Business Partnerships Report – July 27, 2018

SectionTown 1: VisitorCentre EconomyEconomy

ALFIE’S COMING HOME FOR SWITCH-ON

One of Lancashire’s greatest music talents is coming home – to switch on the world-famous Illuminations.

Actor and international singing star , who was born in the resort and raised in neighbouring Fleetwood, will pull the switch to trigger the start of the 2018 Illuminations season at the official Switch-On concert on the Tower Festival Headland on Friday 31 August.

During the free four-hour show there will be performances by Ella Eyre, Jonas Blue, , DVJ (Diversity Junior) and Club MTV DJs, R3wire and Varski.

Alfie Boe is a two-time Brit award and Silver Clef winner. He has had two number 1 albums as part of Ball & Boe alongside close friend , selling-out three UK tours and performing in their own prime-time ITV specials. The pair also appeared on last year’s Strictly Come Dancing episode in the Blackpool Tower Ballroom.

The Tower Ballroom will also be the VIP after-show venue for this year’s Illuminations Switch-On party. The ballroom will cater for several hundred VIP ticket-holders as part of the biggest event in the resort’s entertainment calendar. Full details, go to www.visitblackpool.com BLACKPOOL’S HEATHROW TAKEOVER

Blackpool is featured in a new “Tourism Takeover” at Heathrow Airport, showcasing the resort to millions of passengers. The resort is featured in a large 3D backdrop that Terminal 5 passengers can use to take selfies and share online.

The frame, which also features Liverpool’s Albert Dock and the Lake District, is expected to be in place for a number of years. It features a range of fun facts about the region to tempt tourists from across the globe to visit the North West.

AIR SHOW 2018 Blackpool’s two-day Air Show is back this summer with a fantastic programme of aerial entertainment. The spectacular free event will take place on Blackpool Promenade on Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 August and will include a breath-taking finale by the world-famous Red Arrows.

The event, which is being sponsored by Northern, will showcase the very best in British aviation with a wide range of aircraft and some of the country’s most talented pilots.

The programme will begin shortly after 1.30pm on both days, with the best viewing points on the promenade between North and Central Piers.

Crowds will be able to see The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, which features a Spitfire, a Hurricane and a Lancaster Bomber; an RAF Typhoon thunder across the horizon; aerobatic displays from the Turbulent Team, Wing Walkers and The Blades; and some of the world’s best aircraft flying over Blackpool seafront including a Strikemaster, Chipmunk and Swordfish.

The RAF Red Arrows team will bring the show to a spectacular end on the second day with another awesome display of speed, agility and precision. For full programme timings and regular updates, go to www.visitblackpool.com/airshow.

 Blackpool Transport Services is trialling a new “Park & Glide” facility over the Air Show weekend, giving visitors the opportunity to park on a large site at Blackpool Airport and use a shuttle bus to get them to the tramway on the Promenade. ’S BIRTHDAY HONOUR A new plaque has been unveiled on Blackpool’s North Pier – where Sooty, the children’s TV favourite, was discovered 70 years ago.

Sooty and his pal, , appeared on ITV’s This Morning, with presenter broadcasting live in the resort, to reveal the new honour ahead of a big birthday party on the pier.

Magician and puppeteer Harry Corbett bought Sooty from a stall on North Pier as a present for his son, Matthew, in 1948 – and he made his television appearance four years later. Matthew handed over custody of Sooty and his sidekicks Sweep and 20 years ago to Richard.

ZOO’S RECORD-BREAKER Blackpool Zoo is gearing up for its busiest summer after the launch of its single biggest investment.

Project Elephant Base Camp is proving to be a huge attraction and since it opened in early spring there has been a 15 per cent increase in visitors, with record numbers in May and June.

The multi-million pound facility combines one of the UK’s largest indoor elephant houses with a huge outdoor habitat and an immersive themed visitor experience.

The resident herd consists of Kate, who has lived in Blackpool Zoo for 46 years, Tara, who came from Twycross Zoo in January and Minbu, who arrived from the same zoo in March. Plans are currently underway to transport two remaining female elephants from Twycross and the search is on to identify a bull elephant to complete the group.

LIVEWIRE POSTPONEMENT Blackpool’s LIVEWIRE Festival, which was due to take place on four nights over the August Bank Holiday weekend has been postponed until next year. The decision was made due to the ill-health of a key member of the festival team. The line-up for the event had included Mariah Carey.

