Data centre plan aims to speed up internet in Blackpool

CityFibre, which last month included the resort in a list of 62 towns which will be part of a major technology rollout, has applied for planning permission to build a data centre on Blackpool Airport Enterprise Zone.

The centre would host high speed servers to enable homes and businesses to benefit from the investment.

Documents submitted with the application for a site on Amy Johnson Way say CityFibre is "planning on expanding their network within the wider Blackpool area which will transform the entire area’s digital landscape."

The proposals will deliver "full-fibre connectivity within reach of nearly every building in Blackpool" enabling "a step change in internet speed and quality, and a future-proof platform for economic growth in the digital age."

CityFibre adds in its application: "The proposed development is for a permanent data centre.

"The proposals represent essential infrastructure for Blackpool and ensure that high-speed full fibre broadband access is available to users in Blackpool. "

It concludes: "The scheme would offer substantial wider benefits by allowing Blackpool to increase its capacity of extremely fast high-speed broadband fibre connections for existing and future residents and businesses, and would support the growth of the Blackpool Airport Enterprise Zone."

According to its website, CityFibre is the UK's third national digital infrastructure platform with existing networks in more than 60 towns and cities.

An undersea fibre optic communications cable linking New York to Blackpool is already set to give the resort faster transatlantic internet connections than London.

Technology company Aqua Comms is routing the cable through the Enterprise Zone after it emerges from under the Irish Sea before connecting onwards and finally linking with Scandinavia.

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