Blackpool readies for start on £65m Multiversity
Main contractor Morgan Sindall Construction is set to commence a phased demolition on the three-acre site off Cookson Street over the next few weeks, clearing the way for the 116,000 sq ft educational facility.
When work completes, Blackpool and the Fylde College’s Multiversity campus will be able to accommodate up to 3,000 students and staff, offering more than 70 courses across five floors. The project is part of Blackpool Council’s £350m Talbot Gateway scheme, which is regenerating the shore town’s centre.
“It’s really exciting to see the preparatory works for the Multiversity getting underway,” said Alun Francis, chief executive of Blackpool and The Fylde College.
“This project will regenerate a strategically important part of Blackpool town centre – and it will also launch a new model for delivering more flexible higher education that is better aligned to ‘real world’ market intelligence and student demand.
“The Multiversity will ultimately provide a range of new routes for learners that will boost local opportunities, social mobility and lead to highly skilled occupations that meet regional needs.”
But first, a series of homes need to be demolished. The first of these are those located on the corner of Grosvenor Street, Milbourne Street, and Charles Street. The entire demolition process is expected to take nine months and will begin over the next few weeks, according to the council. This will enable a 2026 construction start date and a September 2027 opening.
Most of the plots that make up the Multiversity site are owned by the council, with the remainder set to enter local authority ownership by the end of the summer.
“The Multiversity is a major part of our plans to make Blackpool better, replacing the very poor housing and benefiting the area and town centre,” said Cllr Lynn Williams, Leader of Blackpool Council.
“The creation of a new college campus with thousands of students will not only brighten up the area considerably, but it will provide a massive economic boost to the town centre and create more jobs for Blackpool people.”
Steven Gregory, North West area director for Morgan Sindall, described the demolition and site clearance as “a major step forward in delivering transformative benefits for Blackpool’s residents and town centre”.
He continued: “This landmark development will open up new pathways to advanced skills and help drive wider regeneration in the heart of the town. As construction gets underway, the Morgan Sindall team remains focused on working with local partners to help generate lasting social and economic value throughout the build programme.”
Blackpool Council will utilise the construction period to make improvements to the area’s traffic flow and pedestrian access. Money for this element of the scheme comes from the council’s £5.6m award from the government’s Town Centre Access Scheme.
Under the project, traffic light signal junctions are to be improved, Grosvenor Street’s road layout will be updated to handle two-way traffic, and new pedestrian crossings will be installed on Cookson and Grosvenor streets. The ability to turn right from Cookson Street onto Deansgate will also be introduced.
More is to come from the £65m Multiversity, with its second phase already in the development process. The land that this expansion would sit on will be used as a car park in the meantime.
Avison Young is the planner for the Multiversity, which was designed by architect Hawkins\Brown. CBRE provided advice.
The project team throughout the planning process also included Civic Engineers, KJ Tait, Fortis, Egnio, and Hydrock, now Stantec.
To learn more about the scheme, search reference number 24/0495 on Blackpool Council’s planning portal.
