Football plan unveiled for Blackpool site

Preston-based architects Cassidy and Ashton have lodged the application with both Blackpool and Fylde councils because the site off Common Edge Road includes land in both boroughs.

The scheme includes five full-size adult football pitches, six seven-a-side pitches, and one nine-a-side pitch all for amateur-level use.

The application says the council wants to get on with the work to construct the pitches ahead of the wider blueprint for the sports village and road layout being revised by council chiefs.

Existing pitches, including facilities used by AFC Blackpool, need to be relocated before land can be freed up for development as new business units.

A design statement says: "It is now the intention of Blackpool Council to

carry out the works to construct the grassed pitches first, and as such it has been necessary to apply for their consent separately to ensure that works are not delayed whilst the original scheme is revised."

The work will include stripping back topsoil and installing drainage pipes.

An outline planning application for the first phase of the enterprise zone was submitted last year, but a revised application is expected to be submitted including a different road layout.

Blackpool Council has borrowed £28.8m to get the zone started with infrastructure and building work.

The site earmarked for the sports pitches comprises around 28 acres of open grassland, north of the airport runway and south of South Shore Cricket Club on the airport site.

Most of the land is in Fylde and is part of the green belt separating St Annes and Blackpool, while a small area to the north is in Blackpool and is public open space.

The proposals will go before planners in both Fylde and Blackpool for a decision to be made.