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Blackpool was once a pretty seaside town where families from the industrial heartland of the northern England came to spend their annual two-week summer holiday. Today the hotels are past their best and you are more likely to see a hen party stumbling up the promenade than a well-dressed couple enjoying a weekend break.
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Many of the guest houses have been turned into bedsits and flats for benefits tenants.
The Sad Decline of a Seaside Town
Unfortunately for Blackpool, the slow decline of living standards in the town has led to a rise of slum landlords. Blackpool is a hotspot for benefits claimants and many of the properties have been converted into profitable HMOs. Figures indicate that around 25% of the town’s residents are living in the private rental sector, many of them claiming benefits.
Run-Down Accommodation
In an effort to crack down on poor housing in the town, the council has instigated a compulsory purchase scheme whereby rundown houses will be demolished and replaced with family homes.
“If we don’t get housing supply right then we’ll never improve our demographics,” says Blackpool council’s director of housing. “There’s a real opportunity for Blackpool to be a fantastic place to live as well as for holidaymakers to visit. But we just keep running into this housing problem.”
Housing officers are conducting spot checks to try and identify properties owned by landlords because many houses in the private rental sector are not declared. The council hopes this new initiative will drive up standards in the worst affected areas.
