Blackpool Central
A chance to create a new world class leisure attraction at the UK’s favourite seaside resort.
Area
9.4 acres, with the potential to expand to 11.9 acres.
Planning status
Outline planning approval for three indoor theme park buildings, hotels and restaurants. Full planning approval for new food and drink hall and conversion of heritage quarter to aparthotel, food hall and retail space.
History
The former King Edward VII Cinema is a Grade 2 Listed Building built in 1913 at the south-east of the site. This area has full planning permission to be converted to a heritage quarter with aparthotels and retail units.
Availability
Seeking investor developers for whole site.
To hear about tender opportunities with Blackpool Council, email regeneration@blackpool.gov.uk‘
Capital of family fun
A plethora of attractions and events make Blackpool a prime destination for families and leisure attractions.
With a thriving visitor economy worth £1.98bn, and over 21 million visits per year, the town is a haven for British family tourism.
Towering high above the whole of Lancashire, The Blackpool Tower was the largest structure in the UK when it opened in 1894.
Even today, The Blackpool Tower is a beacon of engineering and audacity and remains one of the most well-known landmarks in the country, incorporated the Tower Eye, Tower Dungeon, Tower Circus and world famous Tower Ballroom, as seen by millions every year on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing.
The Blackpool Tower supports a resort with the most UK visitor attractions outside of London, including Pleasure Beach Resort, Sandcastle Waterpark, Madame Tussauds, SEA LIFE Blackpool, The Gruffalo & Friends Clubhouse and Peter Rabbit Explore and Family.
Blackpool also hosts a variety of large scale free family-friendly events throughout the year, drawing millions of people to the Promenade.
Blackpool Illuminations, older than Thomas Edison’s patent for the lightbulb, offer a spectacular light display. Every year, a celebrity concert turns on Blackpool Illluminations, bringing tens of thousands of people to the Promenade, while an October Lightpool festival continues to drive footfall through the autumn.
Blackpool Air Show and World Fireworks Championship also bring hundreds of thousands to the sea front every year.
Connectivity
Five minutes’ drive from the end of M55 motorway, via a direct overpass which leads directly into a new 1,306 space multi-storey car park.
Electrified train line from Blackpool North, with direct routes to London, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds and Birmingham.
A frequent tram service runs along Blackpool Promenade, connecting the Fylde Coast from Blackpool Airport to Fleetwood, including stops at Blackpool North Station. The Central Pier tram stop is located one minute’s walk from the site.
Blackpool Airport is located 2.5 miles away from the site. The airport canoffer chartered flights, with the main runway able to land aircraft up to Boeing737 and Airbus A321 in size.
Large commercial airports are available within one hours’ drive at Manchester Airport and Liverpool John Lennon, offering scheduled passenger routes to the North West from around the world.
Site history
Once the site of the busiest train station in the world, Blackpool Central has always been a location famed for its ease of access bringing millions of visitors into the resort.
Set in the shadow of The Blackpool Tower and fronting on to the renovated Blackpool Promenade, the Blackpool Central site has always acted as the main arrival route for visitors coming to the resort.
More recently, seafront properties have been refurbished into other successful leading tourism attractions such as SEALIFE Blackpool, The Gruffalo & Friends Clubhouse, Peter Rabbit Explore and Play and Madame Tussauds. It is accessible by a 1,300 space car park on site, and a direct tram stop connecting it to the train station and the seafront hotels.
Other existing buildings such as the old police station and Magistrates Courts, plus some ancillary buildings, are currently being demolished, thanks to funding from UK Government, leaving a cleared shovel-ready site.
£2bn+ growth and prosperity programme
Blackpool is undergoing a major transformation, thanks to a £2bn growth and prosperity programme.
Established on three key strands, the programme is regenerating Blackpool town centre, extending the tourism season and creating jobs in key growth sectors.
A new £350m Central Business District
Land around Blackpool’s main train station is undergoing a major transformation.
The Talbot Gateway Central Business District is bringing over 8,000 professional workers and students into Blackpool town centre, by creating and refurbishing over 1m sq ft of commercial accommodation.
An all year round tourism economy
Already established as Britain’s favourite seaside resort, work to grow Blackpool’s £1.7bn visitor economy to be all year round has led to a range of regeneration projects, including extensions to the Blackpool Illuminations, a new Backlot IMAX Cinema and Diner, Showtown Museum and over 1,000 quality branded hotel rooms being constructed.
Job creation in growth sectors
Blackpool is also home to a cluster of leading companies in sectors including advanced manufacturing, aerospace and professional services, as well as burgeoning digital economy.
The Fylde Coast’s population of 250,000 people offer a highly skilled workforce, while labour costs are 17% lower than the national average.
The £300m Blackpool Airport Enterprise Zone is one of the leading business destinations in the North West, and continues to expand with a range of major employers sited here.
Plans for Silicon Sands, a carbon friendly data centre and digital campus are progressing over the coming years, and are expected to make Blackpool a new leading location for digital technologies and businesses, with private investors already choosing to locate data centres in the vicinity.
Get involved
Come and see for yourself what Blackpool has to offer.
Blackpool is the main economic area of the North West coast and a leading resort in Lancashire’s economy. More than that, the town pulls on the heartstrings of millions of British people, who share a mutual affection for the town.
Blackpool offers untapped investment potential, from its billion pound visitor economy through its leading workforces, as well as below average land and labour costs.
To find out more, contact us on the details below.
