Blackpool Council’s latest plans to tackle eyesore issues amid 1,500 empty buildings

Plans are being drawn up by Blackpool Council to tackle the issue of the town’s empty and derelict buildings which have been an ongoing scourge in the resort.

Latest reports show there were 1,500 empty homes in the resort last year, among the highest in the country.

Unoccupied shops, long-term empty B&Bs and deteriorating, disused hotels create a number of serious issues for Blackpool, but the council is also concerned about the number of empty houses.

Apart from the negative visual impression, empty houses also raise health and safety concerns, conflict with a serious shortage of affordable homes in the town and also impact financially through the deficit in council tax payments. They are also a magnet for vandalism.

Blackpool Council is the primary driver and co-investor behind the £350 million mixed-use regeneration Talbot Gateway scheme around Blackpool North train station, including the Multiversity, and has put an impressive bid in for the 2029 City of Culture accolade.

To deal with the run-down building issue, the council is setting up an Empty Property Strategy which will look at using a range of powers to deal with the issues, up to and including Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPO).

The latest report is being presented on Wednesday to a meeting of the council’s Climate Change and Environmental Scrutiny Committee, which committee members will consider as part of their scrutiny remit.

What report says

The report says: “Empty properties present a significant challenge for Blackpool. Whilst some vacant properties are temporarily unoccupied as a result of sale, probate or refurbishment, a substantial number remain empty for prolonged periods.

“Long-term vacancy can contribute to neighbourhood decline, anti-social behaviour, environmental problems, vandalism and deterioration of the local housing stock.

“At the same time, demand for suitable housing within the borough remains high.

“Blackpool has historically experienced levels of empty properties above national averages. Recent reports indicate there are approximately 1,500 empty homes across the borough, representing just over 2% of privately-owned housing stock.

“Previous Council data identified approximately 4,500 privately-owned empty homes, of which around 1,300 had been vacant for more than six months. Lancashire housing data also identifies Blackpool as having one of the highest proportions of vacant dwellings within the county.

“The Empty Property Strategy has been developed to provide a coordinated and proactive approach to reducing the number of long-term empty properties within the borough.

“The strategy seeks to support owners in bringing properties back into use whilst ensuring that effective enforcement action is taken where owners fail to engage and properties continue to have a detrimental impact on local communities.”

Owners will be given advice and support to renovate their properties for sale or rent, with stronger action taken if premises are left empty too long and become a problem for the local community, including CPO as a final resort.

The Council’s Empty Properties Taskforce brings together officers from Housing, Council Tax, Environmental Protection, Planning Enforcement, Building Control and Legal Services.

Recent interventions by the Task Force have resulted in long-term empty properties being refurbished and returned to residential occupation. In May, a property on Filey Place which had stood empty for around 10 years, with dry rot and a pigeon infestation left unchecked, was renovated and brought back into use.

Among the long-term empty properties in Blackpool are the former Carlton Hotel, on the junction of Queen Street and Abingdon Street and the former Pennine Hotel on the corner of Havelock Street and Central Drive.

Steve Savage, who runs the Shining Diamond B&B on Havelock Street, says: “The former Pennine Hotel is a serious problem.“It creates a very bad impression in what is a holiday zone and children try to get in there all the time. It is an accident waiting to happen.

“If the council are including these kind of properties in their strategy then I would really welcome it.“The best thing for that building, and the empty ones next to it, would be to bulldoze the lot and start again.”

What council says

A spokesperson for Blackpool Council said: “Empty properties can create real challenges for local communities and the council. Bringing these back into use can not only increase housing availability but improve neighbourhoods, reduce anti-social behaviour, and support wider regeneration objectives too.

“We want to be coordinated and proactive in tackling this issue and are considering a range of potential approaches for our Empty Property Strategy.

"A mix of support, engagement and appropriate enforcement action is considered the most effective way of delivering sustainable improvements and achieving positive outcomes for communities.”