Inspector kicks out Blackpool car park bid

A local firm’s plans to replace the former Woolworths store in the South Shore area with a 40-space car park have been dealt a final blow at appeal.

Blackpool Council refused permission for RH Management to demolish the building and add a car park in April 2021. That decision has now been upheld by Planning Inspector Alison Partington.

The site in question sits at the junction of Bond Street and Waterloo Road, in the South Shore area.

Home to Blackpool’s second Woolworths store from the 1920s, it closed in 1994, although Hartes Homestore later traded from the site, closing at the start of 2019.

Although the building is vacant, it sits within a dense urban form and is locally listed.

As set out by the Inspector, the case was decided on two key areas: the character and appearance of the area, including its effect on various non-designated heritage assets, and road safety.

Even though the Inspector ultimately agreed that redevelopment of the building is unviable – despite it being “clearly an attractive example of an early 20th century department store” giving it aesthetic, communal and historic attributes – breaking up the sense of enclosure around the junction was deemed unacceptable.

Although the Inspector agreed demolition is the only realistic option, such is its interior dilapidation, she also stated that it had not been proven that the only viable use would be car parking.

On the issue of road safety, it was ruled that the proposed access to the site is too close to the junction of Bath Street and Waterloo Road, meaning that “the proposal would be detrimental to highway safety”.

RH Management was advised by Shepherd Planning and Keystone Design Associates.