22/06/2026
LABOUR’S LAWLESS TOWN CENTRE AND DEMOLITION PLAN EXPOSED
Labour’s housing chief is boasting about a “public health approach” to town centre begging and anti social behaviour while admitting Blackpool has seen a recent rise in ASB in the heart of the town under their watch. Their own figures show that in just one month they needed full day multi agency operations that led to various arrests and other similar enforcement actions.
If Labour’s approach was really working, we would not need this level of constant enforcement just to keep shop doorways and public highways clear of unauthorised camping and aggressive begging. Instead, this report reads like a confession that the town centre has become so difficult that only repeated blitz style operations, early mornings, evenings and weekends included, can stop things spiralling further.
Residents and businesses already know what this report concedes that serious problems with rough sleepers, substance misuse and begging have not been dealt with properly for years and now demand emergency style multi agency interventions.
On the night time economy, Labour try to hide behind the police relaunch of Nightsafe, a police led partnership, rather than anything they themselves have delivered. They list Safe Space from 10pm to 4am on Saturdays and some Fridays, Ask for Angela in licensed premises, upgraded CCTV columns with 360 degree vision, exploitation outreach four days a week and improved lighting as if all of this is new and radical rather than basic tools any serious council should already have in place in a major seaside resort.
Safe Space is described as somewhere to rest, rehydrate and get low level medical help and drink spiking test kits, but that is firefighting the consequences of Labour’s failure to keep the town centre safe and orderly in the first place. Ask for Angela is a good scheme, but it exists because vulnerable people do not feel safe under the status quo, something Labour never acknowledge in their glossy bullet points.
They are now chasing Purple Flag status as a badge to say the night time economy is safe, with a “thematic action plan” to review licensing policy, introduce a night time economy champion, welfare hubs and wardens, better lighting and CCTV and a night time transport plan.
The question writes itself why has it taken Labour until 2026 to pull all of this together when problems in the night time economy have been obvious for years and residents have been complaining about safety, transport and rowdy behaviour for just as long.
They talk about blending these proposals into an existing town centre strategy and “structured joined up” approach, but the reality is they are playing catch up to repair the damage done by years of drift and weak enforcement. Purple Flag, if they get it, will be used as a PR shield to claim everything is fine, when it is actually the product of pressure from traders, police and the public forced to live with the consequences of Labour’s complacency.
On housing, the Central Housing Regeneration Phase 1 update is another example of Labour spinning disruption as progress. They admit they have submitted a hybrid planning application that includes full permission to demolish up to 300 existing buildings and structures and clear the site, while only seeking outline permission at this stage for up to 230 new dwellings and some flexible office, retail, leisure and community uses.
So under Labour Revoe could see up to 300 buildings flattened with only 230 homes proposed, meaning a net loss in the number of units, and no detailed plan yet approved for what exactly will replace the demolished streets. They talk about new public realm, landscaped open spaces and associated infrastructure and highway works, but residents are not stupid they can see this is another top down regeneration scheme where the bulldozers move faster than the benefits.
The engagement section tries to paint a picture of care and sensitivity, with an engagement team based at Ibbison Court Community Centre since December 2025, drop in sessions, personalised housing plans and routine checks on mental health. Yet a significant number still have not engaged or may be confused, anxious or resistant to what is happening.
Households needing support are “case managed” with a dedicated engagement worker, but this is what happens when you push forward a major clearance programme Labour now has to manage the fallout, move people on, and try to hold together communities they themselves are dismantling. They talk about signposting and support, but behind the soft language sits a hard reality whole streets are being cleared and residents are being told to uproot their lives for a scheme that still only has outline planning consent for what comes next.
On land assembly, Labour brag that acquisition has been progressing “steadily” on a voluntary basis. Yet they also admit of all the identified legal property interests in the area a substantial number of owners have not agreed to sell and may still be resisting or holding out because they do not trust the council.
Monthly in area support surgeries to discuss valuations and queries are dressed up as a service, but they are also part of a sustained pressure campaign to bring reluctant owners into line and smooth the path for demolition. Nowhere in this report does Labour seriously grapple with what happens to community cohesion, local businesses or vulnerable tenants once whole blocks are cleared and replaced with fewer homes and more “flexible” commercial space.
This report is classic Labour window dressing an admission that ASB and begging in the town centre have risen under their watch, that serious multi agency operations are needed just to keep a grip, that they are chasing badges like Purple Flag instead of getting basics sorted and that they are pushing through a housing demolition and regeneration plan that risks destroying more than it rebuilds.
Blackpool deserves a council that tackles crime and disorder firmly, protects communities and regenerates with residents, not at their expense, instead of Labour’s mix of spin, gimmicks and bulldozers.
