Emergency services to carry out major incident response training in Blackpool: Everything you need to know including where it will take place and what roads will be closed

When and where will the training exercise take place?

The major scenario will play out on the promenade in Blackpool on Tuesday evening (November 8).

The exercise was originally planned for 2019 but was put on hold due to Brexit and the Covid pandemic.

Will there be road closures?

Yes.

Road closures will be in place between 6pm and midnight.

There will be no vehicle access between Central Pier and North Pier, but diversions will be in place.

Police officers and exercise staff will also be in the area to keep people informed about what is happening.

Will the Illuminations be affected?

While the Illuminations display will be lit, there will be no vehicle access between Central Pier and North Pier.

The projection shows on the front of the Blackpool Tower building will also be suspended for Tuesday night only.

That section of the Promenade will reopen on Wednesday, November 9.

Is the training exercise in response to any specific threat?

No.

Chief Supt Wendy Bower, who leads the General Purposes group for the Local Resilience Forum, said: “It is important to stress that is not in response to any specific threat and the UK terrorism threat level remains at substantial which means an attack is likely.

“We regularly test our plans for responding to a major incident or large-scale emergency and this allows us to ensure we are as prepared as possible should such an incident occur.

“We take these exercises very seriously as this is as close as we can get to real life experience. They take months of planning and the support of more than 300 volunteers on this occasion, along with those working within the emergency services.

“The element of surprise for those involved is essential as it helps test their knowledge, training and experience so we can work out areas which we might need to improve. We are also testing our response to supporting victims of a major incident as we know this is critical to our plans and want to ensure every agency can test their own arrangements and learn from the experience.

What have Lancashire Police said?

Chief Supt Wendy Bower added: “This area of Blackpool is extremely busy, and the town is bustling now with the Illuminations attracting thousands of people each night. We don’t want to cause disruption to those enjoying their evening, so we have been working very closely with Blackpool Council and businesses in the area to make sure we minimise any impact.

“I know those in the area may be concerned about some of the noises they hear or the increased presence of emergency services so I’m keen to reassure everyone that this is a pre-planned exercise.

“Exercises of this kind are critical, it will allow us to disseminate the learning from the Manchester Arena attack, which were published on November 3, to all those involved in the event. It will also allow us to make sure that any learning which comes from next week is shared across emergency services and all our partner agencies with a view to continuous improvement of our approach.”