Blackpool set for £220m facelift

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The plan will see the Lancashire seaside resort get a massive facelift, with new offices, a supermarket, hotels, shops, cafes and restaurants, on a 10 hectare site near Blackpool North train station and Talbot Road.

The project, scheduled to begin in 2011, could also create hundreds of construction jobs.

It comes as a much needed boost to the local economy, which had vain hopes of attracting a 'Super-Casino' to the town to revive it's fortunes.

The Talbot Gateway agreement - between Blackpool Council and Muse Developments, it is hoped will now kick-start regeneration in the town, which has been in long decline since it's heyday as a holiday mecca.

Around £40 million of investment is coming from taxpayers cash, with the balance of the £220 million project from private investment.

Sir Howard Bernstein, chairman of ReBlackpool, the local regeneration body, said: "This project will transform a neglected and under-utilised area of the town into a welcoming family-friendly gateway, encouraging more people to visit, providing better services for local people and encouraging inward investment."

Mike Horner, regional director for Muse, which won preferred bidder status, said: "It is a scheme to help revitalise the town centre and help establish Blackpool once again as the principle commercial centre of the Fylde sub-region."

Work should begin on the site in around two years time after a period of local consultation and planning permission procedures.