Business Advice
Blackpool Central moving towards next phase
Blackpool Council’ s Executive is being recommended to continue with a procurement exercise to find a developer for the Blackpool Central site.
If approved, the procurement process is expected to begin next month, with the successful development partner expected to be appointed in spring 2027.
Blackpool Central is a 10-acre site in the shadow of The Blackpool Tower. The site sits in the heart of the town centre, benefitting from a prime location, high footfall and great transport connectivity via a direct road off the M55 motorway, as well as via Blackpool Tower tram stop.
The site opens up onto Blackpool Promenade and seafront, as well as the resort’ s main area for major events such as Blackpool Illuminations, Blackpool Air Show and the World Fireworks Championship Blackpool.
10 | Autumn 2026
The site also features a 1,306 space multi-storey car park, which opened in 2024, while demolition of the police station and courts building have created a shovel-ready site in preparation for the future development.
Recent upgrades have been carried out at the King Edwards properties on Central Drive, including improvements to the façades and windows, tidying up the appearance and improving the security of the buildings. This is part of the council’ s commitment to maintain the site until further development works progress.
Cllr Lynn Williams, Leader of Blackpool Council, said:“ This is another important step towards bringing a new and exciting leisure attraction to Blackpool.
“ The site offers a unique opportunity to deliver a major mixed-use leisureled development in the heart of the town, creating even more reasons for people to visit Blackpool throughout the year and helping make Blackpool better for residents, businesses and future generations.
“ The work carried out to date has generated strong interest in the site, and this next stage will help us find the right development partner who shares our ambition to deliver something truly exceptional. We look forward to seeing the opportunity progress over the coming months.”
“ This next stage is to look for and choose a developer / investor partner and this must come before the details of any development. It will also be important that any development delivers year-round use and that the project is viable. We have seen a number of early ideas come forward but all proposals will need to meet these important criteria and then must be robustly tested, as we cannot support something that puts a burden on the council tax payers of Blackpool.”