Designs revealed for £6.3m business hub in Blackpool town centre

A courtyard, cafe and roof terrace are included in the blueprint for the transformation of the Stanley Buildings.

The triangular building, which sits between Church Street and Caunce Street, dates back to 1935 and is locally listed.

Owned by the council, it is currently occupied by shops, offices and a takeaway with some empty units.

But designs by architects Cassidy and Ashton, which are part of a new planning application, set out a vision to refurbish the site for use by start-ups and small businesses including retail.

Providing the application is approved, work will include external alterations to the windows, replacement shop fronts, the creation of a courtyard at ground floor level and a new roof terrace on the second floor.

The takeaway would be converted to a cafe, and facilities would include a new entrance lobby, landscaped courtyard, bicycle storage and a function room.

A design brief accompanying the application says: “The overall objective of the proposals is to develop the existing site to provide a mixed use offering of

offices and retail space with supporting communal facilities.”

This would be done “by way of a newly landscaped courtyard and terraces, which would support a range of small and medium sized enterprises at this highly sustainable site within the town centre.”

Funding includes £4.5m of government cash from Blackpool’s Town Deal and match funding of £1.8m.

Demand for space inside the new hub is expected to be high – with the council’s audit committee being told earlier this year occupancy levels within the council’s two existing business centres – the Enterprise Centre on Lytham Road in South Shore, and FY Creatives on Church Street – currently exceeded 90 per cent.

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