Pride of Place: Blackpool
Pride of Place: Blackpool
In communities across the UK that have long endured hardship, BITC’s Pride of Place programme unites people from all walks of life around a vision for a better future, nurturing collaboration, sustained investment and self-belief to drive action so that millions can thrive in a place they call home.
Driving change in Blackpool
Business in the Community’s Blackpool Pride of Place programme is a cross-sector partnership focused on delivering the ambitions set out in the Blackpool 2030 vision. By thinking differently and challenging the status quo, the Pride of Place Partnership in Blackpool has successfully started to regenerate the town and restore a sense of pride for those who live and work there.
Established in 2017, the programme brings together businesses, Blackpool Council representatives, the voluntary sector, and community stakeholders around a shared commitment to inclusive growth in the town, creating jobs, improving housing, strengthening skills, and regenerating neighbourhoods. Through sustained leadership and collaboration, the Blackpool Pride of Place Partnership is helping to address challenges faced by the town, while reshaping Blackpool’s future as a place people are proud to live, work, and invest in.
Why Blackpool?
The Fylde Coast has a population of around 350,000 residents, with each distinct community area playing its specific part in making this a desirable location to live, work, and play. At its heart is Blackpool, one of the most densely developed local authorities in Britain, which is home to around 144,000 residents.
Blackpool’s past and present are inextricably linked with the tourist industry, with the seasonal variation in visitor numbers and spend resulting in challenging economic conditions for local people. The statistics are stark: low wages, low employment rates, high levels of benefit claimants, poor health, and high exclusion rates from school mean that child poverty is unacceptably prevalent in the town, with a third of children living in low-income households.
pride of place: Blackpool
Our strategic priorities
Economy
Creating and safeguarding 10,000 jobs & securing economic growth of one billion pounds.
Housing
Creating 3,000 new quality homes, underpinning essential regeneration in some of Blackpool’s (and the UK’s) most deprived neighbourhoods.
Youth Employment and Skills
Increasing employment rates for 16-24-year-olds and supporting them to build essential skills for their futures.
Our impact to date
Established in 2017, the Blackpool Pride of Place Board has broken down long-standing barriers between communities, businesses and the council.
The board agreed a single vision – the Blackpool Prospectus – and subsequently launched a 2030 Digital Vision.
In 2019, the board supported the town to secure a £39.5 million Town Deal, the largest single town deal awarded, and, in 2022, Blackpool was announced as one of the Government’s Levelling Up priority areas, with further transformational developments promised.
Blackpool Pride of Place Digital vision 2030 launched
The refreshed digital vision was led by Business in the Community’s Blackpool Pride of Place partnership, bringing together organisations from the public, private, and voluntary sectors to drive digital change across the town. The Digital Vision reflects growing opportunities in cyber security and data-driven industries, building on Blackpool’s connectivity, skills base, and role within the North West’s digital economy. The updated Digital Vision shows how skills, jobs, health, sustainability, and tourism connect, with Blackpool and its people at the centre.
“BITC provides a pathway for local organisations to all pull in the same direction, using the abundance resource, knowledge and skills that sit within Blackpool.”
James Cox, Director of Marketing, Sales & PR, Pleasure Beach
“I am proud to be involved in Blackpool Pride of Place and be part of delivering programmes that improve opportunities and the sustainability of businesses, people and place within Blackpool.”
Iain Pilling, Area Engagement Lead, United Utilities
“The Pride of Place vision is ambitious but achievable because of its unique collaborative approach between the public, private and voluntary sectors.”
Andy Anderson, Head of R&D, Victrex plc
Case studies from Blackpool
Fylde Coast Town Wide Careers Fair
Nearly 1,500 year 9 students from 13 Blackpool secondary schools explored their futures at a careers fair hosted by the Fylde Coast Responsible Business Network at Blackpool Conference and Exhibition Centre. Featuring almost 50 employers, the event aimed to showcase the wide array of career opportunities in and around Blackpool and encouraged young people to think about possible routes into work.
Europa Halo Blackpool Esports Event
As part of Blackpool’s Digital Vision, the Digital Steering Group, supported by Blackpool Pride of Place, formed a working group to explore the potential of Esports as an opportunity for the town. The aim was to host a test event, and The Europa Halo event was a significant milestone, showcasing the town’s potential as an emerging Esports destination.
Blackpool Leadership Board
Our work is led by our local Pride of Place Partnerships – a cross-sector senior leadership board which sets the strategic direction for our work, mobilises their workforce to support with delivery of activities and acts as an advocate for the programme both regionally and locally. The Blackpool Leadership Board is chaired by John Fallon.
John Fallon
Blackpool Pride of Place Leadership Board Chair
John Ainsworth
Chief Operating Officer, W A Chump and Sons
Andy Anderson
Head of Business Growth and Sector Engagement, East Midlands Combined County Authority
Alan Cavill
Director of Communication and Regeneration, Blackpool Council
Jane Cole
Managing Director,
Blackpool Transport
James Cox
Head of Talent,
Capita Group
Alun Francis OBE
Chief Executive, Blackpool and The Flyde College
Craig Harrop
Regional Director,
Northern Trains
Professor Sarah Louise Kemp
Pro Vice Chancellor for Engagement, Lancaster University
Tara McDaid
Consultant, Elevate Business Solutions TM Ltd
Alex Mollart
Chief Executive Officer,
Tandem Bank
Iain Pilling
Area Engagement Lead (Lancashire), United Utilities
Kate Shane
Managing Director, Blackpool Council Leisure Portfolio
Chris Sood-Nicholls
Managing Director, Lloyds Banking Group
Jed Sullivan
Director, Effective Pedagogy Solutions (CIC)
Andy Walker
Head of Business Growth and Innovation, Lancashire County Council
Lindsey Walsh
HR Director Employee Relations, BAE Systems
Julian Winter
Global Account Director,
Verizon
FAQs
Businesses can support the partnership by collaborating on local projects, sharing expertise, supporting skills and employability programmes, investing in the local area and participating in partnership initiatives focused on regeneration and inclusive growth.
The partnership brings together local and national businesses, Blackpool Council, education providers, community organisations and voluntary sector partners. This collaborative approach helps deliver long-term change across the town.
BITC defines place-making as long-term and transformational change in a particular geographic location. For us, it is underpinned by some core principles:
- Collaboration – bringing together business, public and VCSE sectors
- Business leadership – senior business leaders working together on a shared agenda
- Community-needs-led: based on the priorities and needs of the Place, as defined by the people in the place.