Developer appeals rejection of Blackpool cinema-to-storage swap

The council wants to see Festival Leisure Park remain as an entertainment complex but Austringer Capital claims there is no interest from occupiers.

The developer has lodged an appeal against Blackpool Council’s decision to refuse permission for the conversion of the cinema into a self-storage facility.

Austringer had previously secured permission to convert the now-vacant Odeon at Festival Leisure Park into a family entertainment centre, but last year the developer opted to take a different approach due to a lack of interest from potential occupiers.

Last summer, the developer submitted an application with Blackpool Council to convert the 130,000 sq ft former cinema into a self-storage facility with Storage King lined up to operate it.

Blackpool rejected the application in December, stating that the scheme would “undermine the council’s neighbourhood regeneration objectives”.

A statement of case prepared by Savills on behalf of Austringer disagrees with that assertion, stating that that project “delivers growth, development, and investment”.

The council was also not satisfied that other sites better suited to accommodating a self-storage facility had been explored.

Savills claims that this objection would not stand up under scrutiny as there is no policy that states an applicant must undertake a sequential test for employment uses, according to the statement of case.

At the time of writing, no date has been set for the hearing.

Elsewhere at Festival Leisure Park, there is a Bannatyne health club, a recently opened bingo hall, a McDonald’s, a Starbucks, and a Frankie and Benny’s.

To learn more about Austringer’s plans, search for reference number 23/0511 on Blackpool Council’s planning portal.