Work starts on Blackpool’s Yates’s site

WORK has started on a £3m revamp of the former Yates’s Wine Lodge site in Blackpool’s Talbot Square.

The pub was ruined by a fire, see below, four years ago and was later pulled down.

Colne-based RECO Build started work yesterday on a 26,000 sq ft leisure and retail block for Manchester developer, the Northhold Group.

The prominent site is opposite Blackpool Town Hall, the North Pier and also the seafront promenade.

The three-storey building will accommodate two restaurants and one retail unit. Pan-Asian restaurant Cosmo has signed up and TGI Friday’s has expressed interest. Tesco is planning to open an Express store.

RECO’s managing director Nick Richardson said: “This is an exciting job for RECO Build as the history behind the landmark and the prominence of the site boosts our profile and takes us closer to our goal of becoming a major player in the national construction industry.”

Blackpool’s deputy council leader Fred Jackson said: “The site will bring more people into town while works takes place and, once completed, will revitalise the town centre.”