Vow over Talbot Gateway plans
Spending cuts could put the brakes on Blackpool's £220m Talbot Gateway scheme but town hall chiefs today vowed the massive regeneration project will not be blown off course.
At the beginning of this year, the Northwest Development Agency (NWDA) approved grant funding believed to be in excess of £20m to support the development but the deal did not win Treasury approval before the General Election.
It is now awaiting the outcome of the Government's comprehensive spending review due in the autumn.
The money will be used to underwrite the project, ensuring the public realm element can go ahead using public funds even if not enough private investment is raised.
But Blackpool Council leader Coun Peter Callow says he believes work will be able to begin even if the funding is not approved because two key elements can get underway regardless and hopefully act as catalysts for the rest of the scheme.
These are the supermarket proposed for the area between Talbot Road and Buchanan Street, and council offices on land between George Street and Blackpool North Station.
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