Decision to be made over new £6.5m sports village for Blackpool
It's been hailed as a major step forward in improving health and fitness
A major decision is set to be made on whether a £6.5 million community sports village for Blackpool is able to progress.
The multi-million pound scheme has been hailed as a massive step forward in improving the health and fitness of young people and children in Blackpool.
A planning application for the Revoe Community Sports Village project is set to go before Blackpool Council’s planning committee next week, on Tuesday September 1.
The scheme includes the provision of two 7- a-side synthetic 3G football pitches, two padel courts and a Multi-Use Games Area (MUGA) and associated floodlighting.
A 3G (third-generation) football pitch is a modern, high-performance synthetic turf surface designed to replicate natural grass, featuring long fibers (40mm-60mm) infilled with sand and rubber crumb. They offer durable, all-weather play for training and competitive matches.
In addition, the plans also include proposed enclosures and boundary treatments, hard and soft landscaping, car parking and installation of two storage containers and associated works.
This ambitious scheme will primarily be funded by £6.5 million from the UK Government’s Town Deal and sees Blackpool Council working with Blackpool FC and Blackpool FC Community Trust, although the delivery responsibilities were adjusted to let the council handle the community pitches phase directly.
A Planning, Design and Access Statement in support of the project stated:
“This project will support sport and community provision by creating new facilities adjacent to Blackpool Football Club’s Bloomfield Road stadium.
“The Council is working alongside Blackpool Football Club and the BFC Community Trust to implement and subsequently operate the development.”
It concludes: “The proposals are considered to represent appropriate development which supports the overall aims of the Local Authority in improving access to sports facilities to support the health and wellbeing of the local community.
“For these reasons, it is considered that full planning permission for the proposed development should be granted.”
This large-scale project will make Bloomfield Road a central sporting hub across the Fylde Coast and benefit the deprived area of Revoe.
The statement says: “All of the pitches would have associated floodlighting and two storage containers to be installed on-site would allow for equipment storage.
“The 3G pitch is designed to be configured as either two 7-a-side or four 5-a-side pitches, to FA standards.
“Each pitch will be bound by 4.5m high weld mesh fencing with floodlighting provided.
“It is proposed that the facilities would be open between 9am and 9pm daily. This reflects the opening hours of other 3G pitch facilities in Blackpool. The pitches would not be in use when first team home games are being played to mitigate any potential impact on traffic.”
The scheme has been recommended for approval by the planning officer, who concludes in a report to the committee:
“Economically, the impacts of the proposal would be limited as this would be a community sporting facility.
“However, attracting more people into the area would help support local shops and services and some employment would be generated during construction.
“Furthermore, the proposals would improve the public realm on one of the main routes into the Town Centre, making that approach more attractive.
“Environmentally, subject to conditions, environmental quality would not be diminished and biodiversity should benefit from a good quality planting scheme and any necessary off-site uplift to achieve 10% Biodiversity Net Gain.
“Socially, the proposal should not have an unacceptable impact on residential amenity. No unacceptable highway impacts are anticipated.
“The proposal would result in the loss of a designated housing land, but the use would still regenerate a brownfield site within the inner area and would benefit the local community through the provision of sports facilities in a high-quality environment.”