Blackpool progresses land deal for £65m Multiversity 

The local council is seeking to acquire a three-acre site to the rear of No1 Bickerstaffe Square to develop a 190,000 sq ft education facility. 

Blackpool Council will use £9m of its £40m Towns Fund award to acquire the site, which comprises commercial properties fronting Cookson Street and residential properties on Charles Street, George Street and Milbourne Street. 

The acquisition of the site will unlock the £65m Multiversity project, which is the subject of a £40m Levelling Up Fund bid made in conjunction with Wyre Council. 

The project, designed by Hawkins\Brown and supported by Lancaster University, is intended to boost skills growth in Lancashire through the provision of a technical and professional curriculum.

Once complete, the Multiversity would accommodate up to 3,600 students and will see the relocation of Blackpool and the Fylde College’s Park Road campus into the town centre. 

The three-acre site is located close to the Talbot Gateway regeneration area. Credit: via council documents

If Blackpool Council is awarded the £40m of levelling up cash it requested for the project, the authority will have to spend it by 31 March 2025, under the terms of the funding agreement. 

In order to speed up the process to ensure funding timescales are adhered to, Blackpool recognises it may have to use compulsory purchase powers to acquire the site. 

The council’s executive is expected to approve in principle the use of a CPO when it meets next Monday. 

As well as government funding, Blackpool Council is to borrow £16m to support the Multiversity project.  

That loan will be paid back by Blackpool and the Fylde College via a lease.