Ambitious plans for Marine Hall include new café and outdoor seating

Ambitious proposals to extensively revamp Fleetwood’s Marine Hall – including the provision of a new café and outdoor seating – have now been lodged with Wyre planners.

The works are part of the wider reaching Waterfront Masterplan, which aims to enhance the town’s coastal area by creating a better connection between the seafront and the town centre.

The application is for the creation of an outdoor decked seating area with associated stepped access and ramp and external alterations to create a new entrance and window openings.

It includes a retractable awning to support the provision of a new café, as well as an extension to existing WC block and creation of new rear entrance lobby within the colonnade.

What Planning Statement says

A revised Planning Statement was submitted on May 14 by Cassidy and Ashton Group Ltd, on behalf of applicants Wyre Council.

It states: “The proposals would bring the bar and kitchen area of the building back into use as a café.

“Internally, the existing kitchen would be partitioned to create an indoor seating area for 28 seats, with associated serving area. New WC facilities would be created within the entrance lobby for use by visitors to the café.

“Externally, an outdoor decking area would be provided for use by the café, supporting an additional 26 seats.

“Both ramped and stepped access would be installed to facilitate access to the decking area, which would provide access into the café through the retained main entrance doors and a newly created secondary entrance.

“The retractable awning above part of the decking area would support its use all year round.”

It added: “Alongside the creation of an additional entrance doorway, the Promenade facing elevation would be altered to provide enlarged windows and updated cladding treatment, to enhance the appearance of the building and improve visitor experience.

“An extension to the existing WC block to the west of the building would include four additional toilets. A new entrance lobby would provide direct access to the WCs and also act as a new access point into the function room directly from the gardens.”

Wyre Council recently confirmed that the Marine Hall will remain under council management following the conclusion of a procurement process to appoint an external operator.

In a move which they say ‘reaffirmed its long‑term commitment to supporting culture, community and local economic growth’, the council’s Management Board decided to end the procurement exercise for Marine Hall without making an award.

Despite strong interest, which demonstrated Marine Hall’s appeal and potential, the council said members were clear that the priority is to retain the venue within Wyre and focus on investing in its future.

Councillor Lynne Bowen, Leisure, Health and Community Engagement Portfolio Holder at Wyre Council, said: “We believe the right decision is to retain Marine Hall within Wyre and focus on investing in its future so it can continue to serve our residents, support the local economy and thrive in the long term.”