Demolition of well known Blackpool pub is agreed

Planners have agreed procedures for the Star Inn on Ocean Boulevard, South Promenade, to be bulldozed to make way for a new £12m hotel on the site.

Last month, Blackpool Pleasure Beach managing director Amanda Thompson revealed ambitious proposals to redevelop the land by building a 120-bedroom hotel to sit alongside the existing four-star Big Blue.

A heritage report accompanying the application to pull down the Star describes the pub’s design as being “at odds” with the scale of surrounding buildings.

It says the Star has “limited heritage merit” and the loss of the building will be outweighed by the value of the proposed replacement.

Although the pub is a locally listed building, there was no objection to the demolition by Blackpool Council’s conservation officer, but a request has been made for a historical record to be made of the site prior to any work commencing.

The current building was built in 1931 to replace the original inn which stood only a few yards from the sea.

During the First World War the old inn is believed to have been used as a dressing station for the Royal Army Medical Corps who had Blackpool as their training headquarters.

The Star has been closed for some time.

Two adjacent buildings, used as pay kiosks, will also be knocked down as part of the scheme.

Pleasure beach chiefs hope to start building the new hotel as soon as the Star has been demolished, with the aim of opening it in 2019.