Wimbourne Guesthouse

Residents or Blackpool Tower Aquarium have had there homes peered into for the last time, generations of visitors have past through the doors of Blackpool Tower but now the fish have been removed in preparations for a new beginning. There new home will not be a short or regular visitors to accompany them, the huge South African pacu – one of the aquarium aquariums main attractions was taken out of Blackpool altogether and re-homed at Great Yarmouth, while the smaller fish took a short journey down the Promenade to the Merlin owned state-of-the-art Sea Life Centre. Read more »

Blackpool Tower top ride will be out of operation summer 2011. The ride to the top of the Grade 1 listed structure is closed from November 15th for paint, steel and glazing work part of the £5 million restoration.

New operator Merlin will carry out its improvements on the Tower at the same time. Business leaders in the town have welcomed the redevelopment plans even if it means losing an attraction for the best part of the year. Read more »

Blackpool Tower was strictly the star on Saturday and hopes it will not be long before Strictly Comes Dancing is in town again. The nation looked on as the hit BBC show took over the world famous Tower Ballroom for the evening with stars and local figures hailing the event a rousing success. Read more »

The second phase of Hounds Hill shopping development is underway. A block of properties on Tower street and Coronation street opposite the Winter Gardens is being knocked down after acquired by the council. There is not a time scale when construction is to start on the second phase but retail chiefs say that the fact that the project is moving is a sign of confidence in the town. The Tower Street buildings are being demolished which paves the way for the future.

There is no time scale for the redevelopment of the site but it is a positive steps. Read more »

Whilst all work is taking place the construction of the sea defences will continue. This is the final part of the creating the new sea defences from North to South Pier that started in 2005. When this is completed 3.5 km of new defences have been created protecting 1500 homes and businesses from flooding and coastal erosion. This work will be expected to finish August 2011.

A wedding chapel within an iconic building will be developed on Blackpool's promenade this winter. It will be located right on the sea front allowing couples to marry with a panoramic view or Blackpool,s golden sands. The current wedding facilities office on South King Street will eventually transfer to this building. A brand new Tourist Information Centre and café/restaurant will be also based there. The work is expected to be finished for summer 2011.

This headland is situated opposite Blackpool,s famous tower and will house a spectacular open air event space for up to 20,000 spectators. A new art installation entitled the Comedy Carpet featuring comedy catchphrases etched in stone will provide a creative foot path stretching from the entrance of the tower onto the festival headland itself. The 1,880 square metre installation will be made up of jokes, songs, and catchphrases from the comedians and writers of British comedy. The work is underway and hoped to be ready for summer events 2011.

Merlin Entertainment are now operating Blackpool Tower and work is well under way to create two new attractions for 2012. The Blackpool Dungeons will contain spooky history from Britain and the North West while the Tower Top will be transformed with a exciting 4D pre show. Once the work is completed a new price structure will be in place that will enable people to access the Tower for free before choosing which attractions they want to pay to access.

The tower will remain open throughout all the work and it is hoped the new attractions will be open by 2012.

The tramway is currently undergoing a £101 million transformation to replace the entire length of track from Starr Gate and the introduction of hi-tech trams. The work is vitally important to protect the future of Blackpool,s famous tramway and allow heritage trams to continue running. So far the track has been replaced from South Pier to the tower. This winter that replacement programme will continue from the tower to Gynn Square. Read more »

Blackpool Promenade has been undergoing a transformation over the last 5 years and the council is geared up for the last push to transform the sea front forever and promising that the best is yet to come. The final phase of work taking place between November and June will see the new sea defences built, a new tramway laid, an iconic wedding chapel created, an outdoor events arena for 20,000 people, public art and new pedestrian access to the promenade. Read more »