Plan to redevelop Blackpool building in conservation area is thrown out

The scheme would have seen properties on the corner of Alfred Street and Church Street bulldozed to make way for a new four-storey building.

Hertfordshire-based developer Hastingwood Estates had applied for outline planning permission from Blackpool Council to transform the site into nine permanent flats above two glass-fronted retail units.

But the application has been turn down by planning officers using their delegated powers.

A decision notice says the development "would detract from the character of the Town Centre Conservation Area" and be overly-dominant.

Planners were also unhappy with the mix of flat sizes which they said "would further intensify the over-concentration of flat accommodation" conflicting with efforts "for the comprehensive improvement of the neighbourhood."

Currently, there are four shops on the site which is made up of three single storey buildings and a two-storey building, all of which had been earmarked for removal.

In a design statement, the applicant had said: "The four storey building will be modernised with a contemporary style which includes a steel sculpture on the top of the property."

The apartments would have been made up of six with two bedrooms, and three with one bedroom.