New Blackpool ‘Multiversity’ – Talbot Gateway Phase 4

The new Blackpool “Multiversity” is Phase 4 of the transformation of Talbot Gateway. It will bring a world-class learning facility into the heart of the town centre. The vibrancy of students and staff, studying for high quality training and education, will bring new life into town.

And the exciting new campus will transform a run-down area. It will bring new life and vitality, a year round vibrant economy and new spending habits through events and activities in and around the campus. The Multiversity makes up phase four of Blackpool Council’s £350m regeneration of the Talbot Gateway area around Blackpool North train station, which in total is bringing over 8,000 professional workers and students into the area.

Take a look around the two blocks of what will become the site, filmed in February 2025 and the final stages of land acquisition –

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Phases of Work at Talbot Gateway

The area around Talbot Road and Cookson Street is known as Talbot Gateway. It’s a main route into town and undergoing a massive transformation, with regeneration of a large area of land well underway.

• 1. The first phase saw the construction of Sainsbury’s supermarket, the development of offices, car parking and Bickerstaffe Square. Completed in 2014 it now accommodates more than 1,000 public and private-sector employees including Blackpool Council. More about Phase One of Talbot Gateway and Bickerstaffe Square
• 2. The Holiday Inn and Tramway Terminus marks Phase Two of the Talbot Gateway project in Blackpool’s Central Business District. But this isn’t the end of the transformation around here!
• 3. Phase Three includes the restoration of The Hop pub and conversion into a dentists. Plus clearing land and building a new Department for Work and Pensions office block for 3000 workers. More about Phase Three DWP offices
• 4. Announced in 2023, Phase Four of Talbot Gateway is the new Blackpool ‘Multiversity’, sited off Cookson Street.
• 5. And June 2024 saw the announcement of a Phase Five office development – another office block sited near Blackpool North Station, off Talbot Road.

What is the New Blackpool ‘Multiversity’?

The Multiversity campus is a unique solution to provide a cutting-edge response to local, regional and national educational priorities. A high quality, technical and professional curriculum will be on offer, co-created with local employers and in partnership with Blackpool and the Fylde College (B&FC) and Lancaster University. The world-class learning facility will support skills growth in Lancashire.

The aim of the Multiversity is to provide education which leads to high value employment – and to support regional businesses to find staff. It will help upskill local workforces through high quality technical and professional training and education. It will also launch a new model for delivering more flexible higher education that is better aligned to ‘real world’ market intelligence and student demand. The Multiversity will ultimately provide a range of new routes for learners that will boost local opportunities, social mobility and lead to highly skilled occupations that meet regional needs.

These images show the scale of the landmark development. It will replace the current out-of-town-centre Blackpool and the Fylde College facilities with world-class, state-of-the-art ones in the heart of the town centre.

The Building

The 115,000 sq ft building, designed by established architects Hawkins\Brown, aims to complement other regeneration at Talbot Gateway. The building includes five floors of education space to deliver more than 70 individual courses and enhance the college’s existing higher education provision. The modern design has a high-glossed terracotta tiled facade, along with floor to ceiling glass. There’ll be a new public square, created by greening up the surrounding area with landscaping and planting. Incorporating trees, flowers and grassy areas it will complement similar planting around the DWP office.

As you’d expect, the new building will be carbon neutral. Heated by sustainable air source heat pumps, with solar panels on the roof. A green roof terrace at the south of the building will also allow students to both study and relax in a landscaped environment. There’s secure cycle storage included, plus a small dedicated parking area for staff.

In addition to the first phase Multiversity campus, a second phase on the site will allow expansion space for the College’s future plans which are in development. But in the short term, the space will be a temporary car park.

Why’s a Multiversity needed?

The aim is to relocate the existing B&FC Park Road campus into the town centre and support the town’s wider regeneration strategy.

The existing town centre campus at Park Road has several challenges. Students view it as being too far from the town centre. It’s landlocked, so expansion and redevelopment of the site isn’t viable. And the older buildings present redevelopment and upgrade with issues such as accessibility and DDA compliance. They also have dated IT, mechanical, electrical and heating infrastructures.

Courses on Offer

The next few years will be challenging for every business. It’s essential there are centres of excellence reacting to the changing nature of the economy, marketplace and industry sectors. Organisations need reskilling opportunities to help them survive and flourish. Delivering a state-of-the-art purpose built campus in the town centre will future proof higher education and learning on Fylde Coast for many years to come. The potential of something of this calibre for Blackpool is extremely exciting.

The Multiversity will include five floors of education space to deliver more than 70 individual courses. They’ll enhance the college’s existing higher education provision which is directly linked to local employment needs. It will also support a wide range of qualifications, from further education, through to higher education and adult learning. It will also provide employers with access to training programmes. They’ll line up with the government’s Industry Strategy, focusing on transforming the nation’s future. Artificial Intelligence and data, an ageing society, clean growth and the future of mobility will all be part of the course portfolio on offer.

The increased cost of studying for a traditional three-year degree without the guarantee of a job is prompting students to consider alternative ways of studying. As people with degrees struggle to get jobs that can pay a mortgage, alternative offers are increasingly popular. Blackpool Multiversity will provide a more flexible offer than the three-year higher education solutions of typical educational establishments. Plus, students will be able to study shorter courses to suit industry needs and undertake longer courses in convenient ‘blocks’ over multiple years.

It’s currently a unique model – but one which other towns are likely to copy.

