Latest news with #TalbotGateway
Daily Mirror
08-08-2025
- Daily Mirror
Woman visits popular UK seaside town and is shocked by something unexpected
A woman couldn't believe her eyes when she visited a popular UK seaside town. Something totally unexpected took her by surprise during her summer visit to the destination There's nothing quite like embarking on an adventure, and one woman recently experienced a huge surprise during a trip to Blackpool. Whilst the coastal resort is renowned for its Pleasure Beach, illuminations and, naturally, the iconic Blackpool Tower, it wasn't these famous landmarks that captured her focus. Rather, she was left completely flummoxed by one particular sight - a neighbourhood supermarket. If you fancy a spot of retail therapy, it seems you might want to consider visiting the celebrated town - particularly if you're looking to stock up on groceries and household items - as the tourist was left utterly amazed by the scale of one specific supermarket. The unnamed woman drove past Sainsbury's during her journey, and she was left completely awestruck. She simply couldn't believe the enormous proportions of it. Overlaying footage of the massive store, she penned: "Arriving at Blackpool just to see a Sainsbury's the size of a country." The clip has subsequently become viral, leaving viewers absolutely astounded. One individual joked: "Sainsbury's International Airport." Another penned: "Why did you show me this? Now I have to travel to Blackpool." A third responded: "That's a Sainsbury's Airport." Meanwhile, a fourth remarked: "Why does Blackpool need a Sainsbury's this big?" Someone else also contributed: "Went there last year and that s*** got me lost." One more added: "I never thought about that. It could literally be a shopping mall." Despite its impressive appearance, some have noted that the Sainsbury's store in Blackpool isn't as large as it seems, with a significant portion of its space being used as a car park. However, this hasn't stopped many from being taken aback by the sheer size of the supermarket. The Sainsbury's branch, part of Blackpool's Talbot Gateway scheme, reportedly spans 120,000 sq ft and created around 300 jobs when it first opened its doors. This supermarket was the final piece of the first phase of the 25-acre project led by Muse Developments. The store itself offers 58,000 sq ft of retail space and was constructed by Shepherd Construction and Barr Construction. Upon its opening in 2014, Mike Horner, regional director at Muse Developments, said: "It's wonderful to have reached this stage of development and have Sainsbury's open its doors to the public. "We have worked very closely together with Blackpool Council to provide a high quality scheme which is transforming the area around Blackpool North railway station. "The striking design of the Sainsbury's store completes a trio of new buildings around Bickerstaffe Square which together provide an emphatic statement that Blackpool is changing for the better." Even after more than a decade since its opening, the scale of the store continues to surprise visitors, with over 100,000 people having viewed a social media clip showcasing its modern design.
BBC News
02-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Rail inspired landscaping plan revealed for MoD hub in Blackpool
Blackpool's railway heritage has inspired new "public art" landscaping designs to be provided as part of a new £45m office block, close to the town's railway was announced on 19 May that construction had begun on the new office building for more than 1,000 Ministry of Defence (MoD) civil move will be at the heart of the Talbot Gateway regeneration scheme in the have now emerged in planning documents that show the designs include a green landscaped area, referred to as a "rain garden", with benches designed with the town's railway heritage in mind. 'Boost sustainability' These proposals will now be considered by the council. Designers Re-form Landsape stated: "The planting will function as a rain garden and will work in harmony with the recolonised railway character."It could include "a reclaimed railway track" where "surface water will be able to run into the planting areas through breaks in the edge" with "simple, robust" seating."Alongside providing positive visual interest to the scheme, the public art will also boost sustainability by providing a sustainable urban drainage system and reusing existing materials," the plans site has lain empty since the Apollo building was demolished in 2014 but is now to get a new lease of new office development represents the fifth phase of the £350m Talbot Gateway development, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.A £100m civil service hub has already been built on Cookson Street for the Department for Work and Pensions. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on BBC Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer.
BBC News
19-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Blackpool: Ministry of Defence to occupy new Talbot Road offices
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is planning to transfer more than 1,000 jobs to move, also confirmed by Blackpool Council, will be at the heart of the Talbot Gateway regeneration scheme in the Lancashire seaside council had previously released an artist's impression of the new six-storey office building - which will be funded by the MoD - but had not said who was going to occupy leader Lynn Williams said the "marvellous" news would create jobs for the town's residents. 'Feeling of positivity' No timeline has yet been announced either for the construction of the large office block, or when jobs will transfer to multimillion-pound Talbot Gateway regeneration has already seen the opening of a £100m building for more than 3,000 Department for Work and Pensions said working with the MoD had been "a long, ongoing process" but Blackpool had shown to be a "good partner".She added: "We're going to build a new car park, but we've also got a modern transport system - trams, buses, trains - and we want to encourage people to not necessarily bring the car in." She said more jobs in the town centre "increases footfall and that's great for local businesses".Williams said it would also "bring a feeling of positivity from an investment point of view, and [would] attract other businesses" to government recently announced plans to cut the number of civil servants working in London by 12,000 and to transfer jobs to new regional "campuses" across the planned new 53,000 sq ft (16,154sq m) building will house up to 1,100 staff from Defence Business Services (DBS).The MoD said DBS "provides corporate services across the information and technology, finance, procurement and people function to the whole of Defence, including serving military, veterans and civilian staff, as well as other government departments".DBS representatives signed the contract in March and a ground-breaking ceremony took place last week. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer.
BBC News
09-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
More than 3,000 civil servants move into new £100m Blackpool hub
A government minister has said he hopes more civil servants will want to come into the office to work out of a new multimillion-pound building in the centre of than 3,000 staff members for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) are moving into the £100m building on King Street from other sites around purpose-built support centre, which has been designed to be as energy efficient as possible, includes open plan working areas, meeting rooms, quiet zones and other flexible workplace was officially opened by Minister for Transformation, Andrew Western, and forms part of the £350m Talbot Gateway regeneration of the town centre. 'Fantastic building' Mr Western said the government encourages people to work from the office "to collaborate and learn best practice"."The policy for much of government is that people need to be in at least three days a week," he said. "We want to give people flexibility where we can, but 60% is the minimum expectation [for people to be in the office]."Work began in 2024 to build the new office building, which opened earlier this said of the new seven-storey building "we've got capacity for all 3,000 to be in full-time if they want, but we know that one of the big things that people look at in the jobs market is flexibility, so I think there's an opportunity for both here.""It's an absolutely fantastic building and it's what I want to see more of across the DWP estate in the future," he added. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on BBC Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer.
