£30m bid to be submitted to fix North Promenade colonnades

Blackpool Council is submitting a government bid for £30m to fix the colonnades.

The council has been invited by the Department for Transport’s £1bn Structures Fund to submit plans to repair and refurbish the historic Grade II listed North Promenade colonnades between the Metropole Hotel and Gynn Square.

Almost one kilometre in length, the colonnades include three sections: Lower Walk at Gynn Square Crescent, Middle Walk from Warley Road to Pleasant Street and Princess Parade by the Metropole.

Built between 1910 and 1925, they remain a much-loved part of Blackpool’s tiered seafront. However, like much of Blackpool’s built heritage, the colonnades are over 100 years old and in serious need of repair.

Over the last few years, some entrances to the colonnades have had to close for safety reasons, however earlier this year work was completed to safely reopen three of the five entrances.

Cllr Jane Hugo, Deputy Leader of Blackpool Council, said: “Our famous colonnades are hugely important - they are part of our built heritage. Residents and visitors use the area to walk, stay active and enjoy life living on our beautiful coastline.

“We’ve been working on a plan to restore the colonnades back to their former glory. That’s not cheap. To afford the level of repairs the colonnades deserve, we would have to go without any road repairs for over ten years. That’s why we’re submitting to government our urgent need for extra funding so we can restore them.

“While we work on the funding bid, we’re not standing still. We’ve carried out some temporary repairs to open more entrances this spring, without risking people’s safety.”

The estimated cost to repair and replace the entire length in a like for like design is estimated to be around £35m. This cost is over ten times the average highways budget given to the council by the government every year, meaning additional funding is needed to complete the repairs.

Lower Walk and Middle Walk sit within the North Promenade Conservation Area and are treated as Grade II listed heritage assets, reflecting their special architectural and historic interest.

The council submitted its interest in bidding for between £22.5m and £31.5m from the Structures Fund last month and has now been asked to submit a formal bid with detailed plans.

If the bid is accepted, the council would also contribute towards the remaining funding gap with work expected to be completed by 2030.