Blackpool grant unlocks £26m post office to hotel conversion

The long-expected transformation of the former Abingdon Street Post Office has been set in motion after Blackpool Council entered into an £8m grant funding agreement with Ashall Hospitality to reconfigure the grade two-listed building into a 148-bedroom hotel.

By entering into a grant funding agreement, Cheshire-based Ashall Hospitality is free to explore the viability of delivering a £26m Indigo Hotel, designed by Franklin Ellis Architects, at the Blackpool building.

Consent was granted for the scheme in November 2021, but Blackpool Council required funding to close the wide viability gap that was identified by CBRE.

In April 2022, the council applied for the second round of Levelling Up Funding, a bid that was rejected. However, the following year, the funding was approved as capital regeneration funding in the March 2023 Budget.

The project was thrown into doubt again in 2023 when the building was put up for sale by owner Thompson Management Services Blackpool. However, the grant funding agreement could now unlock the long-awaited project.

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Cllr Mark Smith, cabinet member for economy and built environment, said: “This beautiful, listed building is in such a prominent position in the town centre and holds much nostalgia for residents, it’s essential we explore all opportunities to give it a new lease of life.

“It has been vacant for a long time now and I very much look forward to working with Ashall Hospitality, despite all the setbacks we have experienced and thank them for the tenacity and patience.”

He continued: “We need to find a suitable use for this building, and I am determined to seize the opportunity to bring it back into productive use.

“If the development is viable, it will create new employment opportunities in the town while also maintaining one of Blackpool’s many prized heritage assets.”

Abingdon Street’s post office opened in 1910 and closed in 2007. Ashall expects to hire up to 70 employees should the conversion be successful.

Blackpool Council will release the funding over two phases. The first phase will see extensive surveys carried out and contracts exchanged to determine the scheme’s viability.

Phase two, the post-viability stage, will incorporate the completion of the building purchase and full construction phase using the grant funding available.