Major Blackpool Council update on new plans for future of landmark former Abingdon Street Post Office building
“It’s the kind of lasting benefit we want to build through our City of Culture ambitions.”
Blackpool Council has issued an update on plans for the former Abingdon Street Post Office after securing £850,000 in funding to protect the landmark building amid major plans to turn it into a new creative and arts space.
The £850,000 Heritage at Risk Capital Fund grant will support urgent stabilisation work, roof repairs and weatherproofing to halt the deterioration of the Grade II-listed building, which the council bought in September 2025.
The funding marks a significant step towards securing the future of one of Blackpool town centre’s most prominent heritage assets, with the authority now exploring options to bring the building back into community use.
The former Post Office, built in 1910 and designed in Renaissance style by architect Walter Pott, closed as a counter service in 2007. The building is known for its distinctive architecture and iconic red telephone boxes.
Ambitious plans to turn the site into a £26m, four-star Indigo Hotel fell through earlier this year because of high costs. The council is now exploring the possibility of a hotel development confined to the former Sorting Office on Edward Street, while considering alternative uses for the main Post Office building.
Cllr Lynn Williams, Leader of Blackpool Council, said the grant would help protect the building while creating an opportunity to bring it back into public life. She said: “Abingdon Street Post Office is a very visible reminder of the incredible built heritage in Blackpool that we are committed to protecting.
“Since the Post Office’s closure ten years ago, we have looked at how we can give it a new lease of life. We explored a potential hotel, however the whole of the site wasn’t financially viable and we are now exploring private sector partners to look at delivering a hotel solely in the Sorting Office part of the site, on Edward Street.
“Due to the importance of the site and its deteriorating condition, it was vital that we acquired the building so it was in public control, and ever since, we have invested in making it not only more secure, but also improving how it looks by fixing doors, improving the look of windows and buying and repairing the phone box that was in poor state.
“We’ve listened to local creative organisations about the space they need, and there’s a real opportunity to bring an important part of Blackpool’s heritage back into community life. That’s what we want our Heritage Investment Strategy to achieve, and it’s the kind of lasting benefit we want to build through our City of Culture ambitions.
“I want to be clear though. None of this would be possible without the steps that the council took to buy this building and bring it back into public control – so Blackpool people are in control of its destiny and we can protect our built heritage to the same standard as we have already done at the Tower and Winter Gardens.”
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The council is considering examples of heritage buildings being repurposed for cultural use elsewhere, including Bradford Arts Centre, as it looks at how the former Post Office could contribute to Blackpool’s ambition to become a capital of creativity and its bid to become UK City of Culture 2029.
A feasibility study will now assess how a potential arts space could operate sustainably, including the form, cost and timetable of any future conversion. The council has also welcomed further community involvement to help shape the proposals.
The £850,000 grant will cover the initial safeguarding works, with further funding and decisions required before any conversion can proceed and the building can reopen. The investment forms part of Blackpool Council’s new Heritage Investment Strategy, with the authority hoping the building could provide a lasting home for local creativity and community engagement.
The former Post Office is one of two landmark Blackpool buildings to receive heritage funding announced by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and Historic England. The Church of the Sacred Heart on Talbot Road has also been awarded £145,866 through the Places of Worship Renewal Fund to support repairs to historic places of worship.