Blackpool Central leisure complex: Plans backed by council

The £300m complex will include three indoor theme parks, an artisan food hall and boutique holiday apartments

Construction work is to begin on a £300m leisure complex to transform the site of a former train station.

Councillors backed plans to create a heritage quarter on Central Drive in Blackpool with three indoor theme parks, an artisan food hall and boutique holiday apartments.

The full site is set to be completed in 10 years, with work starting in 2022.

Developer Nikal Ltd said the complex would "future-proof Blackpool's tourism offer" after the coronavirus pandemic.

The plans include converting the Grade II-listed former King Edward VII Cinema into an food hall with outdoor dining areas, refurbishing the locally-listed King Edward VII pub and turning the King Edward VII apartment building into a hotel, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

A 1,306 space seven-storey car park was also approved, which will be the first part of the scheme completed by developers Nikal Ltd and Media Invest Entertainment.

The heritage quarter is set to be built by spring 2024, with further phases not operational until summer 2025.

The former Central Station closed in 1964 and has since been used as a car park.

Chief executive of Nikal, Richard Fee, said the approval was a "key moment for levelling up Blackpool's visitor economy post Covid".

Council leader Lynn Williams said the complex would bring "skilled year-round job opportunities, extra footfall and revenue to local businesses" as well as breathing life "into a rundown and neglected part of the town".

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