MoD hub landscaping nods to railway heritage

Designers want the landscaping to reflect the form of the timber sleepers in railway tracks

Blackpool's railway heritage has inspired new "public art" landscaping designs to be provided as part of a new £45m office block, close to the town's railway station.

It was announced on 19 May that construction had begun on the new office building for more than 1,000 Ministry of Defence (MoD) civil servants.

The move will be at the heart of the Talbot Gateway regeneration scheme in the resort.

Details have now emerged in planning documents that show the designs include a green landscaped area, referred to as a "rain garden", with benches designed with the town's railway heritage in mind.

'Boost sustainability'

These proposals will now be considered by the council.

Designers Re-form Landsape stated: "The planting will function as a rain garden and will work in harmony with the recolonised railway character."

It could include "a reclaimed railway track" where "surface water will be able to run into the planting areas through breaks in the edge" with "simple, robust" seating.

"Alongside providing positive visual interest to the scheme, the public art will also boost sustainability by providing a sustainable urban drainage system and reusing existing materials," the plans said.

The site has lain empty since the Apollo building was demolished in 2014 but is now to get a new lease of life.

The new office development represents the fifth phase of the £350m Talbot Gateway development, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

A £100m civil service hub has already been built on Cookson Street for the Department for Work and Pensions.