March start for £300m Blackpool Central
Contractor Ballast Nedam is preparing to begin construction of a 1,300-space multistorey car park, the first phase of Nikal and Media Invest Entertainment’s 17-acre town centre leisure scheme.
Documents lodged with Blackpool Council suggest Ballast Nedam will start work on Monday 21 March.
Blackpool Council approved a hybrid planning application for the £300m Blackpool Central in October, paving the way for the Dutch contractor to start work.
The car park is being delivered first in order to enable the later phases of the scheme, and ensure that neighbouring businesses such as SeaLife and Madame Tussauds don’t suffer a loss of parking provision during the redevelopment of the site, which is currently used as a surface car park.
Later phases of the development include a 127,000 sq ft flying theatre. The vision for theatre was originally inspired by Erich von Daniken’s 1968 bestselling book, The Chariots of The Gods, to which Media Invest Entertainment owns and controls the global media rights.
However, the Chariots theme was dropped last year after market research found the brand did not chime with a younger audience.
Two smaller indoor theme parks, a 200-bedroom hotel, several bars and restaurants, and a 70,000 sq ft public square, also feature in future phases.
The developers will seek full consent for these elements in the coming years.
Nikal and Media Invest predict Blackpool Central could create around 1,000 new jobs, attract an estimated 600,000 additional visitors each year, and boost annual spend in the town by around £75m.
View Blackpool Central on the Place North West Development Map