Blackpool’s Odeon lined up for overhaul

Plans to redevelop the centrepiece of the Festival Leisure Park as an indoor sports venue are expected to secure the green light.

According to an application going before Blackpool Council’s planning committee on 26 July, Austringer Capital intends to convert the building into four food and drink units and family entertainment centre.

The architect for the project is Bowman Riley and the planner WSP. The plans are recommended for approval.

The Odeon, a three-storey 45,000 sq ft building, is the centrepiece of the Festival Leisure Park, which also includes a Bannatyne’s gym, a McDonald’s drive-thru and a Frankie & Benny’s.

There is also a large bingo hall under construction on a neighbouring plot. The cinema group’s lease expires in 2023.

What is proposed is a family entertainment centre, which could include space for pursuits including bowling, trampolining, indoor golf, climbing walls and a Ninja Warrior-type facility.

As set out in WSP’s planning statement, the intention is for one operator to run all activities.

The applicant has been meeting with the council since summer 2021 for pre-application advice, initially failing to convince officials that enough consideration had been given to the project’s impact on the town centre, the Blackpool Central site and the nearby local centre on Central Drive – the site sits around 300m south of the town centre boundaries.

Other issues to overcome have included façade improvements, provision of EV charging points and the number of food & beverage units. There will now be 13 charging points, along with 12 motorbike parking spaces.

Bowman Riley’s design and access statement said that the plan is to remove the “tired and dated” cream cladding panels and replace them with new triangular panels and projecting triangular windows, “adding elevational interest to the frontage”.

In conclusion, the architect said: “The decline in cinema use in recent years gives the opportunity to sustainably re-use an existing building, creating employment in the local area and bringing an exciting and active leisure facility to the town. Four food and drink units will give a more active frontage to the unit and enhance the variety of offerings on the leisure park.”

Included within the planning documents is a submission from Fylde coast agency Duxburys Commercial confirming that it is unaware of any other sites in the area that could house such a requirement.