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'I go to bed at night crying' over fears of losing home

Janet Tansey has lived in Revoe for over 40 years and is about to lose her home
Janet Tansey has lived in Revoe for over 40 years and is about to lose her home

Blackpool Council has been awarded £90m to regenerate houses but some Revoe residents are unhappy.

People living in a part of Blackpool where their homes are under threat say it is "like "living in a ghost town" and are vowing to fight to keep them.

Blackpool Council has been awarded £90m from the government for a regeneration project which it said would "clear up to 300 poor-quality properties" and replace them with "up to 230 new, high-quality, energy-efficient homes."

The authority said it had already acquired more than a third of the affected properties in Revoe.

Those campaigning to keep their homes are instead calling for the council to use the money for refurbishment and not demolition.

Some buildings in Revoe already bought by the council have been boarded up
Some buildings in Revoe already bought by the council have been boarded up

Blackpool Council has already begun boarding up the properties it has acquired with metal boards and some roads in the area are now a mix of empty houses and people still living there.

Janet Tansey has lived in Revoe for over 40 years, she said: "It's like living in a ghost town, filled with shutters it's the most horrible feeling.

"I go to bed at night crying, I get up in the morning crying, I can't stand much more of it."

She is not alone, Paul Kimberlin has lived in Revoe for eight years, originally moving to Blackpool with his husband who passed away last year.

He said: "There's nothing wrong with the houses, they're solidly built, they're a credit to Blackpool Council and all of a sudden they've got the £90m and now they're dangerous, they're dark, they're damp."

Anna Penfold Sadler is one of hundreds of residents set to lose their homes
Anna Penfold Sadler is one of hundreds of residents set to lose their homes

Anna Penfold Sadler has lived in Revoe for 15 years and said: "They're taking away our lives, they're putting us in financial ruin and they don't have a care in the world."

She is leading the charge to stop the demolition: "Community is what's already here, everything here is what you need, but they are breaking that up to build a community and better areas for kids - there's no common sense in it."

Councillor Dave Flanagan, the cabinet member for housing at Blackpool council, said: "Renovation would only go so far.

"We have a lot of terraced properties within this area that don't offer any green spaces, don't offer that space for families to grow.

He added: "The only way we are going to combat that is to do something really innovative and to try and improve those properties in a way that's meaningful for the future as well."

Councillor Dave Flanagan believes regeneration is need in the area
Councillor Dave Flanagan believes regeneration is need in the area

Residents have been offered money by the council for their homes and for relocation purposes.

Resident Anna Penfold Sadler, however, believes it is not enough: "They've offered us 95 grand that's all-in and they expect us to move out and get a like-for-like property, which is not possible at all.

"We would either have to downsize or rent -but where's my family's security?"

Paul Kimberlin agreed: "They promised us like-for-like and nobody would be out of pocket, that's two promises broken."

Councillor Flanagan said: "We have some independent valuers so we provide our own valuations but the council will fund individuals to go and have their own independent valuations done and if there is a discrepancy then we will adjust and we will accommodate that."

Signs have gone up in windows where residents remain urging refurbishment
Signs have gone up in windows where residents remain urging refurbishment

Not everyone is unhappy with being asked to move.

Scott Southern was in rented accommodation on Central Drive and now lives a little way out of the town centre and nearer the sea.

He said: "This is a lot better than where I was, it was quite busy with traffic hammering past day and night and where I've moved to I live on a quiet residential street that's really quiet and I'm getting a good quality of sleep now."

A planning application for the regeneration scheme was submitted in spring of 2026, with a decision due in autumn and initial demolition planned for the same time.

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