This is why a section of resort’s Central Drive is boarded up

An unsightly block of properties on Blackpool’s Central Drive has been cordoned off after being deemed unsafe for people to walk past.

The former Pennine Hotel and neighbouring buildings have been in a deteriorating state for several years but there have been complaints that not only do they look untidy but they are now potentially posing a danger to the public.

The buildings have also had to have their windows shuttered.

The town centre end of Central Drive is now looking particularly down at heel but Blackpool Council has pledged that it is now taking decisive action on empty, eyesore buildings.

Further south along Central Drive, rows of houses off the main road have also been boarded up, but this part is part of a separate project, the Central Housing Regeneration scheme, which will see some 300 houses demolished to make way for 230 new properties.

That project has continued to prove controversial, however, as some of these residents says they want to keep their homes and do not want to see them demolished.

A planning application for that demolition and housing development project is set to go before Blackpool Council’ planning committee at a date yet to be confirmed.

In the meantime, Cllr Dave Flanagan, Blackpool Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing, says the council will continue to tackle the issue of derelict buildings like the Pennine Hotel and Central Drive will soon start to look better.

The empty and crumbling former hotel, which now appear to have been partially fire-damaged, is on the corner with Havelock Street, which is part of Blackpool’s holiday zone and attracts regular tourists to the neat B&B and small hotels there.

Cllr Flanagan said: “We remain firmly committed to tackling empty and neglected properties across the town, including those in private ownership.

“Using the full range of powers available to us, we are taking action wherever appropriate to bring long-term vacant buildings back into productive use. Recent successes have seen enforcement action leading to property sales, enabling homes and commercial premises to be restored and occupied once again.

“The properties on Central Drive had become a significant blight on the area and also presented safety concerns for residents and visitors. We are therefore taking steps to secure the buildings by boarding them up and making them safe. The costs of this work will be recovered from the owners.

“We look forward to engaging constructively with the owners to encourage investment in these properties or their sale to parties willing to bring them back into use.

“This supports our wider ambition to regenerate central Blackpool and create a cleaner, safer and more attractive place in which people can live, work and invest.”

Steve Savage, who runs the Shining Diamond B&B on Havelock Street, said in September: “The former Pennine Hotel is a serious problem.

“It creates a very bad impression in what is a holiday zone and children try to get in there all the time. It is an accident waiting to happen.

“If the council are including these kind of properties in their latest empty buildings strategy then I would really welcome it.“