Neighbours hit out over condemned Blackpool hotel

Neighbours of a run-down Blackpool hotel which was hit with a prohibition order a year ago say it has got even worse in the past 12 months.

Local hoteliers want the owners of the OYO Blarney Stone Hotel to repair it and smarten it up because they say say it is blighting the holiday zone around it.

Blackpool Council slapped an Emergency Prohibition Order (EPO) on the property, on Alexandra Road in South Shore, in May last year over a list of serious safety concerns, including bare wires and structural concerns.

At the the time William Thomas, who was leasing the 12-bedroom property and in charge of the hotel, said the issues would be sorted out and the hotel would be re-opened with a theme based on the TV series Benidorm and re-named the Benipool Solano Style Hotel.

But the project did not happen and Mr Thomas is no longer leasing the property.

The Blarney Stone is believed to be owned by OYO Hotels & Homes, a large Indian multinational hospitality chain that franchises and leases hotels, homes, and other living spaces.

Neighbours believe the boarded-up property is still owned by OYO, also known as Oyo Rooms but the company has said it does not own it and has no responsibility for how it is operated,

Nextdoor neighbour Tamara Priestman, whose own property is a former B&B, said: “It’s a nightmare, to be honest.

“Blackpool Council has done its best to shut it down and board it up, but vagrants keen breaking in and you can hear them at night.

“My fears is that if there is a fire, it will affect this property and the thought o it is really scary.

“The roof next-door is in a bad way and it’s real worry. It used to be a decent hotel but it stated to go downhill about five years ago and has just kept getting worse.”

Another neighbour on the street runs a hotel and says she is embarrassed when guests see the boarded up windows.

She said: “There were people living in it and thy had dogs in the property. they obviously weren’t supposed to there.

“The council have kept on boarding it up but you never know what’s going to happen next.

“The best thing would be to turn it into a car park.”

Ian White, of the hotel group StayBlackpool, said: “There are some excellent hoteliers in Blackpool but we need a more robust strategy to take badly-run hotels out of the market.

“Places like the Blarney Stone really let holiday areas down.”

A spokesman for OYO said: “We would like to clarify that OYO does not own or operate this hotel in the UK.

“Our role was limited to supporting with revenue management and technology software and that took until 2021.

“Any listings associated with OYO are purely for distribution and pricing support—OYO does not manage the day-to-day operations, employ staff at these premises, or control guest check-ins.

“We wish to clearly state that OYO is not involved in the sale or marketing of any properties that do not meet safety regulations. We take health and safety standards extremely seriously and expect all property owners we support to comply fully with local authority requirements and statutory obligations. “

Blackpool Council previously said the enforcement order would remain in place until the required work was complete.