A first look at the final design for the much anticipated new Multiversity campus in Blackpool have been unveiled.
Plans for a new state of the art education campus in Blackpool town centre have been submitted for final approval.
The Multiversity campus will provide a new home for Blackpool and The Fylde College, bringing up to 3,000 students and staff into Blackpool town centre.
The 115,000 sq ft building will include five floors of education space to deliver more than 70 individual courses and enhance the college’s existing higher education provision which is directly linked to local employment needs. It would also support a wide range of qualifications, from further education, through to higher education and adult learning.The campus building will include a high-glossed terracotta tiled facade, along with floor to ceiling glass, while the surrounding area will also be greened up through landscaping and planting to create a public square.
Cllr Lynn Williams, Leader of Blackpool Council, said: “As well as bringing thousands of students into the town centre, helping our local people to complete qualifications and find quality work, it will also provide a green public square to the area, incorporating trees, flowers and grassy areas, which will complement the similar planting which will happen around the DWP office. It will be a great green area within the town centre.”
The building itself is expected to be carbon neutral in operation, with solar panels on the roof of the building, and heated by sustainable air source heat pumps. A green roof terrace at the south of the building will also allow students to both study and relax in a landscaped environment.
The building will also include a small dedicated parking area for staff, as well as secure cycle storage.
Avison Young have led as the planning consultants for the Multiversity, along with architects HawkinsBrown and advisers CBRE. Blackpool Council has also appointed Morgan Sindall Construction as the main contractors on a pre-contact services agreement.
Outline planning approval for up to 32,600sqm of education and commercial space was granted for the whole Multiversity site earlier this year. In addition to the first phase Multiversity campus, a second phase immediately south will allow expansion space for the College’s future plans, or office space for the Talbot Gateway. In the short term, the space would be used as a temporary car park until funding is secured for the second phase.
An artists impression of how the Multiversity in Blackpool will look | nw
Land assembly for the site of the Multiversity is still under way, with over 60% of the properties purchased so far and negotiations with the remaining property owners continuing. While a Compulsory Purchase Order was served in April and will be heard at a public inquiry starting on 12 November, the Council continues to negotiate with property owners, and is offering a range of support to residents who have to move because of the development.
Cllr Williams added: “I understand that we are buying people’s homes and that for many this has been a difficult process. As throughout this process, support is still available to help find alternative accommodation and to move home. If anyone does still need support please do contact us.”
Coun Lynn Williams, leader of Blackpool Council | National World
Alun Francis OBE, Chief Executive at Blackpool and the Fylde College, said: “We are really pleased with the progress being made to bring this amazing new facility into the heart of Blackpool. We look forward to sharing more details as the project progresses.”
The Multiversity makes up phase four of Blackpool Council’s £350m regeneration of the Talbot Gateway area around Blackpool North train station, which in total is bringing over 8,000 professional workers and students into the area.
A new 4 star 144-bedroom Holiday Inn hotel and Marco Pierre White New York Italian restaurant opened in May, while a tram-train interchange linking to Blackpool Promenade opened in June.
A civil service hub will bring over 3,000 government workers into a new 215,000 sqft office on King Street early next year, while full planning permission has been granted for a new million, 52,950 sq ft office off Talbot Road which would be home to over 1,000 employees. Plans for a new multi-storey car park off Church Street are also set to be submitted.
The land for the new Multiversity is currently being acquired by Blackpool Council, with the support of a £9m Government grant while the construction was also awarded £40m from UK Government in 2023.
On 6 December 2022 the BBC, in conjunction with Ordinance Survey, released the results of a nationwide study in to the changing face of Britain’s high streets.
The headline issues are not surprising in that banks and large retail outlets fell in number, whilst nail bars and coffee shops rose.
‘The findings illustrate the changing face of the British High Street from a place to buy things to a place to do stuff - like get your nails done and meet friends for a coffee or a cocktail’.
So how does this affect you? The link above allows you to enter a postcode and see how that particular locality has changed over the period from March 2020 to March 2022.
We used Bispham as an example and the data shows:
Beauty services: 19% increase
Cafes: 27% increase
Clothes shops: no change
Fast food: 9% increase
Pubs and bars: 16% increase
Restaurants: 4% decrease
This data can be used for investors, current landlords and potential tenants.
If a landlord has a unit about to become vacant they might decide to open up the floor space to provide for a café or a pub; depending on the size of the unit they might choose to leave partition walls in place to perhaps cater for a beauty salon’s consulting rooms. The point is the data will be specific to each property and its location and floor plan. Sometimes the obvious answer will be to do nothing and see how the market reacts.
In this example the findings would suggest a good solid area for investment in commercial property, both as a new landlord, owner occupier or tenant.
You might say that the survey doesn’t tell you anything that you don’t already know if you are already knowledgeable about an area. However, the St Anne’s data shows:
Beauty services: 2% decrease
Cafes: 6% decrease
Clothes shops: 5% increase
Fast food: 6% increase
Pubs and bars: 33% increase
Restaurants: 4% increase
A significant difference in cafés and pubs and bars over a 7 mile stretch of coastline might prompt an investor to think about a late night licence in St Anne’s rather than Bispham – then again we’ve seen those come and go many times before.
The findings are interesting and informative, and supplement Kays’ 70+ years of commercial property experience on The Fylde Coast.
Blackpool eveng Gazette report that Town hall chiefs are set to crack down on the growth of airbnbs in Blackpool after it was revealed there are around 500 trading in the resort.
An investigation by councillors is recommending planning enforcement powers are used more widely to control the spread of such short term lets.
Many are operating in residential areas without planning permission, with the council having to deal with a rising number of complaints.
These include noise disturbance and anti-social behaviour due to holidaymakers staying in residential areas, lack of fire safety precautions and uncollected rubbish.
There are also concerns over operators not paying the correct business rates or council tax, and of properties being incorrectly insured or mortgaged in relation to use as holiday accommodation.
A scrutiny carried out by members of the council’s tourism, economy and communities committee has made three recommendations.
Coun Fred Jackson, who chaired the inquiry, said in a report: “The issue of short term lettings is one that has grown in Blackpool in recent years andcreated significant concern for local people and businesses.
“As a scrutiny panel we have sought to understand the scale and scope of the issue within Blackpool and gain an understanding of the impact of short term lettings on our residents.”
While the resort’s hoteliers must fulfil strict regulations including some paid for licences, airbnbs are unregulated with the lack of fire safety precautions said by the report to be “of grave concern.”
Residential properties are required to have planning permission to allow change of use, but most operate without approval.
The recommendations from the scrutiny report are
To endorse the use of planning enforcement notices to address the issue of short-term lettings being operated as holiday accommodation in residential areas without the appropriate planning permission.
That the council explores the maximum use of its available powers to address the growth of airbnbs in Blackpool.
That additional resources be identified to ensure enforcement action can be taken where necessary.
Coun Gerard Walsh told a meeting of the scrutiny committee there were now around 500 airbnbs operating in Blackpool.
He said the council was missing out on around £250,000 worth of revenue due to operators failing to apply for planning permission.
