Blackpool nudges plans for £90m Central Drive housing renewal forward
The regeneration of the most deprived neighbourhood in the North of England is gathering pace with plans to knock down 400 poor-quality properties and build 230 new ones expected to be submitted in the coming weeks.
Blackpool Council has launched a consultation revealing its plans for phase one of its ambitious attempt to overhaul the housing market around Central Drive, one of the poorest areas in the country.
The homes proposed would be a mix of terraced houses and apartments in buildings up to four storeys with between one and four bedrooms. They would be built on a cleared site around Central Drive spanning 10 acres. Blackpool Council is prepared to use compulsory purchase powers to assemble the land if necessary.
The scheme will also feature improved public realm and a local centre to serve the community.
A planning application is expected to be submitted in October or November.
The homes will be a mix of houses and apartments with between one and four bedrooms. Credit: via Blackpool Council
Of the £90.4m the authority has received from Homes England to get the project moving, £54.5m will be spent on acquiring and demolishing existing properties on Ashton Road, Central Drive, Chadwick Street, Erdington Road, Grasmere Road, Harrison Street, Kent Road, Montrose Avenue, Princess Street, Rigby Road, Rydal Avenue and Salthouse Avenue. Demolition work could begin next summer, the council has said.
The project is aimed at solving some of the problems that contribute to the area’s bleak health and socio-economic metrics.
Blackpool’s ‘inner area’ is characterised by high unemployment, poor health outcomes, drug use, and low levels of education, and poor-quality housing is a contributor these issues, according to the council.
Cllr Lynn Williams, Leader of Blackpool Council, said: “We’re making Blackpool better with new homes and better neighbourhoods. This is a huge opportunity and we want the views of people who live here to shape what that looks like.
“We’ve already had lots of conversations with communities and will continue to do so. These events are for anybody in Blackpool to see the bigger picture and help shape the plans.
“We cannot do this without local input. Residents and businesses are at the heart of these plans, and their feedback will make sure we do what’s best.”
As well as providing feedback on the phase one plans, residents are being asked to engage with the regeneration framework that has been crafted for the wider area by RLB, WSP, Cushman & Wakefield, and OPEN.
The framework – which covers an area of around 80 acres west to east from the Promenade to Park Road and north to south from Chapel Street to Rigby Road – points to dwindling tourism numbers in the 1960s as the starting point for the decline in the quality of housing stock in the town centre.
Guesthouses were converted into homes and, due to a lack of management and maintenance, this has resulted in an “extremely dysfunctional and unbalanced housing supply that attracts low-income and vulnerable households, resulting in increased anti-social behaviour and crime”, the framework states.
Amazing. Don’t forget cycle lanes for safe active travel!
By Curious
Like previous “housing renewal” programs which aimed to clear away parts of inner cities under the last Labour Government, this seems completely short sighted. When they talk of poor quality housing, what they mean is elegant Edwardian housing stock that could be brought up to standard for significantly less money (See Welsh Streets / Chimney Pot Park, and Homes for £1 schemes run in equally deprived areas of Liverpool and Stoke). simply demolishing housing and replacing with generic, value engineered housing will not eradicate inherent social problems and it seems wasteful to spend like this rather than supporting business development and growing long term, high value employment opportunities that is what our towns desperately need. Blackpool should be looking to create its own “Atom Valley”
By Andrew
@Andrew – I agree Blackpool has some big issues on the socio economic front. Walking around near the tower was a sad sight to see with lots of really young people, clearly victims of drug abuse. However Blackpool has Silicon Sands – which is data centre focussed and has huge power capacity, an active Local Authority and land! With a rich history as a data centre location – so I believe they are focussed on that.
By Annie Baines
This is fantastic news, it will make a massive difference to the whole of Blackpool, Central drive and surrounding area has caused a lot of problem over the years, that does not apply to everyone, my own mother lives in this area and sees the decline, she is happy that finally there is hope for the young families to be proud of where they live. Looking forward to Blackpools future.
By Mrs McDonald
Hideous identikit house and flats to replace buildings with character that could be renovated for less money and with a much lower carbon footprint
By Anonymous
And all the people who are now living in those areas of 400 houses where will they go to to live ? I doubt they can fit into or will be able to afford one of the 230 replacement homes when finished.
Any answers?
By ?
Has to happen stayed I Blackpool last month and walked this corridor for a couple of days…. scary, needs investment as a priority.
By Kieran
Judging by these comments, these people have no idea how bad the housing is on the central drive area. “Elegant Edwardian housing stock” this is not. Of you are unfamiliar with the area then take a look on Google Maps before politicising the issue.
By Anonymous
Absolutely fantastic something is being done to the eyesore of this area
By Margaret Clayton
Yet again Blackpool will eradicate the redbrick historical houses with out of reach ” social housing ” for many of its residents struggling with low incomes and replace it with architecturally benign structures .
Why do they not learn from Morcambe which has invested in its heritage and local buildings in the past and benefitted in increased foot fall
By Anonymous
Putting all the “common people” to live in flats where they can be more easily controlled by the English elite.
Ps. Why do architectural drawings only show young, attractive people in their drawings? Where are the elderly, those in wheelchairs, dog walkers etc.?
By John dover
Should have been done years ago to many barbers shops
By Frank curran
@Andrew You have hit the nail on the head. This proposal looks value engineered to the nth degree and will do nothing to stop a downward spiral of decline. They should learn from what other towns and cities have done and refurbish.
That would also save costs on compulsory purchasing!
By Heritage Action
They need to put the reality on the CGI images – it’s very sad to see what Blackpool has turned into and I too found it quite terrifying walking around on my own – I would not want to be near the tower at night.
By Annie Baines
Well done to Homes England and Blackpool Council on this. Don’t cling on to past glories, acquire, clear and rebuild. Other northern towns and cities need similar interventions.
By Anonymous
Blackpool could potentially become the côte d’azur or Riviera of the north. The town is a stones throw away from the lake district, one of the most beautiful regions not only in the uk but in Europe. With the climate becoming warmer people may well want to holiday in towns like Blackpool. For this to be rendered possible, the town would need to undergo a radical change. There are some Edwardian buildings worth renovating granted but many others are not of great architectural interest and would need to be demolished. Indeed most of the town would need
to be demolished. A new town planning would be implemented which would include new wide tree lined roads even boulevards with private residential villas and town houses overlooking the sea with luxury hotels. This would boost the local economy and give decent salaries to the local population. And with the upgrade of Blackpool airport, people from Europe would visit.
I do not believe that transforming Blackpool into a giant amusement park is the solution. For all those interested you may check out the town of Deauville in France as an exemple of what I mean.
By John
It seems ridiculous that more than £54m of the £90m will be spent on demolition! I hope they will be selective in what they demolish so they can refurbish what is salvageable and save money.
By Anonymous
I’d have thought that £54m to demolish some of the mess that currently exists in Blackpool is cheap at half the price. So much surplus housing of poor quality that needs removing.
By Anonymous