Blackpool's Arty Bed and Breakfast hotel to close

The hotel did not get enough bookings

Blackpool's £1.3m Art B&B has announced it will close at the end of October saying there are not enough future bookings to sustain the business.

The Promenade venue will still host workshops and in October and November and will be seeking a new operator.

It opened in 2019 after Blackpool Council bought the former Ocean Hotel between Banks Street and Springfield Road for £203,000 in 2016.

The B&B, which employed 11 people, was run as a community interest company.

It was set up by arts project Left Coast as part of efforts to stimulate Blackpool's artistic community.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said that a post on the Art B&B Facebook site said: "We are sorry to announce that from 31 October, Art B&B will close its hotel operation.

"Due to the current economic climate, there are not enough future bookings to guarantee sustaining it in its current form, so we are now seeking a new operator.

"We will honour existing workshops and shows scheduled into Space B throughout October and November.

"However, we are extremely proud of what we have been able to accomplish as a community interest company (CIC), and are pleased to say that we have managed to fulfil all of the objectives from our original funders and supporters."

Left Coast raised £1.3m towards the Art B&B project from funding sources including the Coastal Communities Fund and Arts Council England, Community Business Fund, Tudor Trust and the Clore Duffield Prize Fund.

Investigation call

It also received £73,000 from the government's £1.57bn Culture Recovery Fund during the Covid 19 pandemic.

Councillor Tony Williams, leader of the Conservative group on Blackpool Council, has called for a full investigation into why the project has failed.

He added: "The blame of course will be aimed at Covid, but with the government support funding and resilience dozens of other hotels on the prom have survived.

"Public money from the Arts Council and Blackpool Council went into funding this hotel which could have supported more aesthetic and sustainable art related projects.

"If you add those funds to the amount of debt the hotel has created the real picture becomes very serious."

 The Art B&B said more than 10,000 guests have stayed in its rooms, which were each designed as unique art installations, while work was commissioned from more than 30 artists.