Blackpool issues CPO to progress £65m Multiversity

Of the 72 plots within the nearly three-acre site subject to a compulsory purchase order, agreements have already been reached for 36.

The CPO, which was issued on 12 April, zeroes in on land off Cookson Street within Blackpool Council’s Talbot Gateway masterplan. This will become home to the £65m, 350,000 sq ft Multiversity – a flagship project that will offer courses in automation, sustainability, and artificial intelligence.

Planning permission for the Multiversity was secured by the council last month. Most of the funds required for the scheme have come from the government’s Levelling Up Fund and Town Deal programmes.

Alan Cavill, director of communications and regeneration at Blackpool Council, explained why the land acquisition was necessary for the Multiversity.

“The area is the only suitable space for the Multiversity in Blackpool, given the transport connections with the train, tram and bus,” he said.

“It is also the only location which has been granted funding for the Multiversity,” he continued.

“Extensive consultation has taken place on the project, with 86% of respondents positive or very positive about the scheme when surveyed in 2021.”

Regarding the issuing of the CPO, Cavill said: “We fully understand the impact on people living in the properties in the Multiversity area, as we are buying their homes.

“We continue to support any residents who have to move as a result, and nobody will be asked to move out without reasonable warning and support to find somewhere else suitable to live.”

Cavill continued: “We have also provided an advice service independent of the team negotiating to buy the properties and they are available to be contacted by any residents affected who have questions regarding the sale or support in finding a new home. This has not changed even though we are now in the next stage of the formal legal process with the CPO.”