SANDCASTLE AWARD Sandcastle Waterpark has been awarded the Changing Places People’s Choice Award for its toilet facilities for people with disabilities. The award, which is voted for by the public, invested in the facilities five years ago as part of its Access For All programme. The Sandcastle beat more than 1,100 providers to win the award.

AMANDA’S HONOUR Amanda Thompson, managing director of Blackpool Pleasure Beach, has been named the world’s most influential woman in the theme park industry. She has been listed seventh in the Power 10 of a new influencer list from Blooloop – a networking and news website for the attractions industry. It also includes Bob Igor, the chief executive of the Walt Disney Company and Thierry Coup, senior vice-president of Universal Parks & Resorts, who tops the list.

NEW OPERA HOUSE SHOWS FOR 2019 Three more shows have been booked for the Blackpool Opera House in 2019.

The award-winning musical, Kinky Boots (pictured right), which features songs written by pop icon Cyndi Lauper, will run from September 30 to October 12 as part of a new UK tour.

Cult musical The Rocky Horror Show is also heading to the Opera House for one week from June 24. The legendary rock’n’roll musical is returning to the UK as part of a worldwide tour. It has already been seen by more than 30million theatregoers.

Priscilla Queen Of The Desert will run from for a week from October 21, 2019. This new version of the show is being co-produced by .

Three other shows have already been lined up for the Opera House in 2019 – Rock Of Ages, Green Day’s and Dr Dolittle.

SEARCH FOR TOTO Producers of the Opera House Christmas show, The Wizard Of Oz, are searching for a dog to join the cast on the Yellow Brick Road.

They are looking for two dogs to cast in the role of Toto, with them alternating between performances. Winning owners will also receive £500 to cover expenses during the run of the show from December 7-30.

Auditions will take place during August in Preston (7th), Blackburn (8th), Lancaster (9th) and Blackpool (10th) with the grand final being held at the Winter Gardens on Sunday 26 August. Applications can be submitted at www.wintergardensblackpool.co.uk/search-for-toto/

DESTINATION MARKETING A new Blackpool Has It All TV ad has been launched in Scotland and across the north of . The ad, which is intended to show the scale and breadth of Blackpool’s attractions will run throughout the school holidays, supported by extensive digital and PR activity.

The campaign has been co-funded by a range of partners including Merlin Entertainments, Blackpool Council, Pleasure Beach, Blackpool Transport, Winter Gardens and Sandcastle Waterpark.

PIER TO PIER SWIM

The inaugural pier-to-pier open water swim took place in Blackpool on July 21.

Led by Blackpool-born Dr Julie Bradshaw, who competed her first solo English Channel swim at the age of 15, the new event took place over 1.6km from North to South Pier.

The swimmers were transported by tram from Sandcastle Water Park to the start line. Various partners involved in the event included Blackpool Council, Beach Patrol, the Sandcastle and Blackpool Transport. Places were limited to the first 100 applicants.

NEW FILMS Two new films shot on location in Blackpool have been unveiled.

The More You Ignore Me, written by Jo Brand and starring , opened in UK cinemas at the beginning of July.

Eaten By Lions, filmed in Blackpool and St Annes in 2017 and featuring Blackpool-born actress Hayley Tamaddon, alongside comedians Johnny Vegas and Jack Carroll, had its world premiere at Festival.

A full UK release date has yet to be announced.

NEW CAVING ADVENTURE AT ASCENT The North West’s first indoor caving system has arrived at the award-winning Ascent Trampoline Park in Blackpool.

The system is a fully immersive experience suitable for children and adults, giving them the opportunity to twist and climb through a sophisticated network of tunnels with various special effects and activities, including haze machines, fossil hunts, wind effects, stalactites, sounds and hidden tunnels.

Caving sessions last for one hour. All participants are fitted with a hard hat and torch to help them navigate throughout the tunnels.

BEACH HOUSE EXTENSION Plans have been submitted to extend the Beach House Restaurant and Bar on Blackpool Promenade.

The proposal would see an additional seating area and new toilets built on the beach-facing side of the existing restaurant. The operators say the extension would increase the floor space by around a fifth.

The Beach House was opened in 2012 as part of a £3m Festival House development which also includes the Wedding Chapel and Tourist Information Centre.

DANCING WITH CRAIG Strictly star Craig Revel Horwood has unveiled his new wax figure at Madame Tussauds in Blackpool.

Visitors now have the exclusive chance to dance and chat with Craig, as his figure features incorporates speech technology, a growing feature of new wax figures.

