New Hotel and Bar Rising From Site of Blackpool’s Former Yates Lodge

Workmen have moved onto the South Shore seafront in Blackpool this week, preparing the ground for a new hotel and bar on the site where the Art Deco Yates Wine Lodge once stood. A team member on site said the development was on track to be finished by next year.

The replacement building will rise again at 407-411 Promenade as a three-storey structure, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, bringing a long and sometimes troubled planning saga closer to a conclusion.

Getting to this point took longer than planners first hoped. An earlier, multi-million pound scheme to restore the original building fell apart after its concrete and steel frame was found to have deteriorated beyond safe repair, forcing its demolition last November. Blackpool Council signed off on a fresh set of plans in February, and thirteen separate planning conditions were attached before building could begin.

Architect firm Abbott Hull Associates, acting for the applicant, described the scope of the new build in a revised planning statement: “The replacement building is to be of the same scale and footprint, together with a change of use to a hotel and drinking establishment with extended food provision.” The firm added that the plans include “ancillary dining and events space, an additional storey, a roof terrace, a front canopy with roof terrace above, a three-storey rear extension, and a single-storey glazed rear seating area, along with external rendering and cladding.”

A seafront landmark

The site has a long history on the Blackpool seafront. Designed by architect Halstead Best and opened in 1937 as the Lion Hotel, the building became known for its circular tower and red brick Art Deco façade. Under the Yates name it went on to become one of the busiest and most popular bars on South Shore before it closed and was eventually torn down.

Source: BBC News