Go ahead for £6.5m redevelopment of former Blackpool pub site

The latest scheme will hopefully see a four to five storey building constructed on the land which has been vacant since the Mariner's Pub was demolished in 2008, following a fire the previous year.

Housing 21, a not-for-profit provider of retirement housing and extra care for older people, has been granted planning permission to build 35 flats which would be let as affordable rented housing.

The council's planning committee approved the application and agreed to waive nearly £22,000 of developer contributions which would normally be sought towards public open space provision.

A report by planning officers says: "Socially, the scheme would provide good quality affordable and accessible accommodation for Blackpool’s older population and would make a contribution towards the council's housing supply.

"Planning obligations would not be met and this weighs heavily against thescheme, but is considered to be sufficiently outweighed by the benefits the scheme would deliver in terms of bringing a long-derelict site back into beneficial use to meet a recognised housing need."

Housing market figures show the population of people over the age of 65 in Blackpool is expected to increase by more than 19 per cent by 2030.

The scheme, which will be wheelchair accessible, will include five two bedroomed flats with the rest having one bedroom, a communal lounge, two areas of shared outdoor space and 18 parking spaces.

Housing 21 currently manages more than 20,000 properties around the country which are aimed at older age groups.

Tenancies of the new apartments, once the scheme is completed, will be filled with the help of the council's social housing team.

Two previous attempts to redevelop the site for private apartments to be sold on the open market have failed to come to fruition.

The most recent proposals were approved in 2020 and would have seen 34 apartments built.

Since remaining empty for so many years, the land has been a target for fly tipping and at one point enforcement action was taken in relation to discarded demolition rubble.