RICOH OPEN GOLF All of the world’s top ten ranked players on the Rolex Women’s World Rankings are in the field for the 2018 Ricoh Women’s British Open which is being staged at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club from August 2-5.

The tournament is expected to attract spectators from all over the world. Fylde Council and Visit Blackpool will have a joint presence on site, promoting the coastal resorts and providing spectators with a concierge service offering tickets to shows and attractions.

RETURN OF LIGHTPOOL FESTIVAL Blackpool’s award-winning Lightpool Festival is back for October half-term.

The festival will provide a spectacular mix of live performance, light-based art installations, the return of the illuminated tram parade and a special collaboration with BBC Philharmonic.

The inaugural Lightpool Festival was staged in 2016 and went on to be named as best major event in the Lancashire Tourism Awards. A smaller-scale festival was held in 2017, introducing for the first time a promenade parade of Blackpool’s unique collection of illuminated heritage trams.

Thanks to a grant of £85,000 through Arts Council England’s National Lottery-funded Grants for the Arts programme, the 2018 festival will revert to a large-scale festival, with events taking place over two weeks in October.

The festival programme will be launched in the week commencing October 15 with Light Odyssey, a fully immersive light and sound spectacular featuring the BBC Philharmonic in the iconic Empress Ballroom in the Winter Gardens.

Over the following week, there will be a light-based art trail along the promenade and through the town centre, with live fire and light-related performances from October 25-27.

These will include the return of last year’s hugely successful illuminated tram parade as part of a dazzling Carnival of The Lights on October 25. The following day, LeftCoast will present an epic dance production featuring projections and pyrotechnics with a locally recruited cast of more than 100 people.

The festival programme will be complemented by the Lightpool 3D projection shows, which will be projected each night on to the Blackpool Tower buildings throughout the Illuminations season, August 31 to November 4.

Most of the events will be free to access, although the Light Odyssey show will be ticketed. Further details on all the events will follow in the coming weeks. For regular updates, go to www.visitblackpool.com/lightpoolfestival

 Festival director Alex Rinsler will present on the full Lightpool Festival programme at the BBLG’s July 27 meeting. Any businesses interested in supporting the festival, please contact [email protected]

CIRCUS 250 The Grundy Art Gallery has announced a summer programme of exhibitions to celebrate Blackpool’s designation of one of six towns and cities chosen to celebrate 250 years of circus in the UK.

Over the next three months, the gallery will present a series of exhibitions that explore some of the history, themes, ideas and images associated with circus. These include:

A Clown Walks Into A Gallery… The first part of this focuses on a collection of hand-painted eggs held by the Clowns’ Gallery-Museum. The eggs record the painted faces of members of Clowns International and act as a form of copyright register for clowns. The Grundy will present a selection of photographs and texts alongside examples of the eggs that they feature.

The second part features five internationally-recognised contemporary artists whose works reference the act of performance, the role of disguise and the line between fiction and fact.

Come One, Come All! A Celebration of Blackpool Tower Circus A collaboration between Blackpool Museum Project and the Grundy Art Gallery, this exhibition draws on the internationally significant Blackpool Tower Circus collection, to explore the acts, the clowns and the audiences of this iconic circus.

#RetiredPerformers Project: The Interval – Claire Griffiths. This features a series of images and audio interviews captured over 12 months by Blackpool-based photographer, Claire Griffiths.

Circus Work 1968-2018: Peter Lavery For the past 50 years, award-winning photographer Peter Lavery has been photographing circus performers around Britain. Selected from the hundreds of photographs that make up this complete series, this exhibition highlights connections and links to Blackpool’s circus history and includes previously unseen work.

Life as a Circus: Sir Peter Blake Sir Peter Blake’s Life as a Circus comprises two sculptures that were originally commissioned by Blackpool Council and presented as part of The Great Promenade Art Show at South Beach. This summer they will be presented at the Grundy Art Gallery for the first time.

The various exhibitions, which run until September 8, will be supported by a programme of talks, events and workshops. Visit www.grundyartgallery.com for further details.

 As part of the Circus 250 celebrations, the Blackpool Tower Circus held a week of celebrations including the revival of the circus parade along the promenade and a special charity performance of a circus that has been entertaining crowds since 1894. The Circus 250 theme will be carried through into the 2018 Illuminations display.

RESORT HOTEL UPDATES Conference Centre Hotel An outline planning application for a new hotel adjacent to the new Winter Gardens Conference & Exhibition Centre has been approved.

Architects Bisset Adams, who were commissioned to design the 6,150 square metre conference extension to the Winter Gardens last year, submitted plans to Blackpool Council earlier this year.

