Blackpool History, Mystery, Heritage and Hauntings

Blackpool Council has said that it will take around five months to bring down the former Dickson Road store and car park.  I was lucky enough to be givern permission back in March to take interior shots ( glad I did before the official closing date due to lockdown ! ) Blackpool Council has confirmed that work will begin on the demolition of the town centre Wilko store in August this year.  ( however doesn't say which end of August - one bets that it will be the end to match when all the school's reopen.. )  After months of uncertainty around when work will commence on bringing down the derelict store and attached car park, the next stage of the plan has been laid out. The most recent announcement outlines the next phase of the Talbot Gateway regeneration scheme. It will pave the way for a new Holiday Inn Hotel and completion of the tramway extension following nearly two years of delays. The tramway is now due to be finish

Well it seems that a deal has been done with regards to the land that is Central Car park... the council has agreed to lease the land for 250 years to Nikal Ltd and Media Invest Entertainment who are behind the hi-tech Chariot of the Gods themed flying theatre attraction. 250 years... WOW  do the council know something we do not ! The nine year scheme is set to transform the former Central Station site close to the Promenade in a series of four phases which will create around 1,000 jobs and aims to attract 600,000 new visitors to the resort. However ! The deal means initial development works on the 17 acre plot can get under way. But plans for the first development on the site, a multi-storey car park to replace the parking currently occupying most of the site, is not likely to begin this year. A hybrid outline and part detailed planning application for the car park is set to be submitted late 2020.The man behind the project is Austrian pop music mogul Norbert

Following on from my last post on the works going on in town - have a gander to bring yourself up to speed... https://juliettegregsonheritagephotographer.blogspot.com/2018/05/tram-tracks-toilets.html and of course   https://juliettegregsonheritagephotographer.blogspot.com/2018/12/tram-tracks-toilets-updated-part-two.html Was meeting a friend in town so thought what a good change to get some more updated shots of our changing town...

It looks like work on the North Station extension will indeed resume next April. Council documents have confirmed that Wilko's lease expires then, so demolition will happen regardless of whether a new site for them is ready (presumably they will move to a temporary location). The full schedule looks like this: April 2020: demolition and start of works. March 2021: trams start run to a temporary terminus located where entrance to Wilko is now. First quarter of 2022: trams start to run to the final terminus next to the new underpass. Time to finally get this done so other projects are progressed in due course. and more ... I was in Town yesterday and on the roof taking shots of course - when I asked the chap who was running the car park he said March of next year -  also he would have to look for a new job. 

Regeneration specialist Muse is inviting bids to build a 142-bed hotel in Blackpool’s central business district. The Holiday Inn hotel, which will be located on the site of the current Wilkinson’s building adjacent to Blackpool North railway station, forms part of the second phase of Muse Developments’ and Blackpool Council’s £100m Talbot Gateway regeneration scheme.   The five-storey building will feature a restaurant, bar, conferencing facilities and ground floor shops. A temporary 127-space surface level car park and access improvements connecting the proposed new tram station and the railway station, also form part of the plans. The works require the demolition of the existing Wilko’s retail store currently occupying the site. Shortlisted firms will be invited to submit tenders in September with a view to work starting in Spring 2020. s a local authority Blackpool Council can’t just dig up the roads and build a tramway. An application for an ord