Hotel investment set to bring 800 rooms

Blackpool is on the brink of seeing up to 800 new holiday bed spaces created as investors queue up to open hotels in the town, it is claimed.
An artists impression of the proposed Sands Hotel on Central Promenade, BlackpoolAn artists impression of the proposed Sands Hotel on Central Promenade, Blackpool
An artists impression of the proposed Sands Hotel on Central Promenade, Blackpool

Tourism leaders say several schemes to open branded three, four and five star hotels are on the horizon.

These include a 140-room Premier Inn on the former Yates’s site in Talbot Square where work is due to begin before the end of May, and a five star 90-room hotel above the Sands venue on Central Promenade which is also due to commence before the summer.

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Work has already begun on a site on South Promenade earmarked for a 130-bedroomed Hampton by Hilton, while other schemes include a four-star 142-room hotel adjacent to Blackpool North Station, a hotel inside the former Abingdon Street Post Office, and on a site alongside the Winter Gardens.

But some councillors are concerned about the impact on existing hoteliers.

Coun Don Clapham told a meeting of the full council: “800 new beds is an awful lot of new beds to fill and it will impact on other businesses.

“What is the council going to do to provide a safety net for those who are going to be affected?”

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Council leader Coun Simon Blackburn said the town needed more hotels to meet demand for overnight stays due to investments including in a new conference centre.

He said: “We are talking about 800 high quality bed spaces at a time when we have successfully won funding to build a conference centre that will house 7,000 delegates.”