Construction begins on Blackpool’s £65m Multiversity
Morgan Sindall Construction is the main contractor for the 115,000 sq ft educational building, which is being developed in partnership by the council and Blackpool and The Fylde College.
The £65m Multiversity will shortly begin rising out of the ground within Blackpool’s Talbot Gateway regeneration area, maintaining development momentum in the area following the completion of a £100m hub for the DWP last year and the start of construction of a £45m MoD office last year.
Once complete, the Hawkins\Brown-designed Multiversity will offer more than 70 courses for higher education students. The facility’s USP is that the courses on offer are linked directly to local employment needs, smoothing the path to employment post-studies.
The project would also produce benefits for the local economy, with almost 3,000 students and staff expected to flood into the town centre.
Cllr Lynn Williams, Leader of Blackpool Council, said: ““Creating a new college campus in the heart of the town centre will provide real opportunities for local people to develop new skills, improve their employment prospects and raise aspirations.
“Together with the DWP office that opened last year, the relocation of NHS Business Services Authority staff to Bickerstaffe Square, and the new government office under construction on Talbot Road, these developments will bring more than 8,000 people into the town centre, increasing footfall, supporting local businesses, making Blackpool better and creating new opportunities for Blackpool residents.”
Work to clear the site, following a successful CPO, is concluded recently, paving the way for Morgan Sindall to start on site. Construction is expected to complete in time for the 2028/29 in-take.
Steven Gregory, area director at Morgan Sindall Construction, said: ““Over the past few years, an enormous amount of work has gone on behind the scenes by Blackpool Council, Blackpool & The Fylde College, our project partners and the wider delivery team to carefully shape and prepare this scheme for construction.
“Seeing work now begin on site is a significant milestone and a real testament to the collaboration, commitment and shared ambition of all those involved. This development will be transformational for Blackpool, creating an inspiring new education hub in the heart of the town centre while helping to drive opportunity, regeneration and long-term economic growth for the community.”
Phase two of the scheme could provide a further 130,000 sq ft of educational, office, or research space. Plans for this will come forward in due course.
To me Talbot Gateway is the least aesthetically pleasing cluster of bland buildings on the Fylde coast. Coming down Talbot Rd. waking between these mainly square glass buildings channels the wind between them and is most unpleasant. There are no green spaces and the narrow planted areas opposite the car park entrance the bushes are dead. For people arriving by train, bus or tram it is as if they have gone to a large city not a seaside resort. A so called Gateway should have been pleasing to the eye perhaps with artworks and landscaping to me this is not well thought out.
By Anonymous
Only the stupid Blackpool council could put a building of this nature in such a ridiculous position. An area already over crowded.
By Anonymous