The council has submitted a hybrid planning application to demolish up to 300 densely populated properties and build a new neighbourhood, made up of 230 energy efficient homes, new shops, green spaces, community facilities and flexible workspaces.
The proposals cover around 5.4 hectares of land just south of the town centre, focused on Central Drive and surrounding streets and is a major intervention to make Central Drive an area where local Blackpool people want to live and raise their children in.
It also supports the council’s wider ambitions to make Central Drive better, including bringing international investors to create a new large leisure scheme to create local jobs, building more social housing at Foxhall Village, a new community sports village at Blackpool Football Club and improvements to Revoe Park.
Cllr Lynn Williams, Leader of Blackpool Council, said:
“People have been telling us for decades that we need to do something about Central Drive and the surrounding area – and this is exactly what we plan to do.
“Our major regeneration plans are aimed to make the area somewhere people want to raise their children in because of quality homes, nice streets and play areas, reduced crime, lower energy bills and more jobs.
“We have been given a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform one of the areas most in need of regeneration in Blackpool. The area is the third most deprived in the country and doing nothing is not an option. Smaller schemes have been tried before and have failed – this area and the people who live here deserve something transformational.
“People who live in Layton and Grange Park have benefitted from better neighbourhoods in recent years and Central Drive deserves that too. This isn’t about gentrification – it’s about creating a better area for Blackpool people to live in. I want that to be quality social housing for local people.
“I completely understand that this is difficult for residents who are now looking to move but I want to reassure everybody that there is a full support team to help them find somewhere suitable to live and be compensated for the disruption. If that involves staying local, then we will try everything to make that happen.”
The hybrid planning application seeks full planning permission to demolish up to 300 existing properties. Of the properties, around 10% are already empty, while more than 70% of owners in the area have asked for an offer and over 100 have agreed to sell their property already.
Of the people who have moved house, many have been supported to find a more suitable place to live, while staying in the local area.
The planning application also seeks outline planning consent to build 230 modern, energy efficient homes. The council’s ambition is for all the new houses to be social housing, helping to break the stranglehold of private rented housing in the area.
Social housing is available for Blackpool residents with a local connection to Blackpool, either from living on the Fylde coast for more than three years, working here or having family in the area. In total, the application aims to create more than 1,000 bed spaces for local residents. This would add to the 88 new social housing properties currently nearing completion at Foxhall Village and the 200 new social homes built in the area in the last ten years.
The increase in social housing in the area is expected to start rebalancing the local housing market and offer better choice for families, workers and older residents. The plans allow for affordable housing, specialist accommodation and well‑managed rented homes.
The proposals form the first phase of the wider Blackpool Central Housing Regeneration Area Framework, which was most recently consulted on with the public in March 2026. The framework sets out a long‑term ambition to improve housing and the environment across inner Blackpool over the next 15 years. While there are currently no approved plans or funding for further phases, the council remains committed to regenerating central Blackpool as opportunities arise.
The scheme benefits from £90.4 million of government funding, secured in March 2024 through Homes England, enabling the council to intervene at a scale that would not otherwise be possible.
The plans have been shaped by extensive pre‑application engagement with planning officers, technical consultees and key stakeholders, alongside wide‑ranging public consultation carried out since August 2024. A full Environmental Impact Assessment accompanies the application.
If approved, demolition work would begin in phases, with new homes and public spaces delivered over several years. Detailed designs for buildings, streets and green spaces will be brought forward through future reserved matters applications, providing further opportunities for public engagement.
People currently living in the affected area are being encouraged to engage with the local team who can support with finding a new home and accessing compensation. The team are available at Ibbison Community Centre for general advice and a chat every Tuesday 9.00am to 4.30pm, Thursday 9.00am to 12noon and Friday 9.00am to 1.00pm.
For more information, visit www.blackpool.gov.uk/housingregen
A planning press notice will be published in the Blackpool Gazette, site notices will be displayed in the area, and individual letters will be posted to residents in the coming days.
