Multiversity, BlackpoolCouncil, p via press release

Hawkins\Brown is behind the designs for the campus. Credit: Blackpool Council

Blackpool completes CPO for £65m Multiversity

The government has given the council the green light to acquire the remaining land and properties required to unlock the 115,000 sq ft education and skills project.

Blackpool Council has been buying up land for the scheme off Cookson Street, George Street, Grosvenor Street, and Milbourne Street over the past two years.

The decision from the Secretary of State for Housing Communities and Local Government allows a compulsory purchase order to be used if the council cannot come to agreements with remaining landowners through negotiation.

The decision is a major step forward for the Multiversity project. Morgan Sindall Construction can now mobilise to bring the scheme forward by late 2027.

The £65m Multiversity Campus will bring up to 3,000 students into the heart of Blackpool and will complement other schemes in the £350m Talbot Gateway Masterplan.

It is hoped construction will start in the summer. Once complete, the building will provide five floors of multi-use education space and will support people through qualifications from higher education to adult learning.

A green roof terrace at the south of the building will offer students an external space to study and relax.

The building itself will be carbon neutral in operation, using solar panels and air source heat pumps to maximise sustainability.

The council will continue to negotiate with those who are due compensation as a result of the CPO.

Cllr Lynn Williams, Leader of Blackpool Council, said: “The Multiversity is a major part of our plans to make Blackpool better, by bringing thousands of students into the town centre, creating a more vibrant town centre economy, and jobs for local people.

“Over the last two years, our staff have worked exceptionally hard to buy properties and support the people who have had to move house as a result. There are some properties where we haven’t been able to agree a price so far with the owners and the compulsory purchase order process means they would be independently valued to determine a final price if we are unable to reach agreement.

She continued: “Throughout the process, we have aimed to be as understanding and supportive as possible to any residents who have had to move home as a result of the scheme. That support continues to be in place, and if anybody is concerned then they can contact us for help.”

Multiversity, Blackpool Council, p via Blackpool Council

The buildings that have been acquired by the council. Credit: via Blackpool Council

Outline approval for the site was granted in 2024, and a reserved matters application for the first phase is due in the spring of this year.

Phase two will create expansion space for the plans of the college that remain in development, in the meantime, the cleared space will be used as a temporary car park.

Avision Young is the Multiversity scheme’s planning consultant, and the project’s design is led by Hawkins\Brown, while CBRE is advising.

The Multiversity makes up phase four of Blackpool Council and Muse’s Talbot Gateway area around Blackpool North train station, which will in total bring over 8,000 professional workers and students into the area.

A new town centre office for the Department of Works and Pensions will bring over 3,000 government workers into a new office on King Street this spring.

In addition, full planning permission has been granted for a new £45m, 52,950 sq ft office off Talbot Road which would be home to over 1,000 employees.

Plans for a new multi-storey car park off Church Street are expected to be submitted later this year.

The land for the new Multiversity is currently being acquired by Blackpool Council with the support of a £49m in government grants.

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