Blackpool History, Mystery, Heritage and Hauntings

Images and text via Blackpool Council website !! Blackpool Council Leaders are pleased to announce that terms have been agreed and signed with developers for the lease of land at the Blackpool Central site, bringing a deal one step closer that will allow the Enabling Stage, Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the £300m regeneration proposals to get underway.   Developers Nikal Ltd and media company Media Invest Entertainment announced proposals for the ‘Blackpool Central’ scheme in the heart of the town. The proposals would include new leisure and visitor attractions and would bring approximately £300m of investment into the town.  “Throughout the course of this year the Council have continued negotiations with Nikal in relation to the terms of the development and for bringing the proposals to fruition. These negotiations are now at an advanced stage and we are delighted to announce that the terms have now been agreed for the release of the land required to kick s...

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 f...

For the last update click the link below !  https://juliettegregsonheritagephotographer.blogspot.com/2019/03/red-box-quarter.html So what is new in the land and building's of Blackpool ... July 2019  New investment proposals for Blackpool's Grade II listed former Post Office have been unveiled which would see the historic building converted to a 102 bedroom hotel. A revised planning application for the site between Abingdon Street and Edward Street, which also include the town's former sorting office, has been lodged with Blackpool Council. It is the third set of proposals to be submitted for the building by developer Joe Thompson of Thompson Contracts who bought the landmark in 2015. The latest vision would see some demolition of less significant buildings at the rear of the property, and the construction of two three storey extensions including one with a roof terrace over Abingdon Street. The hotel would be created in the upper f...

Running various social media groups - I tend to share and like a lot of content so was delighted last year to discover the following  http://www.lancasterwalkstalksandtours.co.uk/ Lancaster Walks, Talks & Tours principal guide is Gregory Wright. With a background in performing arts, and over twenty years experience in the world of tourism, Gregory provides informed historical narratives in an entertaining and memorable manner.   Bespoke guided walks, illustrated talks and themed tours, exploring the rich history of the City of Lancaster and the surrounding district. Well I just had to visit and managed to drag along fellow Lapis members Janet and Paul ...   Lancaster Castle   is a medieval castle in Lancaster in the English county of Lancashire . Its early history is unclear, but may have been founded in the 11th century on the site of a Roman fort overlooking a crossing of the River Lune . In 1164, the Honour of Lancas...

Image drawn by Brian Hughes Devonshire Road was a community hospital that offered both inpatient and outpatient facilities to residents of Blackpool and its surrounding areas. The hospital housed the Fylde Coast's Dermatology Services and had a Renal Dialysis Unit, a Rehabilitation Ward, Dermatology Ward and a Clinical Skills Laboratory on site. 1891 Blackpool Isolation Hospital was opened on Devonshire Road on the 7 th of July. This original sanatorium, behind the cemetery, was demolished in 1906 after being kept briefly for smallpox isolation. The new hospital was formally opened on the 26 th of March on the opposite corner of Devonshire Road and Talbot Road. Still called Blackpool Sanatorium, it soon became known as Devonshire Road Infectious Diseases Hospital until 1954; locals knew it as “The Fever Hospital”. The hospital was finally demolished in 2007. As some of you know I run the popular group  https://www.facebook.com/groups/blackpoolspast/ wh...