Council offer £40m for Blackpool Tower

TREVOR Hemmings is considering a £40m bid for Blackpool Tower and the Winter Gardens from Blackpool Council.

Blackpool’s bid follows recommendations by Manchester City Council chief executive Sir Howard Bernstein in a report on the regeneration of the town.

Sir Howard, who also chairs Blackpool’s regeneration company ReBlackpool, emphasised the role private assets could play to attract funding and boost regeneration. The report said extra heritage funds could be accessed if the assets were in public hands.

The council plans to obtain funding from the European Regional Development Fund and use this to pull in a package of public funds.

The Sea Life Centre and Louis Tussards waxworks are also included in the deal. Trevor Hemmings’ Leisure Parcs business took ownership of the town’s most famous landmarks when he bought First Leisure’s resorts division for around £74m in 1998. The deal also included the resort’s three piers which he plans to retain through his Cuerden Leisure company.

Council leader Peter Callow said: “They are two of Blackpool’s best assets and a highly significant part of our history that we must build on to secure our future. If we can access the extra funding, we can protect the public’s interest in them and turn these attractions into something that can last well into the 21st century.”