Blackpool is famous for ballroom dancing but there is a sadder side we can’t ignore
William highlights resort’s social woes on visit
Kate was unhappy children had been living there ALAN CAVILL ON VISIT TO SLUM HOME IN TOWN
THE Duke of Cambridge said Blackpool highlights how the issues of unemployment and low-quality housing “are more pressing than ever” during a visit to the seaside resort yesterday.
William, 36, and wife Kate, 37, toured projects helping former drug addicts, teenage mums and families forced to live in squalor by unscrupulous slum landlords.
The mould-ridden and graffiti-covered houses they toured in one of the Lancashire town’s most deprived areas were so dangerous they had to walk on planks.
Blackpool Council’s Alan Cavill said: “They were very concerned to know what could be done. The Duchess was clearly unhappy children had been living there.”
At a town hall address, William said: “Blackpool has always been one of [our] most loved seaside towns. It is famous for its beaches, its iconic venues and its stunning illuminations. And it is also celebrated as the home of ballroom dancing. But there obviously is a sadder side to Blackpool we will see a bit of today and we shoul dn’ t attempt to skirt around this issue.”
Saying how the resort fell into decline after the rise of short-haul package holidays, he added: “Unemployment remains quite high and Blackpool has become a transitory town for many without the right employment opportunities. Mental health issues and social problems have risen.
“And a unique problem has also arisen as falling demand for tourist accommodation created an oversupply of low- quality private-rented accommodation.”
Private landlords turned failed B&Bs into multiple occupancy homes. Blackpool Housing Company has bought many back, renovating them and renting them out.
Talking to tenant Christina Jackson, who moved from a slum property after a landlord withheld cash, William said: “It must have been very frustrating and depressing.”
Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell spoke of the town’s problems on a visit last December, saying: “Eight years of austerity have hit coastal towns like Blackpool hard.”