Work on a new home for the civil service in Blackpool has reached a key milestone.

The £100 million, 215,000 sq ft office building, is part of the wider £350 million Talbot Gateway transformation project.

When the seven-storey building is complete it will provide office space for more than 3,000 civil servants. Its construction is the result of a partnership between Blackpool Council, Muse, Vinci Construction and Mayo Civils.

The design was created by architect company Make, and includes a heavy focus on sustainability with the design aiming to achieve the BREEAM 'excellent' standard. Energy saving measures include, high levels of insulation and air source heat pumps. It is expected to be complete by the first quarter of 2025.

The site includes a new town centre square with cycle and pedestrian routes and is within walking distance of the new tram interchange at Blackpool North Station.

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The project marks phase two of the Talbot Gateway transformation alongside a new 144-bedroom Holiday Inn hotel which is due to open for Easter 2024.

Commenting on the project's progress, Cllr Lynn Williams, Leader of Blackpool Council, said: "The new Civil Service hub is a major piece in our plan to develop the area around Blackpool North train station, bringing thousands of professional workers into the town centre who will spend money in local businesses, in turn creating new jobs and economic growth which makes Blackpool better for us all.

"It's great to see the speed of this development and the build is progressing every single day with dozens of workers on site. We will now start to see the building really rise from the ground over the next few months, which will show real progress.

"Alongside the new development at the Holiday Inn, our future plans for the Multiversity, the improvements to our early evening economy with the first phase of Abingdon Street Market recently opening and The Backlot Cinema and Diner to follow this year, this will be a really exciting time for the town."

Reflecting on their involvement, an McBride, projects director at Muse, said: "We're delighted to see the core of the building coming out of the ground, which is an important milestone in the creation of this fantastic facility for the Civil Service and one that we should celebrate.

"As a business, we're committed to creating places with purpose that create opportunities for communities to thrive and prosper, and we're looking forward to seeing this striking building progress over the coming months.

"We're delighted to be playing such pivotal role with the council in delivering our shared vision for building a Blackpool that's resilient and ready for the future."