Blackpool FC: Locals upset over new stand homes demolition plan

Damian Dismore says he has not had enough communication from the football club or council

Residents living near a football ground have said they are "upset and uncertain" over plans to demolish their homes to build a new stand.

Blackpool FC plans to build a new East stand coupled with a council proposal for regeneration in the area.

If passed it would mean about 25 homes would have to be demolished in neighbouring Henry Street.

Blackpool Council said no tenants would be homeless and homeowners would get the market rate for their homes.

Homeowner Damian Dinsmore said people in Henry Street were unhappy at the way the plan had been handled.

He said: "I'm very upset. All my memories are here. My children have grown up here.

"It would have been better if the football club and the council had met us to explain what was going on."

The club wants to replace a temporary stand with one more in keeping with the rest of its Bloomfield Road stadium

Danielle Caton, who rented her home in the street for the last 17 years, said: "I first heard abut the plans six or seven months ago, not from the council but from my landlord."

She added: "It's worrying because we don't have anywhere else to go.

"We don't know when we will be given notice to leave - it's very upsetting and very uncertain."

"I am trying to find somewhere as quickly as we can," said Ms Caton, whose son with learning difficulties attends a specialist school just under a mile away.

The scheme, which would also see the creation of community sports pitches, has been awarded £6.5m from a regeneration fund, the £39.5m Town Deal, allocated to Blackpool by the government.

The council said around half of the owner occupiers and landlords from the street had already reached a deal to sell their properties.

The plan is part of the area's regeneration

The council says around half of the property owners have reached a compensation agreement

Blackpool Council said: "Nobody will be asked to move out before Christmas and nobody will be made homeless by the scheme.

"The Revoe Community Sports Village will help regenerate the local area around Henry Street by building sports pitches for Blackpool Football Club and its Community Trust, as well as development of a new East Stand.

"That means we are talking with the property owners on Henry Street about buying their homes and some owners have chosen to sell already.

"The offers made are based on independent property valuations."

Tenants who need additional support are urged to contact the council for advice.

Blackpool FC said it was working with the council to "help create as vibrant a community as possible".

A planning application to build the stand has yet to go before the council and demolitions will only take place once the plan has been passed.