Go ahead for Blackpool's £39.5m Town Deal to transform resort

The offer of £39.5m was made in October, with the next step to submit detailed businesses cases for each scheme.

The amount given by the Government is less than the £49.5m set out in the original bid for nine projects, meaning the next challenge is to allocate funds to the seven schemes approved, with some getting less than asked for.

Members of the council’s executive committee approved the heads of terms for the deal at a meeting on Monday.

Director of communication and regeneration Alan Cavill told the meeting: “I think £39.5m is a much as we could have expected.

“It was a bid for more than that, but a couple of schemes were turned down.

“We have to accept the heads of terms so we can now move on to the development of full business plans for each of the projects within the Town Deal.”

He added projects would develop at different paces, with some “nearly ready to go and others more than a couple of years away”.

The deal, which also sees financial investment matched from other sources, is aimed at transforming Blackpool by providing jobs, training and new community facilities between now and 2030.

A report to the committee says the Town Deal “will be used to create a strong and clear vision for Blackpool to be a thriving coastal community by 2030”.

Investment plans “will be delivered as part of a wider programme of private and public sector investment”.

The seven projects in the Town Deal, and the total amount originally asked for, are: –

* £10m towards relocating Blackpool Magistrates Court to the site of the former Devonshire Road Hospital, clearing the way for the £300m Central Development of leisure facilities on Central car park.

* £10m towards creating a multiversity as part of a future phase of the Talbot Gateway, offering broader educational opportunities and building on existing partnerships with Lancaster University.

* £10m towards infrastructure at the Blackpool Airport Enterprise Zone to improve access and development opportunities.

* £7.5m for the Southern Quarter/Revoe Community Sports Village to redevelop an abandoned site.

* £4.5m towards incubation office space to create a centre for entrepreneurs at the Stanley Buildings on Caunce Street.

* £4.5m to modernise Blackpool Illuminations including upgrading 3km of electrical infrastructure, providing up to three new Promenade features, and up to three new light art installations.

* £700,000 towards a Blackpool Youth Hub involving the renovation of a facility which would be a base to deliver skills training for 16 to 24-year-olds not in education, employment or training (NEET).

* Thanks for reading. If you value what we do and are able to support us, a digital subscription is just £1 for your first month. Try us today by clicking here