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20 May 2026

South Shore regeneration kickstarted with £1m investment

Blackpool Council leader Lynn Williams and Blackpool South MP Chris Webb have committed to investing around £1m in South Shore.

Cllr Lynn Williams with Stuart Hutton-Brown, CEO and Founder of Counselling In The Community outside its Waterloo Road base
This £1m boost for South Shore follows earlier Price in Place funding which supported Counselling in the Community to reopen its base on Waterloo Road

Plans are now being finalised for projects that will improve the area and support residents, businesses, and community organisations, including:

  • £415,000 to brighten up the area and support businesses on Waterloo Road and Lytham Road;

  • Investment that will support young people, local businesses, public spaces and regeneration projects across the area;

  • New murals, planting and public realm improvements.

The £1m investment is “just the start”, as Blackpool Council and Blackpool South MP Chris Webb push for a long-term regeneration package led by a community masterplan.

The majority of the funding forms the largest share of Blackpool’s £1.5 million Pride in Place Impact Fund, created by the government to deliver visible improvements in disadvantaged neighbourhoods.

The funding is designed to improve local pride, regenerate neglected spaces, strengthen communities and create safer, more welcoming environments. Both the council leader and local MP work together on funding priority projects.

Cllr Lynn Williams, Leader of Blackpool Council, said:

“We’re undergoing major regeneration in central Blackpool right now to create jobs and make it a nicer area to live and South Shore deserves the same level of support. The South Shore community is still hurting after the recent fire and I want this fund to be the start of something better. We have been working on a community masterplan that could potentially attract millions of pounds from the government and result in major regeneration but in the meantime we are committed to doing activity right now that can have an impact. The fire has to be the turning point for South Shore and a broader investment package that we are committed to working on with government buy in, in order to create something truly transformational that will make Waterloo Road and Lytham Road a real business and community hub that all of Blackpool is proud of. This work, on top of what we are already doing, will brighten the area up and make it a nicer place to live, visit, and do business in.”

When the fund was announced in October, Mr Webb made clear his vision for the majority to be directed towards South Shore, which he felt has been overlooked for decades, as investment was focussed in the town centre, despite it facing some of the highest levels of deprivation in the country.

Mr Webb has spent months pushing South Shore up the government agenda. He has taken the case directly to senior ministers including the Chancellor and the Prime Minister, while also bringing ministers to Waterloo Road and Bond Street to see the challenges first-hand.

Earlier this year, Mr Webb and Cllr Williams announced that part of the funding would support the reopening of Counselling in the Community’s South Shore hub, helping expand access to mental health support in the area and bringing a prominent Waterloo Road unit back into community use.

Now a much wider package of projects is being finalised, with investment set to include:

  • Support for young people and youth-focused provision
  • Improvements to the street scene and public realm
  • Infrastructure upgrades
  • Support for local businesses
  • Revitalisation of buildings and neglected sites
  • Creation and improvement of community spaces

A £415,000 Commercial Improvement Scheme along Waterloo Road and part of Lytham Road is set to begin. This includes a £150,000 investment in improving shop fronts, with local and independent businesses and charities set to benefit from grant funding.

An Urban Greening project will expand on the native planting already seen on roundabouts and grass verges. Last year, using funding secured by Mr Webb, Blackpool Council completed new planting at Waterloo Road roundabout which is now blooming and brightening up the area. A new South Shore in Bloom group will now be established.

The council’s Illuminations’ team is also exploring more vibrant and creative street lighting to the area.

Further details on individual projects will be announced in the coming weeks as plans are finalised, but residents are already noticing small changes to the area including colourful benches and planters, more greenery in the area and deep cleans of pavements and shopfronts.

A street art mural, You’ve Got Soul Boy, has also recently been completed by the Coastal Colour Club – a collaboration between Blackpool hip hop collective House of Wingz and local graffiti artists Will and James Panter. They are also responsible for the colourful planters and benches in the area.

You’ve Got Soul Boy was funded by Blackpool Council through Community Cohesion funding secured by Mr Webb following the civil disorder that broke out in the town in summer 2024. The mural can be seen from the promenade at the top of Waterloo Road on the site of a former hotel and depicts a boy at the seaside wearing a Northern Soul T-shirt.

Inspired by a local child the team met during community engagement sessions, the mural reflects the identity, pride and modern heritage of South Shore.

Now work is set to begin on a separate mural on Bond Street, The Big HeArt Project, by internationally acclaimed street artists Blackpool-based Seca One (Christian Fenn) and Aylo (Hayley Garner).

Jointly funded through the Arts Council and the Pride in Place Impact Fund, the artists are currently engaging with school children from Thames Academy and South Shore residents to develop their design, with spraying due to begin in the first week of June.

The Pride in Place money is also being used to fix the roof and reopen the Counselling in the Community building on Waterloo Road, as well as supporting the purchase of the building.

The council is also looking at improvements to the environment around both Blackpool South and Blackpool Pleasure Beach train stations, as well as exploring the potential purchase of empty properties and land to bring them back into use.

Mr Webb, who is currently lobbying the government for a £20m Pride in Place fund for South Shore, hopes the £1m investment marks the start of wider regeneration work in the area.

He said:

“South Shore has huge potential. We are now finalising around £1m worth of projects that will make a real difference to people’s lives here. This funding will help young people, support businesses, improve the look and feel of the area, create stronger community spaces and inspire pride in South Shore. In the grand scheme of government spending, this is a relatively small pot of investment, but working in partnership with the council, local organisations and businesses we’re making every pound count. I’m confident it will make a real difference to the area. This is also part of a much bigger effort to regenerate South Shore. We now have the government’s attention, community backing and a shared vision for the future of the area. I’ll keep pushing for more investment so we can continue building on this momentum.”

A council-led Masterplan has been developed to provide a coordinated blueprint for redevelopment, alongside a community-led People’s Plan developed by Empowerment Charity.

Mr Webb said the investment responds directly to priorities raised by residents through the South Shore People’s Plan, which highlights the community’s priorities across 13 key themes including improving high streets and retail infrastructure, expanding youth services, supporting local businesses, tackling derelict buildings, providing educational and employment opportunities and building a stronger sense of community identity.

This investment comes as the council has supported two additional leisure schemes to progress in South Shore, by leasing land to create a street food market on Flagstaff Gardens and an Upside Down House visitor attraction by South Pier.

Both attractions are expected to open this summer, creating new jobs for local people and bringing additional visitors to South Shore.

The remaining funding from Blackpool’s Pride in Place Impact Fund allocation is being directed towards projects in other parts of the town, with further announcements expected soon.

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