Report reveals number of empty properties blighting resort

Around 50 empty properties in Blackpool are in such a bad state at any one time that council intervention is required, a new report has revealed. This is out of a total of about 1,500 empty properties on a fluid list of premises which changes constantly. Figures are collated by the council through its council tax data.

A report to a meeting of the Levelling Up Scrutiny Committee on January 24 says over the last two-and-a-half years there have been eight successful prosecutions and seven enforced sales over problematic properties. A further 46 warnings of different kinds have also been issued.

However, action often involves complex legal issues which can take up to 18 months to resolve. The report says: “Whilst our approach is to work with property owners wherever possible, we will also consider enforcement action where necessary. Through efficient and effective partnership working we have reduced the number of problematic empty properties across Blackpool.”

The council has employed an empty property officer since June 2021, with responsibility now being transferred to the planning enforcement team. Properties where action is taken “are also usually the worst cases with the most complex background and every case we win through the courts strengthens case law for appeals and encourages owners to deal with issues at an earlier stage”.

The report adds: “There will always be a number of short-term empty properties which will be empty in void periods between tenancies, especially in coastal communities such as Blackpool with high levels of transience.”

Coun Paul Galley told a recent meeting of the full council neglected buildings were “a scar” on the resort. He said he had personally counted 289 buildings on the stretch of the Promenade between Starr Gate and Bispham, of which 29 were deserted (10 per cent). Of these, six were in a row on Central Promenade directly opposite the Metropole Hotel in the heart of the town centre.

He called for more action to tackle the issue. In response council leader Coun Lynn Williams said powers were used to force property owners to improve their buildings, but it was a matter of having sufficient resources to keep applying pressure.