Blackpool: Former post office could be turned into £26m hotel

Ashall Projects aims to restore the Grade II listed facade of the former post office and the telephone kiosks in Abingdon Street

Revised plans to transform a former Blackpool post office into a 144-room boutique hotel have been submitted to the council.

Developer Ashall Projects remains on board with the £26m scheme to convert the empty building in Abingdon Street.

Full planning permission was granted in 2021 but the project stalled after a failed bid for government funding.

However, a new bid to the Levelling Up fund included £8m to go towards the town centre hotel.

Blackpool Council leader Lynn Williams said the local authority backed the plan "to bring this key historic property back to life".

The new application is for construction of a four and five storey link extension with roof top terraces between the former Post Office and sorting office, a three-storey rear extension to the former post office and internal and external alterations to both buildings, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Cheshire-based Ashall Projects aims to restore the Grade II listed facade of the former Post Office and the telephone kiosks in Abingdon Street which it said in its application "adds character to the street scene".

If approved, the hotel would be part of the Hotel Indigo and Indigo Suites brand.

The post office closed in 2007, with the sorting office moving to a new site in Bispham in 2015.

Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram? You can also send story ideas to [e-mail]