Council buys ex-post office after hotel plan fails

Abingdon Street post office first opened in 1910

A Grade II-listed former post office in Blackpool has been bought using government grant funding after plans for a hotel were found to be too expensive.

The long-vacant building on Abingdon Street had been the subject of £26m proposals to become an Indigo-branded hotel and restaurant.

Alternative options are now being explored to repurpose the building "in a way that both respects the heritage of the site and boosts the town centre economy", a spokesperson for Blackpool Council said.

In the meantime work would be done to make it "secure, wind and watertight" and "prevent further decline", the authority said.

'Landmark building'

The council, in consultation with the ministry of housing, communities and local government, said it would continue to work on a revised scheme with funding from the UK Government Capital Regeneration Fund.

Councillor Mark Smith, cabinet member for economy and built environment at Blackpool Council, said: "The surveys we've done so far will still be very useful to help us decide on the next steps and how we make sure that the building continues to have a future that can make Blackpool better.

"We remain committed to identifying a high-quality solution that brings this landmark building back into use."

Once a busy hub of activity in the town centre, the building has been empty since 2007 and has fallen into disrepair.

On several occasions police have had to deal with groups of youths who have climbed onto its roof, including a recent incident which firefighters attended with an aerial ladder.

Abingdon Street Post office was designed by architect Walter Pott and first opened in 1910.