Flats plan confirmed for one of resort’s finest Art Deco buildings

Ambitious proposals to create new apartments in one of Blackpool’s most iconic buildings have been give the green light by planners.

The former Woolworths building in Blackpool town centre recently housed a Sports Direct store and before that, Pricebusters, whilst on the ground floor there is the JD Wetherspoon pub, The Albert and the Lion.

With its tiled façade and striking clock tower, it is one of Blackpool’s finest Art Deco buildings.

In July last year, an application was submitted for use of the third, fourth and fifth floors as 38 self-contained apartments. Amendments then saw this being reduced to 32 apartments.

Now the scheme has been approved, subject to a 106 agreement which requires the applicants to make contributions to the provision of public open space and the development of a new GP surgery.

The latest decision means the building will house almost 60 apartments, as 24 have already been given the go ahead in the lower floors.

A large number of conditions are also included, relating to residential standards, noise attenuation, security measures and even nesting birds.

The apartments will include a mix of one-bed and two-bed apartments.

A report by the head of Blackpool Council’s Development Management said: “Current indications are that the Council cannot demonstrate a five year supply of housing land.

“This application proposes 32 new dwellings which would make a significant contribution towards meeting the borough’s identified housing needs. This carries significant weight in the planning balance.

“The scheme is considered to represent sustainable development and no other material planning considerations have been identified that would outweigh this assessment.

“On this basis, planning permission should be approved, subject to a number of conditions.

“It is also subject to entering into a section 106 agreement, which will take some time to draft and agree. “

The impressive building, which opens onto both Bank Hey Street and the Promenade , was first opened as one of the UK’s largest Woolworth buildings in 1938.

It was a stylish building, designed in the modern, linear style of the day and was one of Woolworths’ most prestigious stores.

The application lodged by Nottingham firm ALB Group is for the retention of windows at fifth floor, insertion of new windows to north elevation, along with the use of third, fourth and fifth floors as 32 self-contained apartments.

The latest plans are divided into one bed/one person flats, one bed/two person flats, almost 20 two-bedroom/three person flats and a small number of 2 bedroom /4 person flats within the building.

Access to the units would be via the existing ground floor entrance door which would incorporate secure bin storage provision. For completeness, no external alterations are proposed

A planning statement on behalf of the applicants, prepared by planning agents Grace Machin, stated: “The Applicant is an experienced developer who would commit to creating a quality development that reflects its prominent position within Blackpool.

“The properties would be offered on the open-market available for rent and purchase and would be perfectly suited to all ages – young working people, small families, retirees, those in need of more affordable accommodation within walking distance of amenities.”

A Heritage statement noted: “Today, it is in use as a Wetherspoons pub, the Albert and Lion, that name being the one the building is now known by, which is reference to comic written by Marriott Edgar in 1932 and recorded by Stanley Holloway.”

To find all the planning applications, traffic diversions, road layout changes, alcohol licence applications and more in your community, visit the Public Notices Portal.

Thomas Abraham

In Delhi it’s that time of year again when publishers, distributors and retailers are scrambling around frantically getting everything from point-of-sale to stocks right. It’s the World Book fair (WBF), which comes around once every two years sprawling across the giant halls of Pragati Maidan. This is the fair’s 20th edition, and although there are look-alikes all over the country, this one is undoubtedly the mother-of-them all.


In the 1980s and the ’90s, the Kolkata Book fair was the fair to go. But with the move from the maidan, apart from other venue and organisational problems, Kolkata has had to give up its title. Today the Delhi WBF is a mammoth affair, and has gone beyond just being a sort of retail exhibition.

Actually, no book fair in India would really qualify to be a ‘trade fair’ like Frankfurt or London, where business and rights deals are a norm. But like the Jaipur Literary Fest, what we lack in focus, or ‘order and method’, we make up for in sheer numbers.

The WBF is a giant carnival. The last edition had over 800,000 visitors, and the organizers are wondering whether this year the million mark will be touched, given that the Pragati Maidan now has direct metro connectivity and that admission is free. Certainly the exhibitors have gone up since last time to about 1,300. That’s still, of course, less than a tenth of the total number of publishers in the country, as estimated by the various federations who put the count at being well over 15,000.

Month of March

This year, for the first time, the dates of the WBF moved from the traditional January end to early February period to a whole month down the line. This has met with some consternation as many publishers felt that it was leaving it too late for library budgets, and many schools would have exams on, and that might affect the turnout a bit. The jury is out on that one – the verdict will be out on the 4th of March when it all gets over.

