Public inquiry opens into land earmarked for £65m multiversity

A £65m regeneration project in the heart of Blackpool will be put at risk if permission is not given to clear the site, a public inquiry has been told.

Nick Gerrard, who heads up Blackpool Council’s Growth and Prosperity team, warned plans for the multiversity would have “to go back to the drawing board” if the chosen site was ruled out.

He was speaking on the first day of a public inquiry into Blackpool Council’s bid to secure a compulsory purchase order (CPO) for land between Cookson Street, Milbourne Street, George Street and Grosvenor Street.

The hearing is being held at the Imperial Hotel in front of independent planning inspector Phillip Ware after 13 objections were lodged against the CPO.

It was told funding for phase one of the scheme was in place including £40m from the Levelling Up Fund, £16m from Blackpool Council and £9m for the acquisition of properties.

Blackpool and the Fylde College, which will run the multiversity, will repay the £16m back to the council as a loan. If the CPO is confirmed, the scheme would begin immediately and be completed in time to welcome the first students in September 2027.

Mr Gerrard said: “The programme is well advanced and close to the contract being finalised, and the deal being signed with the college. If we delay we are going to be faced with rising costs and are going to have to redesign the budget.”

He added: “We started in 2022 trying to acquire the site. If this scheme doesn’t come forward here, we will have to go back to the drawing board.”

The council now owns 70 per cent of the properties needed for the development, but negotiations have stalled in some instances which is why it is seeking the CPO.

Objectors including George Whyte, of George Street, believe the council should have looked at an alternative site for the multiversity such as land on Talbot Road which is now earmarked for new offices.

But Mr Gerrard said the site was chosen after a detailed process and was the best one due to its position close to the Talbot Gateway Central Business District and proximity to public transport.

Earlier Sarah Reid, KC, had opened the case on behalf of the council, by saying the council believed there was “a compelling public interest in favour of confirmation of the Compulsory Purchase Order.”

She said the multiversity would help residents to gain valuable skills and job opportunities in a town blighted by poor educational outcomes. Entrenched transience meant only 43 per cent of children in the inner areas of Blackpool complete their primary education at the same school they started at.

Ms Reid said: “The clearance of poorer quality housing stock on this central site which is in need of regeneration, and its replacement with high quality development including an iconic multiversity building, will have clear place-making benefits.”

This would not only secure the college’s future but become a “much-needed visible focal point for educational opportunity, achievement and aspiration.”

The hearing is expected to last until Thursday (November 14) before reconvening on Tuesday December 3, with further evidence from Blackpool Council, Blackpool and the Fylde College, architects and planners, as well as evidence from some of the objectors.

A decision is expected early in the new year.