They included details for a proposed 203-room hotel over six floors featuring accommodation on the upper levels and leisure facilities, such as a cafe, bar, restaurant and spa, on the lower floors, as well as underground parking provision for up to 59 vehicles. The architects’ plans also included proposals to create a physical link between the new hotel and the new conference centre.

The proposed enclosed walkway would link from the hotel’s second floor to the first-floor concourse of the new venue. This would mean delegates could easily access the Winter Gardens’ 12 integrated meeting and exhibition spaces, in addition to the new conference and exhibition facilities.

The Boulevard Blackpool Pleasure Beach’s new hotel is to be named Boulevard Hotel. The development will feature 120 rooms, including 10 suites and family rooms with a mixture of coastal and park-facing rooms.

The hotel will also include stylish dining and conferencing facilities. These include the Beachside Restaurant, Ocean Bar, Surfside Café and Shoreside Conference Centre.

The new hotel is set to open in Spring 2019 and the £12m investment will see the creation of 30 new permanent jobs and 40 seasonal vacancies.

Premier Inn Work has finally started on the new Premier Inn development on the site of the former Yates’s Wine Lodge in Talbot Square, which burned down several years ago. The development includes a ground- floor restaurant.

Hampton By Hilton The new Hampton By Hilton hotel at South Beach has been officially opened at a ceremony attended by dozens of guests. The hotel has been open for business for several weeks now and is reported to be trading exceptionally well.

New Use For Disused Hotels Plans to breathe life into two former Blackpool hotels in South Shore have been revealed.

The first, the Victoria Hotel, ceased trading several years ago. The second, the Sparkles Hotel, has been unoccupied for a number of years. In 2013, it secured approval to be used as a single private house but it is still laid out as a hotel.

Blackpool Housing Company is proposing that the five-storey buildings on Station Road be transformed into a mixture of three-bedroom maisonettes and apartments. Subject to approval, the work will be completed by spring 2019.

The Hilton The former Hilton Hotel on North Promenade has been given a new name following its acquisition by the Britannia Hotel Group. It is now known as the Blackpool Hotel Conference Centre & Spa. CONFERENCE CENTRE/BUSINESS TOURISM UPDATES

Tourism Symposium The Tourism Society has announced that Blackpool will be the destination for its 2019 Tourism Symposium. The event will take place in the September and will be one of the first conferences to be staged at Blackpool’s new Winter Gardens Conference & Exhibition Centre opening in late summer next year.

The announcement was made in Greenwich, at the end of a successful 2018 symposium.

New Recruits The Winter Gardens has appointed Julie Vincent and Rebecca Thompson to head up the sales team for Blackpool’s new Conference & Exhibition Centre.

Both are former employees of Blackpool’s Hilton Hotel, which has been a major part of the resort’s corporate travel offer since it was first opened in 1982.

With over 30 years’ experience at the Hilton, Julie was previously the venue’s Senior Event Sales Manager. Rebecca, who joined the hotel in 2005, was also part of the Hilton’s sales operation, specialising in group bookings, meetings and business events.

They will be specifically targeting conference organisers, exhibition producers and event managers across a wide range of sectors including political parties, trade unions, business associations, academic symposiums and national membership organisations.

Once fully operational next summer, the Conference and Exhibition Centre will able to accommodate 2,000 delegates across a 6,150 square metre footprint. It will be available to book as a standalone venue or can be integrated within the wider Winter Gardens exhibition and events venues - to which it will be directly linked - creating an overall capacity of 7,000.

With the addition of the new building, the Winter Gardens will become a hub of 12 distinct venues, all under one roof, offering a total of 4.9 acres of connected conference, meeting, event and exhibition space.

NEW CONFERENCE GUIDE A new Conference & Meetings Guide has been produced.

The 72-page guide, which features Sir Andrew Parmley, the Blackpool-born former Lord Mayor of London on the cover, focuses on the enhanced resort offer including the new rail links, hotel developments and state-of-the-art conference and exhibition centre under construction at the Winter Gardens.

Sir Andrew is taking a lead role in the campaign to bring business tourism back to Blackpool.

NEW ROLE FOR PAVILION THEATRE Plans have been unveiled to breathe new life into the historic Pavilion Theatre within the Winter Gardens.

As part of the joint venture between and the Blackpool Entertainment Company (operators of the Winter Gardens), Selladoor will lead on programming the space with both produced and received work.

In turn, the Winter Gardens will focus on the renovations required to restore the theatre back to its former glory.

