'We don't want council to knock down our homes'

Angry residents in Blackpool's Revoe area have said controversial plans to demolish homes are "destroying this community".

Blackpool Council was awarded £90m funding from the government two years ago to transform a large area of the Revoe ward, off Central Drive, by knocking down "poor housing" and seeing new homes being built.

The local authority invited residents, stakeholders and businesses to take part in a new consultation on the proposed regeneration.

At a community meeting, home owners and people living in rented accommodation told Council Leader Lynn Williams and Bloomfield ward councillor Jim Hobson they did not want the scheme.

At one point in the meeting, held in the Ibbison Court Community Centre, a resident staged an on-the-spot poll asking for a show of hands of people in the room who opposed the project and wanted to keep their homes.

The response was overwhelming as hands went up in the air, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Williams said: "I understand it is difficult and worrying. These are your homes. But we have to be honest about this area. Central Drive is one of the most densely populated areas outside London.

"What concerns me is our young people here. Children here face greater challenges than in other areas - and that is not fair."

Hobson attempted to tell the residents about his personal experience of how moving from a grim housing area in Liverpool to a more modern development transformed the lives of himself, his siblings and parents.

He said it was "revelatory" and he wanted to see similar improvements for Revoe residents.

But many residents were having none of it.

Many were worried that the amount of money they would be offered for their homes would leave them seriously out of pocket and worried about what sort of homes they would be moved to.

One woman said: "You're destroying this community. You say no plans are going through, yet we're already seeing houses being boarded up."

Another said: "There's been no community input - you're telling us, not asking us. Tell us how this is going to benefit people in this room. Moving to another house will cost me an extra £25,000 - where will the money come from?

"We're picking up the bill. It's in your favour. How will it benefit residents now?"

Hobson replied: "It doesn't - I'm doing this for the future of the children."

But he was asked: "What about us, now?"

After the meeting, resident John Dacks said: "We want the houses which need it, to be refurbished and keep this community together, instead of them being knocked down. People here do not want this."

In order to progress with the proposals, a planning application will need to be submitted to the council's planning department.

No date for this has yet been announced.

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