Two billion reasons to invest: Blackpool returns to UKREiiF

With one of the largest transformation programmes in the UK, there is a reason why large developers and investors are turning their attention to Britain’s favourite seaside resort, writes Nick Gerrard of Blackpool Council.

More than £2bn is being invested across the town, designed to boost the economy and make Blackpool a better place to live, work, and invest.

It’s working too. Last year, Blackpool was announced the second best place in the country to start a business, and boasted a huge 13% rise in GDP from 2022 to 2023.

Ahead of our fourth and biggest appearance at UKREiiF, here is what you need to know about how you can get involved in Blackpool’s journey.

A £350m town centre regeneration

A huge regeneration vision for a thriving central business district around a major public transport hub, the Talbot Gateway is a £350m project bringing over 8,000 workers and students into the heart of Blackpool.

The Talbot Gateway is benefitting from some serious momentum.

In the last 12 months, a Holiday Inn hotel and Marco Pierre White New York Italian restaurant have opened next toa brand new tramway terminal connecting the train station and the seafront Promenade.

Over 3,000 DWP workers have started moving in to a new 215,000 sq ft office, while The Robinson, a small business hub made up of offices and co-working space, will open its doors this summer.

The completed Fylde View office will host over 3,000 DWP employees. Credit: Blackpool Council

The plans don’t stop there. Construction on two new developments is also set to start this year.

Multiversity – a new education campus for Blackpool & the Fylde College – will bring up to 3,000 students and staff into the area and become an exemplar for lifelong learning.

Work on a new office for an additional 1,100 professional workers will also start this summer.

The central business district is supported with investment in Blackpool’s leisure and retail sector. A revamped Abingdon Street Market is now a thriving food hall and retail area, while The Backlot Cinema and Diner has brought IMAX to the town centre.

A once in a generation leisure opportunity

While the economic offer isn’t all about the visitor economy, we can’t ignore the town’s £1.98bn tourism industry, which supports over 22,000 jobs across the Fylde coast.

Blackpool attracts more than 21 million visitors a year, through a range of large-scale family events and the location being a short direct train away from Manchester and Liverpool.

With a season that runs from March to December and spending power unmatched by any other northern seaside town, the potential for leisure and retail developers in Blackpool is huge.

There aren’t many better leisure opportunities in the country than Blackpool Central.

Blackpool Central is a 10-acre site near the Tower, offering a rare opportunity for major leisure and retail investment. Credit: Blackpool Council

A stone’s throw from the Promenade and in the shadow of The Blackpool Tower, this 10-acre site is on the market for investors to bring a world-class leisure attraction forward.

Blackpool Council is currently advertising for a global property marketing expert to help us find new investors to bring a world-class leisure investment to the site.

Housing regeneration

Backed by a landmark £90m government and Homes England investment, we’re delivering one of the most ambitious housing regeneration programmes in the North West.

A 15-year transformation plan covering more than 100 acres will reshape inner Blackpool by replacing poor-quality housing with modern, energy-efficient homes, revitalising neighbourhoods, and improving access to more green spaces, healthcare, education, and leisure.

It could mean up to 3,000 homes being built or refurbished. Developers can stay up to date with the programme opportunities by seeing us at UKREiiF or registering their interest.

Silicon Sands

Blackpool sits on top of the internet.

The CeltixConnect-2 cable, which sends up to one third of the world’s internet traffic, connects Blackpool to Dublin in less than 0.002 seconds, as well as to New York and northern Europe in under 0.064s.

Silicon Sands hosts a major global internet cable and is being developed for low-carbon AI data centres and business growth. Credit: Blackpool Council

The area where the cable lands at Blackpool Airport Enterprise Zone is called Silicon Sands and the masterplan involves using access to the cable to create a series of low carbon AI data centres, powered by renewable energy and reusing the waste energy in a district heat network.

On the other side of the Enterprise Zone, we have plots of shovel-ready development land on sale now at Eastern Gateway where an expansion to one of the region’s premier business parks will open later this year. A perfect opportunity to get involved.

Find out more

There are two billion reasons to invest in Blackpool, and Blackpool Council is always open to meeting new investors and developers who share the vision and desire to make it work.

Blackpool is at the start of an accelerated journey to serious growth. If you want to help realise that vision, then visit Blackpool at stand D40 in New Dock Hall or keep up to date via Blackpool Makes It Work.

• Nick Gerrard is growth and prosperity director at Blackpool Council