New plans revealed for holiday apartments in former town centre Job Centre

Revised plans have been unveiled to convert Blackpool's former Job Centre into holiday apartments.

The scheme would see the empty building on Queen Street used as 22 self-contained holiday flats with a manager's office, laundry room and luggage store. Parking would be provided for 12 cars.

The building has been empty since 2018 when staff were relocated to new premises at the Town Hall, and two previous bids to convert it to permanent flats have been refused by council planners. Applicant Premier Property Investments (NW) Limited, which would manage the business, says it would operate "like a hotel with a reception and check-in kiosk at the reception."

Documents submitted with the application added: "The proposal seeks to enhance the existing local holiday accommodation on offer and reuse the building in a sustainable manner by putting the building back into use as high quality managed self-contained holiday accommodation within the town centre.

"The accommodation is ideally located within walking distance of public transport and several long-stay car parks as well as on-site parking and proposed electric vehicle charging points. The town centre hosts many local attractions and hospitality businesses which would be supported by the provision of high-quality holiday accommodation."

Guests would use a card entry system to access their accommodation, and there would be a 24-hour helpline to report any anti-social behaviour at the premises.

The previous applications to use the building as permanent flats attracted objections including from the neighbouring Galleon Bar, whose owner warned his business could be put at risk if residents subsequently complained about noise from the nightspot which has a 4am licence.

A noise assessment carried out as part of the latest application says there would be "no significant adverse impact" on guests from surrounding premises. Council planners also previously refused permission on the grounds that bedrooms in six of the proposed permanent flats would not benefit from adequate natural light.

The site was originally occupied by Christ Church, built in 1871, before the church was demolished in 1982 and replaced by the Job Centre building. The application will now go before town hall planners at a future date for consideration.