'The public deserves an investigation' into hold-ups to flagship Blackpool redevelopments

Two flagship projects in the major redevelopment of Blackpool town centre should be finished by now but are still a year or more from completion – prompting calls for an investigation.
An artists impression of the proposed conference centre at the Winter GardensAn artists impression of the proposed conference centre at the Winter Gardens
An artists impression of the proposed conference centre at the Winter Gardens

Leader of the Tory opposition on Blackpool Council Tony Williams has demanded answers over delays to the £25m conference centre and the £22m tramway extension.

He said: “The public deserves to know exactly what’s going on.”

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Both projects, hailed as key features of a £100m masterplan to improve the resort, were due to be completed by spring of this year.

Coun Tony WilliamsCoun Tony Williams
Coun Tony Williams

Despite initially denying rumours of set-backs to the tramway extension, Blackpool Council later said it would not be ready until late next year.

And the conference centre is now set to open its doors early next year – 12 months later than first estimated.

Coun Williams said: “I have written to the council’s internal auditor and the chairman of our Audit Committee asking for a meeting to arrange an urgent full audit on the council’s main capital projects.

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“The council continues to act under a veil of smoke and mirrors and statements that hide behind their mantra and insistence of commercial and political confidentiality.

The tramway extensionThe tramway extension
The tramway extension

“It’s time the veil was lifted and that the truth was exposed.”

Services on the tramway extension between Talbot Square and North Station were originally due to start running in April 2019, but the timescale has repeatedly slipped.

Services are now not expected to start operating until the end of next year.

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The council needs to demolish Wilko’s before it can build a tram terminal on the Talbot Road site and start running tram services. A four-star hotel is also earmarked for the site. But uncertainty over the Houndshill Centre has held up proposals to build a replacement Wilko store and cinema on land on Tower Street alongside the shopping centre.

In March, it emerged New Frontier Properties, which bought the Houndshill for £105m in 2015, had now valued the complex, which is anchored by Debenhams, at £70.2m.

The conference centre being built alongside the Winter Gardens was also originally due to open this year but has been put back to 2020.

Architects had to revise the original plans due to the complexity of the scheme to attach the new centre to the historic Grade II listed landmark.

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Issues included the electrical infrastructure and water seepage and the council has invested further funds to cover the cost of extra work.

Coun Williams says the council needs to be more open about the issues which need to be resolved before key projects can progress.

He added: “I’m hoping a full audit will provide some answers to questions that the council are avoiding or refusing to answer and hopefully it will provide the truth.”

Coun Paul Galley, chairman of the council’s Audit Committee, said he had passed on Coun Williams’ request to the town hall’s chief internal auditor Tracy Greenhalgh.

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He said: “Coun Williams has also asked for a meeting with Tracy Greenhalgh and I will be going along as well.

“We will then find out what her intentions are. The issue can either be looked at from an audit perspective or from a scrutiny perspective.”

A spokesman for Blackpool Council said both the tramway project and the conference centre were progressing.

They said: “The work on the tramway interchange is due to start next year and discussions around the relocation of Wilko in order to facilitate that work are continuing.

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“The development of Tower Street remains a key part of the town centre improvement plan, but the process has slowed due to the challenges facing the retail sector and the need for further due diligence to be carried out.

“The construction work on the conference centre is continuing and the next phase of work will see the completion of a watertight structure by the autumn.

“The completed building is due to be handed over in the spring of 2020. In the meantime, we continue to win new conference business for future years, with the Inner Wheel announcing its return to Blackpool in 2021.”

Tramway

When the Talbot Road tramway extension was finally signed off in December 2017, it was predicted that it would up and running by April this year.

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Then just two months later, amid whispers of set-backs that would push the opening back to late next year, the council’s deputy leader Gillian Campbell said the tram line would be operational “well before 2020” and insisted issues surrounding the Wilko and Houndshill developments would have “no impact” on the tramway extension.

Yet by August 2018, the estimated completion date was pushed back to the end of 2020.