Refreshed plans in for Blackpool hotel

Revisions have been made to the conversion of the former Abingdon Street post office, approved a year ago.

Billed as a £25m project, the conversion and extension of the grade two-listed post office and associated Edward Street sorting office is being taken forward by Ashall Property, with sector specialist Franklin Ellis Architects.

The scheme was included as one of three schemes put forward by Blackpool Council this summer for backing under the Levelling Up Fund’s second round, as the local authority looked to plug a £7m viability gap.

According to planning documentation, the scheme has been altered to take into account changes in the market since its November 2021 approval.

The brand attached to the proposed hotel is still IHG brand Hotel Indigo, for which Franklin Ellis has also designed a hotel in Chester.

Ashall intends to link the three-storey Abingdon Street building to the four-storey sorting office with a new link building, which will be part one-storey, part four-storey and part five-storey.

The post office building will receive a three-storey rear extension, while courtyard structures will be demolished.

The post office building requires a new roof, while the top storey of the sorting office, a later addition to the Edwardian frame, will be removed as part of the scheme.

There will be rooftop terraces, and also terrace spaces within the cleared courtyard area. The layout of hotel accommodation floors has been tweaked.

As alterations to the scheme are minor, it has not been re-consulted on, although the development team has engaged with the Civic Trust, Blackpool BID and the Blackpool Business Leadership Group to further gauge their reception to the plans.

The planning references for the updated scheme are 22/0933 and 22/0934 on Blackpool Council’s planning portal.

Courtyard buildings will be cleared at the centre of the site. Credit: planning documents