A £1bn scheme has been unveiled this morning by Blackpool Borough Council which is intended to establish the town as a premier resort for the future.
Leader of Blackpool Borough Council, councillor Roy Fisher, said: 'We had to face the hard truth that our resort was in decline due to low investment and innovation. Our dream was to put Blackpool back on top, reinventing the town as a world-class resort for the 21st century and improving quality of life for local people.'
He stressed the plan - created by a team including Peter Moore, known for his work at Center Parcs and Alton Towers; Tim Magill of Jerde Partnership and Bill Hanway of EDAW and professionals from the council's own team - was only a draft and said: 'There is some way to go before we can start to fill in all the detail and begin making the vision a reality.'
The Council believes the proposed relaxation of gaming laws could provide a considerable boost to the project and Moore said: 'Experience has shown that gaming can bring jobs, prosperity and security of income for the long term. The design of modern 'resort casino hotels', with their size and scale and with shopping and entertainment included, means they can become tourist attractions in their own right.'
The proposal, covering a 200-hectare site in the centre of the resort, would be the catalyst for a major programme of regeneration and could take 15-20 years to be fully realised.
Four key districts lying at the heart of the resort are the focus of the draft masterplan - Pleasure Beach, The Village, Central Beach and Town Centre.
Fisher said that this approach 'helps visitors to find their way around a resort, making it easy to understand the range and location of facilities and attractions.'
The Pleasure Beach district would retain the 42-acre Blackpool Pleasure Beach complex as a key feature but would be complemented by a wide range of new attractions.
The project's draft masterplan shows how the area could be transformed by the addition of a 18,200sq m glass aquarium adjacent to the South Pier, a new 800-room resort casino hotel, an open air event park for live entertainment, landscaped gardens, extra parking and all-weather links to other parts of the resort.
The traditional character of Blackpool's Victorian district - known in the proposal as The Village - would be retained and enhanced by a programme of street-by-street physical improvements, such as property facelifts and work on lighting, street furniture and signs. Improved car parking would also be provided.
Central Beach is a key part of the draft design, with the creation of an entertainment centre to complement Blackpool's famous Pleasure Beach.
A key part of the design for Central Beach is the creation of a major new entertainment centre and the construction of a glass-covered leisure complex on an 11-hectare site between Central Drive and the sea, is one idea under consideration.
This would combine a 'Centre Parcs-style sub-tropical world' and 'adventure exploratorium' with a casino resort hotel featuring a spa and roof garden and the whole project is designed to complement the Blackpool Pleasure Beach area.
A redesigned North Station would be at the core of the new Town Centre area and from it a pedestrianised area with restaurants and retail outlets surrounding a central plaza would be accessible down a newly landscaped Talbot Road.
Town Centre would also benefit from 30,000sq m of new office space, including a new civic centre, along with nearly 300 town houses.
Linking the area with the Central Beach district would be a 32,000sq m conference centre and entertainment complex. This could accommodate 12,000 people at a time, either a large convention or conference or several smaller events at the same time, and would ensure Blackpool gains more of the business travel market.
Elsewhere, the masterplan shows how the town's historic tram system could be rebuilt and new green spaces created.
Obtaining Economic Development Zone funding from the Government was essential for the progression of the development and a successful bid was put together by a team from Blackpool Borough Council.
A key public sector partner in the project is the Northwest Development Agency, which 'recognises that a successful Blackpool is good for the tourism image of the whole region.'
Blackpool Pleasure Beach and Leisure Parcs are two of the principal private sector stakeholders keen for involvement in the development, as are local businesses and accommodation groups.
Blackpool's two other districts - North Shore and South Shore - are to be the subject of individual masterplans. Details: www.blackpool.gov.uk
