Indigo to operate Blackpool’s £25m Post Office hotel  

Cheshire-based Ashall Projects has lodged an application to convert the grade two-listed Abingdon Street building into a 148-bedroom hotel.   

The developer is working in partnership with Blackpool Council and Indigo Hotels Group to deliver the scheme, which is the subject of a Levelling Up Fund bid. 

The redevelopment of the former Post Office building is expected to cost £24.8m, according to the council, and the levelling up cash would be used to plug a £7m viability gap.

The Post Office opened in 1910 and closed in 2007.  Many of its original features, including its marble floors, would be retained under the plans, designed by Franklin Ellis Architects.  

“[The council] fully supports the plans to bring this key historic property back to life,” said Cllr Lynn Williams, leader of Blackpool Council.

“This upscale hotel development will attract business and leisure guests to the centre of Blackpool all year round for the benefit of local businesses.” 

Ashall Projects has experience in developing hotels, including the £18m Aloft in Liverpool.   

The former Royal Insurance building on North John Street was converted into a 116-bedroom hotel in 2013.  

“There are many similarities between our work in Liverpool and what we plan to do in Blackpool,” said Mark Ashall, director of Ashall Projects. 

“The building there had been derelict for 20 years and was in such a poor condition that it had been placed on the National Buildings at Risk register. That’s hard to believe when you look at it now.”