Blackpool progresses trio of major schemes
Stanley Park Golf Club’s redevelopment, construction of a 40,000 sq ft factory in the [pin url=”https://explore.deetu.com/pnw/#blackpool-airport-enterprise-zone”][/pin]Blackpool Airport Enterprise Zone, and compulsory purchase powers to accelerate the £300m [pin url=”https://explore.deetu.com/pnw/#blackpool-central”][/pin]Blackpool Central leisure scheme, have been voted forward by the council.
Blackpool Central
Councillors voted unanimously to approve the use of compulsory purchase order to acquire an additional plot of land to bring forward Nikal and Media Invest Entertainment’s £300m leisure scheme at Blackpool Central.
The council sold a 17-acre plot of land, bound to the north by New Bonny Street, the south by Chapel Street, the east by Central Drive and the West by the Bonny Street, to the joint venture in January.
However, an additional, unspecified plot of land is required before the plans can move forward.
The council is exploring the possibility of exercising a CPO for the remaining land within Blackpool Central if an agreement cannot be reached with landlords and land owners.
In 2018, developer Nikal signed a deal to deliver a £300m mixed-use scheme for the site, including a new visitor attraction featuring the UK’s first “flying theatre”, virtual reality entertainment zone, food hall and other elements.
The vision also includes two hotels, with a combined 350 rooms, as well as apartments and food and drink outlets.
The anchor tenant will be Chariots of The Gods Entertainment Park, an indoor theme and adventure park inspired by the 1968 bestselling book, The Chariots of The Gods, the global media rights of which partner, Media Invest Entertainment, owns and controls.
Blackpool Council’s director of regeneration, Alan Cavill, said the plan was to “press ahead” with the project so that a planning application can be submitted within the next 12 months with a view to starting building work within the same time frame.
Stanley Park Golf Club
The council agreed to go ahead with the leasehold disposal of land at the golf club which United Kingdom Adventure Parks, a subsidiary of the real estate investor Holmes, wants to redevelop.
The company is preparing plans to build 250 holiday homes and an Adrenalin World adventure park.
In May, planning consultant Iceni Projects lodged a request to the local council for an environmental impact assessment of the 39-acre plot to the east of East Park Drive in Blackpool.
Holmes struck a deal to operate the adventure park, through former tennis player David Lloyd’s Adrenalin World brand, last September.
The planning application for the scheme would be divided into two parts, detailed and outlined.
The detailed part of the proposal includes plans for Adrenalin World and the holiday lodges, while the outline plans are for landscaping and the redevelopment of the existing golf clubhouse.
The municipal golf club, which opened in 1926, would be reduced from 18 holes to nine under the proposals. The course currently totals 91 acres across two plots but the development site comprises a smaller, roughly L-shaped, plot.
Liverpool-based architect Ryder Architecture and Manchester-based consultant Hydrock are on the project team.
Cllr Neal Brooks spoke in support of the plan to dispose of the land but said the move could see the council “cast as villains”
Brooks argued that the council had been “propping up” the golf course for years and by allowing the land to be redeveloped provided the opportunity for a “viable venture”.
UKAP is expected to sign a lease of between 99 and 125 years, according to the council’s head of regeneration.
Blackpool Airport Enterprise Zone
Multi-Ply Components, a Preston-based firm that makes carbon fibre products, will relocate to a purpose-built 40,000 sq ft unit with Blackpool’s enterprise district after the council agreed to the proposal.
The council will build the unit and lease it to Multi-Ply on a 25-year lease. An additional plot, next to the proposed factory, has been set aside so that Multi-Ply can expand at a later date if necessary. It is understood that the firm’s relocation to Blackpool and a larger unit could create up to 100 jobs.
Outline proposals for a first, 81-acre phase of development at Blackpool Airport Enterprise Zone, including close to 1m sq ft of industrial space, a sports village and a gateway access road, were submitted last year.
The zone overall is to see 356 acres developed out over time. Preston-based architect and planner Cassidy + Ashton is working on behalf of the site’s promoters, Blackpool Council and Fylde Council.