New plan for Art Deco hotel after demolition

The former Yates pub on Blackpool Promenade closed three years ago

Plans to extensively revamp an Art Deco-styled former pub on Blackpool seafront have drastically changed after the whole building had to be demolished.

The multimillion-pound regeneration of the former Yates Wine Lodge in South Shore, which closed in 2022, was expected to see much of the original, locally listed building retained.

But long-term deterioration of its concrete and steel structure meant it could not be made safe.

For the project to continue, not only will the pub have to be rebuilt from scratch but an entirely new planning application will have to be submitted to Blackpool Council on behalf of owner Raghbir Singh Basrai.

The pub has now been demolished

When the plans were announced to restore, enlarge and reopen the building, many in the town welcomed the news.

The plans were given the green light by Blackpool planners.

However, the project has proved far more challenging than had been anticipated.

A spokesman for Abbott Hull Ltd, which drew up the designs, said: "It soon became clear that the steel and concrete had deteriorated so much that it would not be safe to keep it.

"The plans are now to rebuild it, like for like, with those original Art Deco features.

"It will mean submitting a new planning application for an entirely new building, in the style of the original."

Apart from regenerating the building, the original plans involved the creation of an 18-bedroom hotel and an extension.

The distinctive building was one of the resort's most popular bars for decades, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.