Changes planned to improve service at Empress Ballroom Balcony Bar in Blackpool Winter Gardens

Blackpool Council, which owns the Winter Gardens, has applied for permission to its planning department to make alterations to the balcony bar in the venue’s Empress Ballroom, including an extension of existing bar to include accessible counter, removal of existing bar header and removal of roller shutters over original windows.

Under the plan, a missing window frame would be reconstructed to be infilled with mirrors, carpet replaced with a wooden floor, and the back of house area reconfigured.

In a report enclosed with the planning application, the council says the planned changes are “driven by both the need to create new offers to sustain visitor numbers and dwell times as well as by the need to raise increased revenue to invest into the Grade II* building and its continued restoration.”

Outlining the need for the changes, it adds: “The Empress Ballroom Balcony Bar is a difficult to bar work. It is cramped and on large events we must extend the service area by installing a temporary bar. It has a look and feel of a 1970s working men’s club.

"It has proven enormously popular over the last couple of years as a VIP area for the ballroom events and a destination for both locals and our visitors when using the room. However, it’s limited by its inability to deliver fast service with inadequate back of bar facilities.

“Following on from our highly successful refurbishment of Ballroom Bars One and Two in 2021, we have seen an increase in turnover of over 25 per cent and are looking to make the same improvement to the service side of the current bar counter, plus the addition of a new three meters counter to the front including lower level accessible counter.

“This will improve the bar for both employees and customers alike and these changes will lead to a better experience for all the venue’s users. Guests will receive a better choice and range of product in a premium environment, whilst reduced queuing times.”