Key Benefits

• Improving skills and opportunities. The investment in a new, high-quality, purpose-built educational facility will provide an unrivalled learning environment, encouraging more learners to choose to continue with their education in Blackpool. With a curriculum catering for the needs of employers, the tailored education will help to fill local skills gaps. The curriculum will link Multiversity students to employment opportunities.
• Supporting town centre regeneration. The development of the Multiversity adjacent to the town centre will complement other major developments, including the developments at Talbot Gateway, the extension to the Houndshill Shopping Centre and the new Winter Gardens Conference and Exhibition Centre. Bringing year-round footfall into the town centre will reduce the impacts of seasonality.
• Built environment uplift. The Multiversity’s development will provide uplift to an area that has not previously benefitted from significant investment. Improving the built environment significantly, and supporting the creation of high-quality, pedestrianised, public open space.

Funding the New Blackpool Multiversity

This is another ambitious Blackpool project, projected to cost around £65m.

• £9m has been allocated from Blackpool’s Town Deal for development of the business case (including other sources of funding).
• A separate bid to the Levelling Up fund for £40m of construction costs was approved in Jan 2023.
• Blackpool Council has pledged a loan of £16m
• And £5m will come from Blackpool and the Fylde College, project partners in association with Lancaster University.

Progress Timeline at Blackpool Multiversity

A project of the scale and importance of this one takes a LONG time to bring to fruition. What starts with discussion goes through many different stages of development. Approval in principle, costings, contract negotiations, securing land, securing funding – and so much more. Here’s some of the key milestones, most recent one at the top –

July 2025: Work Due to Begin on Site

In July 2025, Blackpool Council announced that work is due to begin at the site of the new Multiversity. Demolition and clearance of the site will take place in phases over the next nine months, preparing it for construction to start next year (2026).

Demolition of the first houses at the corner of Grosvenor Street, Milbourne Street and Charles Street will start in the coming weeks. During the works Charles Street will be closed between Cookson Street and Grosvenor Street. George Street will remain open in both directions, however lane closures will be required later in the year. When construction work starts, George Street will close permanently.

Demolition of the remaining site will continue into next year, and is scheduled to take place in phases across the site. The vast majority of properties in the area have now been bought by Blackpool Council, using funding from the UK Government. The remaining properties are expected to transfer into the council’s ownership this summer and few remaining residents living in the area are being offered support to find somewhere suitable to live.

Including highways improvements –

To aid traffic flow and provide safer routes for pedestrians around the Multiversity site and Talbot Gateway, a number of improvements will be installed over the next 12 months. This will be funded by the UK Government as part of the £5.6m Town Centre Access Scheme.

These works will include:

• Improving the traffic light signal junctions on Caunce Street
• Updating the road layout on Grosvenor Street to enable two-way traffic flow
• Installing new pedestrian crossings on Cookson Street and Grosvenor Street
• Creating a lay-by on Cookson Street for drop offs/pick ups
• Introducing a right turn from Cookson Street onto Deansgate

In addition to the first phase Multiversity campus, a second phase on the site will allow expansion space for the college’s future plans which are in development. In the short term, the space will be used as a temporary car park.

January 2025: Compulsory Purchase Order Confirmed

It’s hoped that construction on site will begin in late 2025. It comes after the approval of compulsory purchase powers by an independent inspector, announced on 31 January 2025. A two-week public enquiry in late 2024 saw submissions from the council and Blackpool and the Fylde College, plus local residents and land owners. After which, the independent planning inspector appointed by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, awarded the CPO.

Over the last two years, Blackpool Council has been buying properties through negotiation, with over 80% of the required 72 properties already acquired.
The inspector’s decision allows Blackpool Council to use compulsory purchase powers to secure the remaining properties in the area surrounded by Cookson St, George St, Grosvenor St and Milbourne St.

The council will continue to negotiate compensation with owners of the remaining properties. However, the council will use the compulsory purchase powers to enable construction of the Multiversity to start in the summer. Where agreement on price can’t be reached, the compulsory purchase order process means that properties will be independently valued to determine a final price.

October 2024: Final Plans Submitted

21 October 2024 sees the announcement that plans for the new state-of-the-art education campus in the town centre are submitted for final approval.

August 2024: Contractor Selected

On 1 August 2024 Blackpool Council announced their preferred contractor to build the new £65m state of the art education campus in the town centre. They’ve chosen Morgan Sindall Construction as the main contractor on a pre-contract services agreement.

April 2024: Outline Planning

Outline planning approval for up to 32,600sqm of education and commercial space is granted in early 2024. A decision on a reserved matters planning application for the first phase of the Multiversity is expected in Spring 2025.

January 2023: Funding Announced

A £40m Levelling Up funding grant was announced on 19 January 2023. It’s a carbon-neutral, education campus in Blackpool’s Talbot Gateway Central Business District. It means that Blackpool’s vision of a state-of-the-art education campus in the heart of the town centre is now moving towards reality.

August 2022: Proposed Site Revealed

Details for the proposed site were first revealed on 31 August 2022. If successful, the plan is to transform another substantial chunk of land in the Talbot Gateway area, including a sizeable portion of Cookson Street.

The three acre site covers a square block currently occupied by residential houses and some shops. It’s bounded by Cookson Street, George Street, Grosvenor Street and Milbourne Street. Just a stone’s throw from Blackpool North station, the new tramway terminus and other major new developments at Talbot Gateway.

However, with loads of hurdles to jump, schemes like this always take a long time to deliver. There’s a long way to go before the doors open and the students arrive!

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December 2020: Project Team Appointed

It was December 2020 when a consortium of consultants were first appointed to develop plans for a new Blackpool ‘Multiversity’. Blackpool Council and Blackpool & The Fylde College jointly appointed the North West based team.

Two local companies, Blackpool-based Joseph Boniface Architects Ltd and Freckleton-based Chartered Building Consultancy Leeming Associates, will support the project lead, Manchester-based Hawkins\Brown. CBRE and Amion will also provide support for the project.