Our town is ruined because bungling council is obsessed with tourists – now another threat is poised to ‘finish us off’
FURIOUS residents have claimed their bungling council has ruined their town due to its obsessions with tourists, with another threat set to “finish them off”.
Locals in Blackpool, Lancashire say their local authority has “obsessed” over building hotels and car parks but that crowds “no longer come” to the once booming tourist hotspot.
Now, many fear that London-based buy-to-let landlords looking to double their money could “finish off the town.”
Over the past five years, the number of homes bought in the seaside town by Londoners has doubled, according to data from estate agents Hamptons.
These buyers are attracted by gross yield rates of around 10.1 per cent in the town, compared to just 5.7 percent in the capital.
Investors have been battered in London by stamp duty in recent years, with the average landlord there paying around £46,633 per year, compared to just £6,816 in Blackpool.
Residents in the town famous for its tower, lights, and funfair now fear these landlords will worsen problems in the already struggling area.
Blackpool was revealed to have the worst male life expectancy in the UK by ONS figures last year, averaging at just 73.1 years.
A recent report also revealed the local authority was the most deprived in England and that the town was blighted by a raft of problems, many of which were related to the demise of its traditional tourism economy.
The town is also suffering from an obesity crisis, with 35.6 per cent of the town being obese, as well as other issues.
It has the highest proportion of alcohol related deaths and the highest rate of serious mental health issues in England.
On top of that, the average number of drug deaths is four times higher than the rest of the country, with the rate of smoking deaths being almost twice as high.
The report also reveals that the women living in the town also have a poor life expectancy at 79.5 years, compared to 83.2 years for the rest of England.
Daniel Pagett, 39, a plasterer by trade, has to spend Christmas day on the streets after becoming unable to afford his social housing.
He said: “The last thing Blackpool needs is London money pushing prices further north.
“Things are bad enough here as it is.”
Daniel, who often sleeps in public toilets, hopes to be able to get a council flat so that he can get back to work.
Rosemary, from Fleetwood, said she moved to the Blackpool area a few years ago and noticed differences in the cost of living “straightaway.”
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She said that her husband was reliant on the NHS at the time and that the level of care in the Blackpool area outperformed that in the South.
However, she called on London-based landlords to invest in the area to help create “quality” affordable housing stock as she feels “too many” young people are being priced out on the property ladder.
William Mcilroy, 59, originally from Scotland, who has lived in Blackpool since the early 1980s, described the town as being in a “nose dive” for at least the past thirty years.
He said the council has been “obsessed” with hotels and car parks but that the tourism economy “died” a long time ago.
William fears investment from the capital will worsen prices for locals and feels the town needs prolonged spending to improve.
He said: “I just fear things are in terminal decline now and that London money could the final straw – it could finish off the town.”
Tarun Mehan, who manages a fast-food restaurant in the town, however has a London-based landlord and said he had no issues with them.