Fragrance pushes on with Blackpool project
The hotel developer is to demolish St Chads Hotel and neighbouring buildings, replacing them with a new 157-bedroom hotel.
Demolition plans have now been filed by Turley acting for the Singapore-based firm, which also owns the Imperial Hotel in the resort and is developing Liverpool’s former Municipal Buildings.
The plans outline the demolition of buildings between the Promenade, St Chad’s Road, Woodfield Street, and Bolton Street, namely St Chads Hotel, the Lyric Hotel, the Regency Apartments, and the Seaside fish & chip shop.
Fragrance bought the 90-bedroom “value family hotel” in 2018 for an undisclosed sum, its third acquisition in Blackpool.
Fragrance intends to submit plans for a “high quality” replacement hotel on the plot in the second quarter of this year. Pre-application discussions have already taken place with Blackpool Council.
Architect Falconer Chester Hall, Geospatial Engineering Services, and Civil Remediation are on the professional team. Hydrock is also on the design team and providing various consultancy services including in acoustics, civil and structural engineering, MEP, fire, transport, and water environment.
The St Chads Hotel has been in situ since 1893, with the other buildings being added in stages up to 1912.
According to Turley, “the buildings are in a poor state of repair both structurally and cosmetically and, now vacant, are increasingly targeted by vandals and anti-social behaviour detracting from the character and appearance of the Promenade.”
St Chads is not a listed building nor is it identified on the local list, said the firm, which added that renovation in full or in part has been considered but dismissed, including the retention of the façade, but that this was ultimately ruled out “due to a range of factors such as various level changes within and between the buildings, the inadequacy of lift and stair-core locations, narrowness of internal corridors and window positions which precludes the creation of bedrooms of the size required by operators of modern hotels”.
Protective scaffolding was removed from Liverpool’s Municipal Buildings in autumn last year, where Fragrance is delivering a £40m redevelopment with Accor lined up as operator, through its MGallery brand. Fragrance also bought the Aloft hotel in Liverpool in 2021.
So glad to see something happening with the hotel my family and friends have had some good times at St chads hope to see a lovely hotel here again.
By Linda Cotton
Spent many holidays over the years at St Chads. It was a quaint Victorian hotel Mrs Whitacre ran the place and there was a first class breakfast and evening meal. Maureen was the manager in charge and Ellen was on reception. John Paul was the resident entertainer. As time went on Mrs W passed away, the hotel lost its magic. All the staff were brilliant it was a customer focused family hotel. As the new hotel will be built on the same site we look forward to seeing what the new hotel will look like. I wish the Fragrance group all the best in their new 40m venture. I will be one of the first to book a room at the new hotel!!
By Tony K