Although the Pavilion is a stunning venue with opulent interior designs, it is no longer used as a theatre and is currently listed as “at risk” by the Theatres Trust.

Selladoor Worldwide, one of the UK’s leading regional theatre producers, will use the theatre as its northern base as part of the partnership.

ANNIVERSARY EXHIBITION A free exhibition celebrating the 140th anniversary of the opening of the Winter Gardens is running until July 29.

The exhibition celebrate the venue’s illustrious entertainment history, featuring historic posters, programmes and artefacts as well as a photographic history of the building.

Note: There will be an opportunity for members of the BBLG to view the exhibition immediately after the July 27 meeting.

Section 2: Town Centre Economy

TOWN CENTRE WORKS The latest phase of town centre works has been announced. The works are to facilitate the extension of the tramway from the Promenade at North Pier to North Station as well as the development of new hotels and conference centre and improvement of the public realm. There will be some temporary closures which are illustrated on the map below.

ART HOUSE CAFÉ Blackpool artist John Marc Allen is presenting a selection of his artwork as part of an ongoing series of exhibitions at Shaw’s Art House Café in the town centre.

Echoes is a retrospective of John’s work from the last six years since he started work as The Tangerine Art Company.

The showcase includes painting, screen print, digital art and photography, with much of it inspired by Pop Art.

The exhibition opens at Shaw’s on Clifton Street on August 17 and will run for six weeks.

For more information on John’s work, go to www.thetangerineartcompany.co.uk

OPENING OF THE HIVE A high-end coffee shop and bakehouse has opened in Blackpool town centre. HIVE on Church Street is the brainchild of Portland & Barfield, a company owned by David Worsfold and Jon Parks, which has invested £200,000 into the venue. The venture will create 12 new roles.

The business has opened on the site of a run-down retail unit next to Pizza Express.

B&M RELOCATION Discount retailer B&M has closed its store in the Palatine building on Bank Hey Street and announced its intention to relocate to the former BHS store on Market Street/Church Street. The Palatine building is being converted into the new five-star Sands Venue Resort Hotel.

NEW TENANTS IN TALBOT GATEWAY Essential health and social care education and training is to be delivered from the ground floor of Blackpool Council’s Bickerstaffe House headquarters.

It follows the formation of a strategic alliance between Blackpool Council, Blackpool & The Fylde College and Lancaster University earlier this year.

Initial programmes to be delivered from Bickerstaffe House from September are aimed at those wishing to embark on a career in health and social care and professional development courses for those already working in the sector. Later in the autumn, Lancaster University will begin using Bickerstaffe as a satellite to its Health Innovation Campus.

The site will also include representatives from Better Start, HeadStart, Fulfilling Lives and the Fylde Coast Health and Social Care Career Academy. It is hoped that bringing together the complementary skills and strengths of each partner organisation in one location will drive innovative approaches to improving health.

Section 3: General News

RAIL UPDATES A series of developments have taken place over the past two months in relation to rail services in and out of Blackpool. This is a brief summary of the various issues that have affected the resort:

Timetable disruption Following a major overhaul of timetables towards the end of May, Northern Rail services across the region were seriously affected with delays, cancellations and overcrowding affecting many routes. Prior to this disruption, Blackpool’s mainline services had already being adversely affected by a lack of drivers available to work on the newly-completed electrified line to Preston.

At the beginning of June, Northern introduced interim timetables in an attempt to ease the problems by taking out 168 services across a number of routes. This had a very significant impact on Blackpool and the Lake District with bus replacement services replacing trains.

That interim timetable is due to end on July 29 and Northern has now announced that from Monday 30 July, 125 of those services will be re-introduced with the remaining 43 being reintroduced in September. From a Blackpool perspective, this means that Northern will:

 Reintroduce all services from Blackpool North to Airport and Manchester Piccadilly (31 daily services in total) from July 30

 Reinstate 17 of the 30 services that were removed between Blackpool South and Colne (via Preston) on July 30, with the remaining 13 services to be reintroduced in September.

We are awaiting confirmation of when the direct services between Blackpool North and Liverpool Lime Street will be reinstated.

In the meantime, the Government has announced an independent inquiry into what went wrong following the introduction of the the May timetable changes.

