Council Leader says controversial Revoe project is key to solving poor housing

The leader of Blackpool Council says a controversial regeneration project which will see homes in the Revoe area demolished is vital in helping to solve the town’s poor housing problems.

Cllr Lynn Williams highlighted the scheme in her pre-budget speech last week as one of the council’s key means of improving the town for residents by ending the scourge of low-quality housing.

The council is looking to bulldoze around 300 homes – an exact figure has not been confirmed – on several streets off Central Drive and replace them with modern housing, using a £90m grant previously awarded by former Conservative minister Michael Gove as part of the then government’s Homes England agenda.

But the project remains highly contentious and has been slammed by community figures and residents in Revoe.

They argue that the money should be spent on upgrading the existing homes rather than uprooting families and communities by knocking them down. Questions remain on whether enough replacement houses can be built and where residents will go.

The Reverend Matt Lockwood, of Beacon Church on Read’s Avenue, is one of the scheme’s fiercest critics and called it a “mass dispersion” of vulnerable people. He said many residents were anxious and fearful of the plans, which are expected to go before Blackpool’s planning committee within the next few weeks.

However, Cllr Williams reiterated that the overall quality of housing in Blackpool remains too poor and urgently needs to be addressed, saying: “Our number one ambition is to provide a quality, affordable home for everyone in Blackpool, building communities that our residents our proud to be part of.

“This is why the transformation of Revoe is so vital to us and the future of the town – the result of one of the first ‘masterplans’ developed with the community.

“In this first phase, we are talking about the removal of people’s homes and businesses, and we do not take this lightly – and those people and businesses will get the support they need.

“But this investment, and the way it will be delivered, is a once in a lifetime opportunity to introduce light, space and quality in to an area of Central Drive – which by its very name tells you how important it has been to Blackpool over the years – that desperately needs it.

“This intervention will deliver the catalyst for the kind of investment that the whole inner area needs to deliver better housing quality, availability and sustainability, cheek by jowl with the opportunities for businesses to deliver the kind of services that a strong, stable community needs.”

Cllr Williams said the council had already delivered 418 new council homes, in Grange Park, Mereside and Queens Park and this year would see a new sheltered housing scheme open on Whitegate Drive and new council homes completed in Bispham.

She added: “We are not just creating new homes, as vital as this is, we are improving the energy efficiency with £1m spent on council homes and about 300 private homes receiving support through the CHiL programme.

“We have also delivered 2,400 new kitchens and bathrooms for our tenants, with 400 more to be completed in 2026/27. “

At a Revoe residents’ meeting last month, organised by Rev Lockwood, people worried about the plans were offered help by a national community union group.

Alana Cooper, of Acorn Union, said: “We believe refurbishment of existing homes is possible, without the need for demolition and we can get that message across.”