Blackpool Council sets out plan to preserve one of resort's oldest districts Foxhall

Foxhall is made up of a grid of streets opposite Central Pier and evolved into a dense areas of lodging houses and private homes over 50 years from the 1860s.

It has been designated as a conservation area, and Blackpool Council has now approved a management plan including proposals to use planning powers to tackle neglected properties.

A council report setting out the proposals says: “The distinctive linear or grid street pattern with densely developed frontages provides well-framedviews and a sense of enclosure.

“Foxhall retains a strong sense of place and community and has a very distinct character which differs from the other key boarding house areas in the town.”

But it warns: “Vacancy, disrepair and anti-social behaviour are having a negative impact on the appearance and perception of the conservation area.”

Council officers will work “to prevent further deterioration”, while planning enforcement action “will be taken against landlords who fail to maintain their properties.”

The management plans also calls for a strategy to be developed “to tackle the ongoing deterioration”.

Streets within the conservation area include Chapel Street, York Street, Yorkshire Street, Bairstow Street, Singleton Street, Caroline Street and Shannon Street.

Action proposed includes

• Construction to be of high quality
• Demolition only allowed in exceptional circumstances
• Car parks should be made more attractive for example with landscaping
• More traditional street furniture should be introduced reflecting the Victorian heritage
• Improve commercial frontages

Approval of the management plan means stronger powers can be used to protect the conservation area including serving notices on property owners requiring derelict buildings to be repaired.

Setting out the history of the neighbourhood, the report adds: “Some of the earliest development in the area is around York Street where three-storey terraces were built in the 1860s.

“With no gardens, the terraces create a tightly enclosed townscape with the main streets originally having a view of the sea at the western end.

“The 1877 street plan shows the speculative development of streets such as York Street, Yorkshire Street and Bairstow Street for lodging houses.”

Blackpool has seven conservation areas including Foxhall, with the others being the town centre, Stanley Park, Raikes Hall, Marton Moss, North Promenade and Layton.