As Blackpool South MP I'm working with people who want to buy our eyesore properties & regenerate South Shore

The MP responded personally on social media after residents on a local chat site spoke out, adding to concerns raised by the public in the run-up to the General Election.

Although Blackpool is enjoying a period of regeneration with investment and new projects around the town centre, there are other areas in desperate need of some attention.

High on the list of concerns is Bond Street,which in past decades was a smart shopping area which included its own Woolwoth store.

Sadly, since Woolworth closed and its successor, Harte’s, also shut its doors for good, that particular building - on the corner of Bond Street and Waterloo Road, has become one of the biggest eyesores in Blackpool and the street itself has also become desperately shabby.

But it is not alone and residents, including those on social media, say the state of many buildings is embarrassing and something finally needs to be done.

One stated on a local chat site: “The decline and deprivation in South Shore is not only an utter disgrace, but it’s an embarrassment.

“I ask our newly re-elected MP, Chris Webb MP what are you going to do about this?It’s a mess Chris, and Blackpool deserves better!”

Others replied that the new MP would do nothing, while others defended him and said he had only just started in his role of MP.

But the MP replied himself, stating: “One hundred percent it deserves better.

“That's why I'm working with individuals who want to buy these properties and also secure funding to regenerate the area.

“I've been working with local businesses and the Council to get a Master Plan started for South Shore so we can use it to finally get the resources we need.

“I also kept my word and my constituency office is in South Shore, on Lytham Road next to Waterloo Road so I'm in the heart of the community.”

Developers have been seeking planning permission to demolish the former Hartes store and replace it with a block of 23 holiday apartments, with retail units on the ground floor and parking for 30 cars.