Councillors sign off on £100m Blackpool office development

The council’s executive unanimously agreed a set of recommendations including funding of almost £100m for the ambitious scheme to redevelop an area of King Street.

With formal approval now in place, it means officers can respond quickly to complete the deal once the client is in a position to commit to what would be a 25 year lease.

Alan Cavill, director of communication and regeneration at the council, told a meeting of the executive: “Talks have reached the stage where we need to be building something.

“This is not a speculative development, so while we cannot talk about who it is because we have signed a non disclosure agreement with the organisation concerned, we are getting very close to agreement on the lease.

“Once that agreement is signed then we will be able to reveal who is moving into those offices.”

Muse Developments, the council’s partner for the Talbot Gateway, will build the offices at a total cost of £99,750,000 funded by the council, including borrowing of just over £82m.

This includes £55m for the shell of the building plus the cost of fitting it out, and land acquisitions to enable development to proceed.

It also includes the cost of relocating a dental surgery to the former Hop Inn, which will be remodelled while retaining its historic frontage.

The council says all costs will be met through the rental agreement, with no cost falling on council tax payers.

Planning permission for the seven storey scheme was granted in March this year, with the building set to bring 2,500 jobs to the town centre.

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