A concerned resident says he is struggling to find a new home as a council looks to acquire land for a proposed multiversity, forcing residents to move out of the area.

Planning inspector Phillip Ware will oversee an eight-day public inquiry into a compulsory purchase order (CPO) sought by Blackpool Council. to clear land for the project.

The council has already acquired 70% of the land between Cookson Street, Milbourne Street, George Street and Grosvenor Street, but 13 objections were raised to the CPO, triggering the public inquiry.

One resident said he had been looking for another house in the city center for “months” but couldn’t find anything suitable.

The George Street resident, who did not want to be named, said he felt very concerned that they were in the CPO area and would have to move.

“We are both disabled, we have a son with a mental illness, no one helps us, we are in the dark,” he said.

The man, who has lived on the street in the city center for 10 years, said: “We were supposed to leave in August, there are boarded up houses, everyone is leaving one by one, we don’t feel safe with empty properties on either side.” sides of us.

“This is a rented property and the owner wants us to leave so he can sell it, he has no interest in us, we are just a figure in his head now.”

He said the family had been looking for another house in the city center “for months”.

“We can’t find anywhere,” he said. “There is nothing in our budget and there is nothing available for what we need.

“We have good memories here, so it’s a shame we have to leave.

“We have everything here, we have the dentist here, the doctor there, the child’s school here and all the stores.”

Jeweler Andrew Clayton said hearing about the CPO left him “shocked”.

“We were looking forward to the new building across the street, with a catchment area for lunch expenses, and we wanted to remodel the location we had,” he said.

The business recently had to move to Topping Street from Cookson Street after 61 years due to multi-university plans.

“I don’t think the council understands the costs of moving to another store with security and custom displays,” Clayton said. “We financed everything ourselves.

“We are closer to the city so we are experiencing more traffic, but on Cookson Street there was the benefit of having several parking spaces.”

Nick Gerrard, the council’s growth and prosperity manager, told a recent meeting of the tourism, economy and communities scrutiny committee that the council had to demonstrate that the CPO was in the public interest and that fair compensation was given to those displaced.

Some objections have been withdrawn while negotiations to purchase properties continue, and a hearing is scheduled to hear evidence from remaining objectors and the council.

The public inquest will be held at the Imperial Hotel on North Promenade from November 12 to 15.

It will then reopen from December 3 to 6, although if all the evidence has been heard it could close earlier.

The inspector will consider all the evidence before publishing his decision, which is expected to come early in the new year.

Members of the public are welcome to attend the hearing.

If the decision allows the CPO to proceed, work on the project is expected to begin in May or June next year, provided the entire site has been assembled.