New plans revealed for former hotel site

Developers said leaving the site derelict has encouraged fly-tipping and vermin

Hopes of redeveloping a prominent site on Blackpool Promenade into a new hotel have been temporarily dashed, with the land now set to be used as a car park.

The site, in South Shore, has been abandoned for 10 years, since the former Tudor Rose Hotel was demolished in 2014. Plans for a £7.6m EasyHotel were shelved in 2021, despite initial construction.

Now developers have applied to Blackpool Council for temporary planning permission for a 55-space car park on the site, with an entrance on Commercial Street.

They said the empty land has attracted fly-tipping and vermin including rats, and have proposed using the site as a car park for three years while more permanent development options are explored.

The site, in South Shore, has been empty for 10 years since the former Tudor Rose Hotel was demolished in 2014

Documents submitted to the council, on behalf of Hallmark Developments NW Ltd, said the site was located "in a prominent position within the promenade of Blackpool, and the proposed car park will provide visitor/tourist parking for the seafront - particularly in the summer months when Blackpool Promenade is at its busiest”.

A planning brief warns the site has been derelict for some time and has suffered “significant issues with fly-tipping, waste, anti-social behaviour, fires and break-ins”.

The EasyHotel Group began building a 104-room hotel on the site in 2020, reported to be a £7.6m investment, but work stopped in 2021 - leaving just a steel frame, which has since been removed.

EasyHotel said the scheme had become unviable due to the site's size limitations, and the impact of rising costs following the Covid pandemic.

The proposal for a car park includes resurfacing the site, and installing lighting and automatic number-plate recognition cameras.

The brief states there would be 55 car spaces, six motorbike spaces and three electric vehicle charging points.