£350m ‘Mini-Canary Wharf' gives Blackpool global appeal

The creation of a ‘mini–Canary Wharf’ is promoting Blackpool to an increasingly global audience as an all-year round international visitor destination, according to the manager of one of the resort's leading hotels. 

Mark Winter, general manager of Holiday Inn Blackpool, described the £350m Talbot Gateway mixed-use regeneration project as an economic game changer.

Mark believes it is creating a central business district and civic quarter for more than 8,000 workers and students and helping to attract a rising number of corporate and commercial visitors. 

He said: “Talbot Gateway is creating what I describe as a ‘mini–Canary Wharf’ for Blackpool, acting as a major catalyst for growth and giving a powerful message to national and international audiences that times are changing for the resort.  

“As proud ambassadors of Blackpool, we’re projecting the resort on a global stage, with corporate and commercial visitors from home and overseas joining domestic guests to make the town and its many attractions an all-year round, 365-day a year destination.”  

Led by Blackpool Council and its long-term regeneration partner Muse, part of Morgan Sindall Group, Talbot Gateway is transforming about 20 acres around Blackpool North train station to bring more than 8,000 workers and students to the town centre. 

The project has already delivered the 144-bedroom Holiday Inn Blackpool, providing 100 jobs for almost entirely local people and the 125,000 sq ft Number One Bickerstaffe Square new headquarters of Blackpool Council, housing more than 700 staff. 

 It also includes a 120,000 sq ft Sainsbury's supermarket, multi-storey car parking and public space and tramway extension and interchange with Blackpool North train station. 

Other Talbot Gateway schemes include the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) office, £65m carbon neutral Multiversity campus for about 3,000 students and staff at Blackpool and the Fylde College, due to open in 2028.

The 52,000 sq ft Ministry of Defence (MoD) office on the site of the former Apollo 2000 store started in 2025. When completed in 2027 it will be home to about 1,100 MoD staff. 

Boosted by this wide-ranging regeneration, Mark said that since opening on 1st May 2024, Holiday Inn Blackpool, owned by Blackpool Council and operated by RBH Hospitality Management under licence from IHG Hotels and Resorts, had      welcomed over 150,000 guests since opening.

It also has established itself as the Best Holiday Inn UK & Ireland for two years in a row since opening based on guests’ overall experience and seen a global travel surge, with markets such as USA growing significantly into Blackpool. 

Mark Rawstron, property development and regeneration spokesperson for Lancashire Business Board, said: “High profile schemes including Talbot Gateway prove Blackpool is securing essential public and private sector investment in property and people to generate sustainable growth for the town and Lancashire. 

"The resort is building on its long-established brand at home to attract an increasingly international audience by delivering quality office and hotel accommodation, cultural programming and year-round free events.” 

Developed by the Lancashire Combined County Authority (LCCA) and championed by the Lancashire Business Board (LBB), comprising members of the county’s leading regional, national and international businesses, the Lancashire Growth Plan identifies transformational development and infrastructure projects in five high-growth business sectors with the potential to attract more than £20bn of additional public and private investment.