On parade: Blackpool's new-look seafront
The first of the new seafront parades along Blackpool’s Central Promenade opens to the public this week.
Sections of the new parades to the North and South of St Chad’s headland will be opened up, allowing access for the summer. Other sections of the promenade will be opened up as the works continue.
The work at the Central Seafront is part of a £73m coastal protection scheme funded by central Government, the North West Development Agency and the European Regional Development Fund. The project is being led by ReBlackpool.
Cllr Maxine Callow, Cabinet Member for Tourism and Regeneration, said: “The multi-million pound scheme along Blackpool’s famous promenade is both replacing our 100-year-old seawall with state-of-the-art coastal defences and transforming the seafront into a desirable, modern place to explore and really making the most of showcasing our beach.
“The new sections feature the finished sand-coloured concrete and not the temporary grey tarmac surface used on St Chad’s headland, which has been open since summer 2008. This means visitors to the new sections of promenade will start to really get a feel for the quality of the completed sea defence and of how the promenade expansion scheme will shape up.”
Peter White, Executive Director of Development at the NWDA, said: “Blackpool’s historic seafront is a huge part of what attracts millions of visitors to the resort every year, making a valuable contribution to the regional economy, and it is essential to protect and improve it.
“Such high quality projects make a hugely positive impact on the image of Blackpool as a destination and will help to attract more visitors and businesses to the area, so it is excellent to see the work at Central Promenade is progressing so well.”
Blackpool’s Urban Regeneration Company, ReBlackpool undertook the initial planning, design and secured funding for the parades, which forms part of the wider sea defence scheme and regeneration master plan to transform the town.
Doug Garrett, chief executive of ReBlackpool, added: “The work on the parades will provide important links to the headlands which aim to reconnect the town with the beach. It is the initial platform to enable us to continue to build new innovative regeneration plans for Blackpool’s seafront experience.
“We listened to the community during the design process; they requested that the parades be both welcoming for pedestrians and useful so we have included seating areas and eventually showers for beach users."
The newly opened sections will still need a small additional amount of work to create a ramp allowing additional access from the promenade. Future work will also see planting and signage added.
The four-year building programme is Blackpool’s biggest ever civil engineering project, funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and constructed by Blackpool Council in conjunction with their construction partners Birse Coastal. It will see the rebuilding of the 3.2km of promenade and sea wall between the Sandcastle and North Pier.