Work begins on Blackpool civil service hub

Work has started on a new £100m, office building, which forms part of our place-changing £350m Talbot Gateway regeneration that we’re delivering with Blackpool Council.

The new 215,000 sq ft highly-sustainable office will be built by VINCI Building and once complete in March 2025, it will be home to more than 3,000 civil servants.

The striking new office will boost footfall to the area, trade to local businesses, retailers, restaurants, cafes and leisure facilities, and create a wealth of new job opportunities for local people.

Alan McBride, projects director, said:

Cllr Lynn Williams, Leader of Blackpool Council, said: “It is fantastic to see this development start on site and is a great start to the New Year. Throughout the pandemic we were determined to push on with our regeneration of Blackpool and it is really exciting to see so much of our vision for the future coming to fruition.

“This physical generation for the future of our town is critical, but most importantly it means more jobs for local people and more money in local people’s pockets through a huge increase in footfall and spend in our town centre.

“This is the third phase of the Talbot Gateway development we have now delivered in partnership with Muse and we are pleased to welcome VINCI Building to that partnership and are looking forward to working with them and the social value benefits they can bring to our town through this contract.

“Jobs for local residents and spend in our local economy are key components of our town regeneration as that will build a sustainable future for generations to come. I am delighted that this new office development will start to take shape in the months ahead and in the most sustainable way possible, all helping to make Blackpool a better place to live and work.”

Gary Bowker, regional managing director at VINCI Building, said: “VINCI Building are so pleased to be involved in the exciting regeneration of Blackpool town centre. The development of such a significant Grade A office in the town centre will significantly increase daytime footfall once completed and will undoubtedly benefit local businesses over the long term. Low energy and low carbon design and material choice has been at the heart of decision making and this will result in a truly energy efficient, low carbon building that we can all be proud of. It has been a real team effort through the pre-construction phase, and we look forward to this continuing on to site.”

The new building has been designed by renowned architects, Make, to BREEAM “Excellent” standard, which means it will operate on low energy and promote both sustainable development and wellbeing.

Alongside the new office, we’ll also create a new town centre square, complete with cycle and pedestrian routes.

As part of our long-standing partnership with the council, we’re currently on site with a new 144-bedroom Holiday Inn hotel, which will open later this year and we’ve also delivered the 125,000 sq ft Number One Bickerstaffe Square council office, a Sainsbury’s supermarket and a refurbished 650-space multi-storey car park, alongside extensive public spaces for the community to enjoy.