How did you respond to Blackpool's £100m masterplan?
We told you on Wednesday how a series of projects - including the expansion of the Houndshill Shopping Centre. the North Station transport interchange and an IMAX cinema – were rubber stamped.
Council chiefs said it will “breathe new life into the town centre” which like many across the country has struggled in recent years.
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Hide AdBlackpool Council leader Simon Blackbun said the massive injection of cash will transform the resort and allow it to survive amid a national town centre crisis, with high streets across the UK now littered with shuttered, empty units, bargain stores, and charity shops.
Among the typically ‘half-empty’ brigade on social media, many others welcomed the plans while others said money should be directed on other things first.
Here’s a selection of your views
Why not invest the money on the many social issues of this town, the homeless, drugs, mental health no amount of nice buildings will help make this a better place to live
Hannah Richardson
I think maybe the logic is that this investment will provide long term income and boost the town so that we can tackle the issues everyone has quite rightly mentioned.
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Hide AdAnd the money isn’t coming from Blackpool’s budget for Blackpool if that makes sense.
From what I can find, it’s a mixture of grants, funds and schemes for specific projects.
It does make sense in the long run. It’s just hard to wait for the help to come for some people sadly
Daisy Rae
Invest £100million into schools, local businesses, arts, roads, the massive homeless problems the town has, mental health care, hospitals, something to help build a better Blackpool, not a building to house shops people can’t afford to shop in, or fast food restaurants people shouldn’t eat in.
Jenna Brooks
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Hide AdLooks fab but are we going to get a better class of shops with no empty units like the Talbot Road building?
Liz Banham
Papering over the cracks won’t help the town’s REAL problems.
Matt Langford
I favour the idea of bringing residents back into the town instead of the boom and bust retail scene we have now.
Nothing will change our shopping habits as even the large department stores will testify.
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Hide AdIf we create affordable accommodation we could put some soul back into the town
George Williamson
The only way to sort things out is to tackle the root cause of the problems.
It is people who bring areas down.
A good clearout is needed to rid society of the dregs who ruin it for honest decent people.
It isn’t only Blackpool, take a walk through Liverpool and Manchester to see how bad things can slide.
Alan Spencer
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Hide AdThe new roads look brilliant really nice job. Keep building Blackpool Council.
Paul Webster
I wish they would do something about the begging.
I have lived here about six years now and it’s getting unbearable now.
A few weeks back I was stopped seven times in a few mins for money.
Katie Myers
Never known a town like this, people moan about a lack of investment and then when we get investment they moan, people may not have noticed that there is a national epidemic of spice users, it’s not particular to Blackpool, it’s happening all over for many reasons least the massive cuts to mental health services by central government, any investment in the town is welcome news to most people.
Robert Wood