Wyre Council gives the green light on plans to rejuvenate Fleetwood Waterfront

Wyre Council has been working hard with external specialists Arcadis on a masterplan aimed at transforming the area along the waterfront at Fleetwood. On Tuesday councillors signed off the plans and officers will now begin developing business cases to underpin the four projects, designed to breathe new life into the town.

By starting work in earnest on these more detailed plans, the council hopes to be poised to bid for any Government-funded programmes which become available, as well as be in a prime position to market the Fleetwood seafront site at key events to attract inward investment.

The potential projects comprise:

• Redeveloping Marine Hall to create a more flexible, mixed-use space which will see a restaurant, offices and event spaces alongside the popular Marine Hall theatre.
• Refurbishing Fleetwood Leisure Centre – investing around £16m to upgrade the existing sports and pool facilities and adding a climbing wall. The complex once finished will be repositioned as a health and wellness centre, offering not only state of the art facilities but a wide range of wraparound support providing a variety of exercise classes and healthy living support for all ages and abilities.
• A reconfigured promenade to better connect the waterfront facilities with the town centre.
• Enhancing and developing the beach huts to provide standalone ‘glamping’ pods to tap into the staycation market.

Council Leader, Councillor Michael Vincent said: “We want Fleetwood to be an exciting and vibrant place to live, work and visit. The town has a fascinating history, a dramatic coastline and stunning heritage assets such as the art-deco Marine Hall theatre which has stood proud for almost 90 years. We are committed to building upon that and attracting investment and funding in the future to support the town to reach its full potential.

“The regeneration plans are a real blueprint for success. They have the potential to deliver a wide range of new and exciting activities to complement existing visitor attractions such as Fleetwood Market and the Museum and promise a real boost to the local economy.”