Plans submitted to turn former Blackpool civil service building Mexford House into 120 flats

Mexford House on Mexford Avenue, North Shore had been home to the DWP civil service offices until its closure in 2009.

Now a new planning application has been submitted to Blackpool Council for the “use of premises as 120 self contained flats with associated parking, access, bike store and bin store (Prior Approval)”.

In the planning documents, the building will retain its three floors under the new plans, with each floor containing a variety of flats of seven different sizes and styles.

The plans include 88 one bed 37m2 flats for one person, three one bed 45m2 flats for one person, 18 one bed 53m2 flats for two people and three 37m2 studio flats.

There will also be three two bed 63m2 flats for three people, three two bed 61m2 flats for three people and two two bed 71m2 flats for four people.

The planning documents confirm that the external building footprint will remain unchanged, with no plans for expansion or extension of the existing structure.

The current proposal also proposes the provision of 122 car parking spaces including eight disabled spaces and 14 electric spaces.

Back in July 2022, a planning application was submitted to Blackpool Council for “external alterations to include installation of new windows to various elevations, removal of existing entrance and demolition of existing out buildings and use as altered as 87 self contained flats with associated parking, cycle store, access and landscaping.”

In December that year, the application -now reduced to 78 flats- was given the go ahead by Blackpool Council, despite not conforming with town hall housing policies.

Planning permission was also granted in April 2019 for the property to be converted into 92 flats but the scheme never went ahead, and that approval has now expired.

You can view the current planning application here.