£90m housing plan not ambitious enough - councillor

A £90m plan to regenerate deprived areas in central Blackpool "doesn't go far enough", the leader of the Conservative group on the council has said.

The authority was awarded the funding from the government last year to demolish about 400 properties, which are no longer fit for purpose, and replace them with up to 280 bigger new homes.

Conservative councillor Paul Galley said the scheme needed to be "far more ambitious".

But Labour MP for Blackpool South, Chris Webb, said the project was "a brilliant first step in transforming Central Drive".

The BBC has contacted Blackpool Council and the government for a response.

The first phase of the housing regeneration work will likely focus on one of Blackpool's most deprived areas - the area south of the town centre, between Chapel Street and Rigby Road to Park Road, and the Promenade and Central Drive corridor, the council said.

The exact area has not been confirmed yet.

But Galley told BBC Radio Lancashire: "There's a big chunk in there that talks about adding plazas to Central Drive and this feels more like gentrification than actually regeneration and supporting people.

"What's needed is a scheme that's far more ambitious, but also connects the private sector into it - sole traders, small business individuals, people who want to invest.

"This is just relying on a big government grant than only covers a small fraction of what's required.

"I don't think they go far enough."

However, Webb said the Central Drive area had been "desperately needing this kind of transformation for decades, pretty much since I've been in this town in the mid-eighties".

"This is a great first step for the town working with the council but also working with private business to start investing in that area for that partnership to turn that £90m into £400m," he added.

"For me there is no reason why Central Drive can't look like Didsbury.

"That's the ambition, we have to be bold.

"We've got the first outline coming out soon, so we know exactly where it's going to be."

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