Tory leader's warning as resort at risk of losing millions of pounds worth of funding

It has been revealed plans to restore the former Post Office building on Abingdon Street, and to improve town centre traffic flow, could lose millions of pounds of Levelling Up funding.

Coun Paul Galley said: "These two key schemes join a long list of Blackpool council-run building projects which suffered significant delays, including the Winter Gardens Conference Centre which over-ran by three years, the tram extension which took five years longer than planned, the Holiday Inn scheme that was almost 12 months late (with the surrounding area still unfinished) and the Sands Venue Hotel complex."

He added: "The delay in these schemes has cost millions of pounds and now to hear we could risk losing the money for these two important Levelling-up funded town centre development schemes is shocking and totally unacceptable.

"The only way Blackpool Council will stand any chance of restoring its ability to deliver building projects will be for it to stop out-sourcing key roles to the private sector and instead restore its Capital Projects Division, with all the key knowledge and expertise needed to deliver building projects on time and within budget."

Minutes from a meeting of the Town Deal Board in June have warned an £8m Levelling Up grant towards transformation of the former Post Office into an Indigo-branded hotel is at risk until the results of structural surveys are known.

A £15m contribution from the Levelling Up Fund towards a new town centre access scheme in Blackpool is also reportedly under threat as the money needs to be spent by the end of March 2026. The council is seeking to have the deadline extended until March 2028.