Progress at Anchorsholme Park revamp as damaged ship now removed

Demolition work has been carried out on an unsafe fire-damaged play ship in Anchorsholme Park which was targeted by arsonists last December.

The attack on the much-loved climbing ship on December 28 last year caused thousands of pounds of damage and much upset in the community and for the past nine months the ship has been fenced off.

Now £10,000 raised by the Friends of Anchorsholme Park towards the cost of replacement play equipment and an overhaul of the play area had been presented to Blackpool Council, which has overall responsibility for the park.

Anchorsholme councillors Paul Galley and Anita Cooper, along with Norbreck member Julie Sloman presented the community-raised funds to the council.

They had recently called on the council to push forward with the upgrade scheme and offer an update , raising concerns about the pace of progress on the project.

The councillors were also concerned that the £10,000 would have to be used for the demolition of the ship.

However, the council has confirmed it is paying for the demolition work so the money raised will go towards the upgrade of play equipment instead.

Cllr Galley said: “We’ve presented the cheque for £10,000, which was raised with the help of the community, to kickstart the project.”

Cllr Sloman said: “It’s been great to be able to hand that money over. Money that was raised by the community is going back into the community.

“We said last week that we wanted this project to get under way. We anticipated that the money was going to have to be used to dismantle the equipment that posing a danger to everybody.

“Instead the council has listened and is dismantling the equipment so the money the community raised is gong to be used positively to take the project forward.”

There will be a public meeting in November which will allow residents to look at the playground designs, and a schedule of maintenance work will be carried in the park.

Local primary schools such as Nobreck, Anchorsholme and St Teresa’s have been involved, with pupils’ ideas being heard.

Cllr Galley added: “This is just a series of steps we have worked out with the council. By Spring 2027 we want to have a relaunch of the park, with a working playground that looks really good and a cafe which is open.

“It’s a real chance to do this project well, so a huge thanks to the council for listening and to the community for raising the money.”

Meanwhile, the tenders are now open for those who want to take over the tender for the park’s Brew Café, which closed at the end of August due to a change in council contracts and plans by Blackpool Council to outsource the space to a new commercial vendor.

Cllr Anita Cooper said: “The Brew Café is an important part of the development. Sadly it is now closed but the tender is now open for people to look into.”

Regarding the tenders, Cllr Sloman added: “We are inviting local groups and community interest groups to consider putting in tenders. This is not an ordinary café, it is more of a community hub where people can hold gatherings and sessions, as well as sit in for refreshments while they’re in the park. It has so much potential.”

Cllr Jane Hugo, Deputy Leader of the Council (Place) and Cabinet Member for Climate Change said on behalf of the council: “What excites me most of all is how much effort people put into the parks locally, they mean so much to the local communities . We have seven green flag awards this year, which is the most we’ve had, which is excellent news.

“We are really celebrating our green spaces and our parks and we appreciate all the effort from people keeping on top of them.

“Now we’re looking at how we can make sure how the equipment is distributed across the town and what improvements we can make – and make sure every park is a nice space for that community.”

She added: “There’s nothing worse when something has been damaged, to have that hanging around as a constant reminder of a bad incident, so it’s important that we deal with this as swiftly as we possibly can.”