Blackpool seeks £30m to fix colonnades by 2030

The council is bidding for grant from the Department for Transport £1bn Structures Fund to repair the grade two-listed part of its promenade.

Blackpool’s colonnades stretch for a kilometre from the Metropole Hotel to Gynn Square and are more than 100 years old.

As such they are in need of repairs and refurbishment. To pay for the project, Blackpool Council is seeking government funding of between £22.5m and £31.5m.

The £1bn Structures Fund launched in April and is aimed at providing funding for large road repair projects that local authorities cannot afford to fix themselves. It forms part of the government’s 10-year infrastructure strategy launched last year.

The colonnades include three sections: Lower Walk at Gynn Square Crescent, Middle Walk from Warley Road to Pleasant Street and Princess Parade by the Metropole.

The entire cost of refurbishing them is estimated at around £35m – more than 10 times Blackpool Council’s annual highways budget, according to the authority.

Cllr Jane Hugo, deputy leader of Blackpool Council, said: “Our famous colonnades are hugely important – they are part of our built heritage. Residents and visitors use the area to walk, stay active and enjoy life living on our beautiful coastline.

“We’ve been working on a plan to restore the colonnades back to their former glory. That’s not cheap. To afford the level of repairs the colonnades deserve, we would have to go without any road repairs for over ten years. That’s why we’re submitting to government our urgent need for extra funding so we can restore them.

“While we work on the funding bid, we’re not standing still. We’ve carried out some temporary repairs to open more entrances this spring, without risking people’s safety.”

Subject to funding approval, Blackpool Council is targeting completion by 2030.