Bid to build flats stalled by planners

Residents had also objected to the height of the building earmarked for the junction of Harrow Place and South Promenade.

Blackpool Council’s planning committee voted to defer the application until a future meeting in order to see if their concerns could be met.

The submission is seeking to demolish the former Abbeydale Care Home on the site and replace it with 113 apartments.

A consortium made up of hotelier Tony Banks and businessmen Ron and Dave Richardson is behind the ambitious proposal for a five-to-eight storey building with one, two and three-bedroomed apartments.

The design includes a ‘Celebration Corner’ with roof terraces and glass balconies.

A report by planners says: “This proposal is seeking to regenerate some disused care homes within a bold modern building which pays homage to the Crescent to which it would be attached.

“At the same time it seeks to respect the setting of the building by stepping down from a focal point on the corner to the Crescent to the south and houses to the east.”

It added: “Given the shape layout of the application site it is not possible to provide a significant level of off street car parking on the site (19 spaces), and hence the applicants have approached the council to reconfigure Harrow Place to maximise the number of parking bays which could be created on the proposed one- way street.

“This would still mean that there would only be the potential for 81 car parking spaces for the 113 flats.”

Seven letters of objection had been received from nearby residents plus a petition from the South Shore Action Group with 19 signatures whose concerns included an increase in traffic.

Residents were also worried about their homes being overshadowed and the height of the building.

However planning officers had recommended the scheme for approval saying the regeneration benefits outweighed issues including the lack of parking.