Compensation As a result of the major disruption to commuter and leisure services across the region, a compensation scheme has been agreed with Transport For The North and the Department For Transport. This initially saw the following measures:

 Season ticket holders on the worst affected Northern services who experienced disruption before and after the May timetable change, eligible to receive a cash payment equivalent to up to one month’s travel in addition to the standard existing compensation for disruption  Season ticket holders in other parts of the north will be eligible to receive a cash payment equivalent to one week’s travel in addition to the standard existing compensation  Funding of marketing campaigns for the tourist areas (mainly Blackpool and the Lake District). In Blackpool’s case we anticipate that this funding will be used to fund a specific radio and PR campaign across the north of England to drive up visitor numbers during the summer and autumn season.

Since the announcement of that initial compensation package, a second package has been announced which will give additional benefits for those affected by delays on specified routes caused by electrification works on the Blackpool to Preston line between April 1 and June 30.

FURTHER RAIL DISRUPTION Whilst there is now some stabilisation of Northern services in and out of Blackpool, there is the prospect of further disruption in the weeks ahead.

Network Rail has announced that in order to complete the upgrade of the Manchester to Preston electrification, the Manchester-Bolton-Preston corridor will be closed every weekend until November 4, with trains replaced by buses.

A nine-day closure of that stretch of line will also be imposed from Saturday 25 August until Sunday 2 September, when buses will once again replace train services.

Network Rail has also announced that there will be no rail services out of London Euston over three key weekends in the summer – August 18/19, August Bank Holiday Weekend 25/26/27 and September 1/2. This will impact on direct Virgin Rail services to and from Blackpool with services starting and terminating at Milton Keynes over those weekends.

The prospect of further disruption over the summer relating to industrial action by Northern train crews appears to have subsided with the suspension of threatened strikes during the summer holidays and talks reopening in an attempt to settle the long-running dispute.

NEW BUSES ADDED TO FLEET

Blackpool Transport Services has officially unveiled 18 brand new Enviro200 buses. Finished in the Palladium brand, the buses offer free Wi-Fi, USB charging points and phone holders, and next-stop audio/visual announcements. It brings the total new buses brought into the fleet since 2015 to 73.

PROPERTY EVENT The Full Property Experience is hosting its annual property event at The Village Hotel, Blackpool, from 6pm on Thursday 27 September. It claims to be the only property event on the Fylde Coast where the housing supply chain comes together in one place, from private investors and landlords to building contractors, estate agents, architects, housing organisation and building suppliers. Full details at: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-full-property-experience-unique-property-event-blackpool- tickets-48002572988?ref=eios&aff=eios SHALE GAS UPDATE Cuadrilla has been granted permission to start fracking its Preston New Road site near Blackpool subject to certain conditions.

Energy and Clean Growth Minister Claire Perry said all the necessary environmental and health and safety measures had been met for the company to proceed with its first horizontal shale gas exploration well.

The company is now in the process of preparing to apply for consent to carry out hydraulic fracturing operations for a second well at the same site.

These will be the first two horizontal shale exploration wells to be drilled onshore in the UK.

In a separate move, a ban preventing trespassers from entering land where fracking will take place has been extended by almost two years. The injunction, which was due to expire in August, will now expire on 1 June 2020. Anti-fracking protests have taken place at the site for several months.

WATER LICENCE Blackpool Council has become the first public sector organisation to be granted a self-supply licence to manage and monitor its own water usage to achieve greater cost savings and efficiencies. The licence was awarded following a successful application to the Water Services Regulation Authority.

It will enable Blackpool Council to buy water supply and wastewater services directly from United Utilities for its buildings and associated premises. The council will also take over managing its own retail services such as meter reading, administration and billing for over 120 sites, ranging from council offices, libraries and sports centres to the Sandcastle Waterpark and Winter Gardens.

It is estimated that the innovative move will achieve cost savings of up to £194,000 over three years. In the first year alone, anticipated savings are in the region of £50,000, with the potential for further savings through additional cost and consumption efficiency projects.

NO SMOKING INCENTIVE Pregnant women in Blackpool are to be given incentives including attractions vouchers in a scheme that aims to encourage them to quit smoking.

The project is part of a wider drive to reduce smoking in Blackpool, and has been backed by councillors. It will see support workers monitoring women's carbon monoxide levels to prove they have quit. Recent NHS data showed that Blackpool has the highest rate of smoking during pregnancy in England.

Women will receive vouchers accepted by the Pleasure Beach, many high street shops and the Madame Tussauds waxworks. They cannot be spent on cigarettes and alcohol.

Blackpool Council believes the new stop smoking campaign could help more than 800 people give up every year. It will offer more support to all smokers, including advice on nicotine replacement treatments and access to helplines.

Philip Welsh, Head of Tourism & Communications