Blackpool has a wealth of built heritage. Most of Blackpool’s buildings date from the mid nineteenth century onwards although there are a few earlier structures in the town like Raikes Hall (Grade II listed) and the Blowing Sands Cottages (Grade II listed) which date from the eighteenth century.
The most famous listed building in Blackpool is the Tower which is listed at Grade I reflecting its architectural importance as well as its status of one of Britain’s most recognisable buildings. Blackpool also has important twentieth century buildings like the former Odeon Cinema on Dickson Road (now Funny Girls) which is Grade II and the Chapel of Our Lady of Lourdes on Whinney Hey Road which is graded at II*.
Buildings are not the only part of the built heritage of the town that is protected. Stanley Park is a Registered Park on the English Heritage Register of Historic Parks and Gardens and the importance of the park and the surrounding housing which were all built to complement each other is reflected in the fact that they are all contained within a conservation area which was created to protect this special character.
Conservation Areas
Conservation Areas are areas with a special character, often incorporating listed buildings (but not always). This character might be the result of things like a particular local building style, materials of construction, or a special collection of buildings of the same period that have not been changed much since they were built.
In the case of Stanley Park, for instance, this significance is the way in which the houses around the park were part of the original design for the park itself, creating a pleasant, green place for people to live at a time when Town Planning was beginning to look at how green spaces could be integrated into housing development.
There are two Conservation Areas within Blackpool:
- The Town Centre Conservation Area (formally Talbot Square Conservation Area),
- The Stanley Park Conservation Area.
Information and Heritage Trails are available for both conservation areas from the Tourist Information Office on Clifton Street.
Listed Buildings and Structures
Listed buildings are protected from unauthorised change by law. Buildings are usually listed because they have architectural, technological or historical importance. A building may be listed because a famous person lived or worked there, because the building was the first to use a new construction material of technique, because the building was simply the first of its kind, or because it is outstanding architecturally. Often there is more than one reason for listing a building.
There are three Grades of listed building, these are;
- Grade I This is the highest listing for the most important or historically significant buildings
- Grade II* These Buildings are the second most important category. They may have some extra significance that makes them more important than Grade II, but are not quite important enough for Grade I
- Grade II Grade II buildings are the most common, they have more limited significance but are still nationally important.
There are 37 listed structures in Blackpool. Any work carried out on a Listed Building, unless it is a like for like repair, will require Listed Building Consent. This type of application is free of charge.
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