The £6.8m plan to create a business campus to revitalise the commercial heart of Blackpool

While hospitality and tourism have always been the driver of the town’s economy, over the past two decades, business leaders and the council have long recognised that diversity is needed to produce a balanced economy and to break away from the low-pay seasonal jobs that a seaside resort tends to generate.

With the council’s long term strategy of supporting new business start-ups through Blackpool Unlimited and its Get Started scheme, efforts have been made to grow the variety of businesses in the area. With 99 per cent of the UK’s businesses being classed as being in the small category and not having a major employer such as a car manufacturer, encouraging people to found their own businesses has seen as a viable strategy towards that diversification and the aim of retaining young talent on the Fylde coast.

With the Blackpool Airport Enterprise Zone already a home for established businesses and still progressing, the council has turned its attention to The Edge – a £6.8m refurbishment project in the centre of town which will see the ageing Stanley Buildings transformed into a 21st Century Business Centre – a campus for Blackpool’s growing small businesses.

The funds for the project have come form the Towns Fund (£4.3m) and the council, and provide new office space for growing small businesses and a hub with a renewed focus on growth and bespoke business support all in one place.

The council already has its Enterprise Centre in Lytham Road, but the new hub will compliment this with larger offices for businesses taking on more staff and further support and advice facilities, flexible lettings and adaptable workspace, with the ultimate goal of creating creating jobs in high value sectors with proven growth potential.

The project is being put together with the help of BC Property Services, Preston based architects Cassidy and Ashton and Preston construction firm Eric Wright both of whom have worked with the council on projects at the the enterprise zone.

The Stanley Buildings plot is a triangle of land with Blackpool’s Church Street on one side, currently home to a diverse set of shops and the council’s FY Creatives scheme. But the 1935-built building has seen better days, with its characteristic white faience tiling crumbling and structural steelwork needing replacing as it approaches a tipping point in its future.

Originally it had 26 shops at ground floor level when it opened and housed Corporation Departments above, but it is no longer in full use and the plan is to convert it into 43 serviced offices with space for 129 people occupying offices, seven meeting and training rooms to hire, co-working space, plus an integrated new café-bistro business opportunity.

Its key features to support commerce will include full fibre broadband capability with high speed wifi networks; concierge services; flexible leases with 24/7 access which are currently in short supply in the town; the onsite café-bistro; access to outside space with two terraces and a courtyard; plus gateway to business support and events.

The build will also incorporate integrated low carbon measures in the renovation.

The project will be designed to work with private sector commerce as well as to develop opportunities to work with business support and students from the likes of Blackpool and The Fylde College, Myerscough College, UCLan, Lancaster University, and Edge Hill.

The council said that the current post-Covid environment meant there is strong demand for both flexible lettings and adaptable workspace in the area.

Coun Lynn Williams, Leader of Blackpool Council, said: “The renovation of this locally listed building will be really special when finished, bringing original features of the external architecture back to their former glory and empty space back into use.

“The Edge will be a focal point for small businesses, start-ups and entrepreneurs which will support new jobs for the town, not just through flexible, multi-functional, modern office space, but with business-led activities held at the premises such as business support workshops to help businesses grow and thrive.”

The aim is to support 36 growth start-ups or scale-ups per year on the site and while planning consent for the scheme was granted in March, the council is still looking to consult with private sector partners and retain that close relationship when the building has been done by looking for opportunities to engage with other business group activity and having the hub as a link between business and academia.

Helal Hussain, existing tenant and local business owner, said: “I think the redevelopment is a great idea. As a resident of Blackpool who once studied in Blackpool Sixth Form College, I know that our town has a lot of great young minds who are so important for the development of the future.

"Day by day the world around us is evolving so it is important that we equip the young aspiring entrepreneurs with the necessary tools and resources to help the progression of Blackpool as well as the wider economy.

"By expanding the reach of the building will allow more like-minded business owners a chance to network with one another whether that is an existing business or a new start up.”

The next stage for the project will be surveys and enabling works to be carried out this month, followed by finalisation of the main contract due around August or September this year.

The project is scheduled to be completed by February 2024.