found on the ground early on Good Friday when it was decided to still go ahead with plans to hold an open day on Easter Sunday.

But the event had to be abandoned after parts of a second sail started to come loose in the wind.

The council, which owns the windmill, is now looking at what repairs need to be done.

A council spokesperson said: “ Unfortunately over the weekend a sail fell off Little Marton Windmill.

“A cordon is now in place while a survey is carried on the remaining sails. The broken sail will be removed and checks carried out to see if it can be repaired or if it needs to be replaced.”

The Friends of Little Marton Windmill said the open day had to be abandoned at around lunchtime on Sunday, and apologised to people who arrived in the afternoon hoping to see inside the building.

Shirley Matthews, of the Friends Group, said: “We had to close in the middle of our Easter opening as a sail had dropped off.

“We cordoned it all off as the sail was on the ground but we were all told to leave later that day when the council worker came round.

“It was awful as there were queues of families still waiting to get in. The whole area is now cordoned off as another sail looks in disrepair.”

The windmill was built in 1838 by John Hays on the site of an earlier mill and operated until around 1923, and was externally renovated in 1968.

It regularly opens to the public, thanks to a team of volunteers, with demonstrations about the milling process.

The windmill, which is the last of four mills that once stood in the Blackpool area, last had its sails renovated around 14 years ago.

In 1987 it underwent an £88,000 renovation project, and in 1983 was named a Grade II-listed building by English Heritage. A blue plaque was unveiled at the site in 2015.