See the £7.1m hotel being built in Blackpool town centre

The new Premier Inn, being built on the site of the former Yates's building in Talbot Road, Blackpool town centre, is taking shape.
The hotel, pictured earlier this week, is set to open next spring. Inset: What it will look like once finishedThe hotel, pictured earlier this week, is set to open next spring. Inset: What it will look like once finished
The hotel, pictured earlier this week, is set to open next spring. Inset: What it will look like once finished

What’s happening?

A new hotel is rising from the ashes of the historic Yates’s building, which burnt down just over a decade ago. Cranes have hauled together the huge development’s steel skeleton, with the inside now being fitted out.

What will the new hotel be like?

The 150-bedroom Premier Inn and Cookhouse and Pub restaurant will be able to feed 200 people at once. Although the rotunda that made the old Yates’s building so iconic could not be saved, the new building will pay homage to the old – with a grand clockface fronting the £7.1 million building. The site now stands in stark contrast to the dusty spare ground, fenced off by boards bearing pictures of grinning residents.

Was this always the plan for the site?

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In 2012, a TGI Fridays eatery and Asian restaurant Cosmo was proposed alongside a Tesco branch before those plans fell through, while the Shlomo Memorial Fund, which is behind the Premier Inn project, later had its original plans knocked back because of its proposed appearance and lack of parking.

“One of the reasons for the refusal of planning permission for the original scheme was the design of the scheme and, specifically, the style, form, and height of the proposed building,” papers filed on behalf of Shlomo said.

“The revised scheme addresses the concerns raised in respect of these matters. This has been achieved through alterations to various aspects of the design of the building.”

Changes included a reduction of height, so the hotel will remain six storeys high but no longer be taller than the nearby town hall or Church of the Sacred Heart, while art deco details like balconies, larger windows, and canopies will been introduced. The surrounding pavement will also be re-laid.

The hotel will open next spring.

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