The owners of the late Victorian St Chads Hotel have submitted proposals to demolish the landmark hotel  on Blackpool’s Promenade, together with and neighbouring buildings, and replace them with a new 157-bedroom hotel. Their submitted plans outline the demolition of buildings between the Promenade, St Chad’s Road, Woodfield Street and Bolton Street, namely St Chads Hotel, the Lyric Hotel, the Regency Apartments and the Seaside fish & chip shop. The St Chads Hotel has stood in a  prominent position on Blackpool’s Promenade since 1893, with the other buildings being added in stages up to 1912.

Hotel group and property developers, Fragrance, bought the 90-bedroom St. Chads five years ago, in 2018, for an undisclosed sum, its third Blackpool acquisition, including the famous Imperial Hotel.

Following demolition, Fragrance intends to submit detailed plans for a high quality replacement hotel on the plot in the second quarter of this year. Pre-application discussions have already taken place with Blackpool Council.

According to a spokesperson for the developers, ‘The buildings are in a poor state of repair both structurally and cosmetically and, now vacant, are increasingly targeted by vandals and anti-social behaviour detracting from the character and appearance of the Promenade.’

St Chads is not a listed building nor is it identified on the local list, said the developers, who added that renovation in full or in part has been considered but dismissed, including the retention of the façade, but that this was ultimately ruled out due to a range of factors such as various level changes within and between the buildings, the inadequacy of lift and stair-core locations, narrowness of internal corridors and window positions which precludes the creation of bedrooms of the size required by operators of modern hotels.