Blackpool toy shop team set to get busy at their new home

Tracey Clarke, left and the team at Toyland which has moved to Church Street for better footfall

And the team at Toyland have big plans for their new neighbourhood in Church Street after seeing the success retailers can have when acting together to build community spirit at their old home.

The staff at Toyland rolled their sleeves up and moved their stock from their old home in Birley Street, pushing it in wheeled cages across town to the new site on the corner of Adelphi Street opposite Pizza Express.

After a bustling official opening on Saturday and a visit from Mayor and Mayoress Gary and Debbie Coleman in one of their last duties before handing over the chain of office, the staff are settling in to their new place of work.

Manager Tracey Clarke said the move was paying off immediately.

She said: “We had so many people outside the Blackpool BID people came to lend a hand and make sure we were alright.

“We had Buzz Lightyear and Pikachu, the Radio Wave team and the Mayor and Mayoress came to wish us luck.

“The footfall is so much bigger here and the best thing is that the shop is now on one floor rather than two as before which makes it more accessible.

The new location for Toyland in Church Street near St John's Square

“We have now become advocates for the Purple Pound in Blackpool, the spending power of people with disabilities.

“We spoke to Jane Cole from Blackpool Transport and Stephen Brookes (Rail Sector Champion for the Minister for Disabled People) and they asked us if we wanted to get involved and put us in touch with Disability First.

“This building is much better for people with disabilities or with pushchairs. At Birley Street many people would simply not go upstairs because it was too difficult.”

The team take their community role seriously, offering work placements from a variety of schemes such as; Chance to Shine, Project Search, local main stream schools, Park Academy and the Jobcentre.

At the previous venue the staff organised an Easter Egg hunt for children with 30 neighbouring businesses which saw 147 families visit individual premises.

Tracey said they would be working on similar alliance marketing plans for Church Street and had already made contact with neighbouring business The Hive to work together.

She added: “Some retailer just wait for the council or the BID to do something. It does not have to be that way, we can be more proactive.”