So what are the business stats from the fair? Herein lies the rub – there are none. Ironically, for an industry that is seeing technological change at a pace like never before, and typically of an industry still coming to grips with management information, there is no reliable data available apart from guesstimates.

The National Book Trust (NBT) – the fair organizers – blames it on traditional publisher mindsets and the archaic notion of ‘business secrets’ where exhibitors don’t divulge figures. But even just by conservative extrapolation, assuming a Rs 2.5 lakh average turnover per participant (incidentally, the big ones top Rs 20 crore) one is looking at a fair turnover of over Rs 30 crore in cash sales, which is more than three times the business done from all of the leading bookstores all over India in any given week. Trade buying, rights deals, subscription sales, print contracts, and other ‘collateral business’ are on top of this.

Trade & Rights

The WBF – indeed the industry – needs to take this to the next level with a dedicated two days for ‘trade and rights’. Years ago, the first two hours of the fair every day used to be designated trade hours where librarians and stockists could browse uninterrupted, a practice since discontinued. But if the 9-day fair could be shortened to seven days for consumers with two days as business days, India might yet see the fillip it needs in its rights business, as local-to-international rights networks build.

India has a large contingent going to Frankfurt but bulk of these is either English publishers-distributors, visiting principals or remainder merchants buying surplus stock. The size of the Indian rights pavilion is testament to the fact that our share of the rights pie is negligible.

 

When were the last time you heard of an Indian work in translation break out through a rights purchase the way Wolf-Totem was snapped up from Chinese or The Devotion of Suspect-X from the Japanese? It’s only if we build a rights module here within the WBF, that one can gradually work up (yes it will take years) to exploiting the rights potential from Indian languages in translation.

So what purpose does the fair serve? With the surge in online bookstores, does it still have any relevance? I believe it still has huge relevance. Quite simply it is at its most fundamental, the only real direct interface publishers have with their end readers. This is the only time you can actually put the range you want up there, and watch readers as they browse.

For most publishers, the long tedious day playing floor assistant and traffic cop rolled into one has its reward in watching that die-hard fan chasing that obscure book you thought would never sell. The ecstasy of finding that long lost book, the agony of seeing something priced beyond one’s budget, the amazement at seeing a bargain or combo offer…it’s all there every day, hour on hour. For readers, this is the one time you’ll get to see, touch, browse lists and full range as you can never anywhere else.

Online has its convenience, but by and large you need to know what book you want, notwithstanding the cross recommendations the better sites have. This is where a reader can experience that joy of discovery-where s/he will see full series, obscure imprints, rare titles.

Then there are the bargains. Fair rules make it impossible to deep discount but bargain tables with ‘fair prices’ and combination offers abound. What we have over the nine days of the fair is in essence the world’s largest bookstore-over a million square feet of books to choose from-in every Indian language, a lot of foreign ones, and of course English.

(The author is Managing Director, Hachette India)

The Independent

If they are anything like most Oscar winners, the team behind The Artist will have spent the first day of the rest of their lives conforming to the grandest, and most lucrative, of Hollywood traditions.

Having woken up, pinched themselves, and made sure that -oui! – it really was a gold statuette on their bedside table, France’s newly minted movie stars are likely to have devoted their waking hours to pondering two pressing questions: how to shift that throbbing hangover, and which of the myriad career choices suddenly on their horizon should they pursue next?

Breaking the silence

The first will not have been easily answered. Having sought refreshment at the Governor’s Ball, the team who won five of Sunday’s Academy Awards – including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor – adjourned to a packed party hosted by their film’s distributor, Harvey Weinstein, at the Mondrian Hotel in Hollywood.

Then they swept through Vanity Fair’s bash, before continuing to the Chateau Marmont hotel, where at around four in the morning, several boisterous members of their entourage leapt into the swimming pool, fully clothed.
The second post-Oscar question requires even more careful consideration. Like any winners of the biggest accolade in show business, The Artist’s leading man Jean Dujardin, director Michel Hazanavicius, and producer Thomas Langmann will, for the time being, be inundated with potential job offers. But, as any Hollywood agent will tell you, an overabundance of choice doesn’t always make for easy decisions. Leverage the success

On a purely pragmatic level, history suggests that all three can, if they so desire, leverage The Artist’s success into financial security. The film has already made $76 million worldwide and is now being widened into more than 2,000 cinemas in the US, with a view to further capitalise on its Best Picture status.

As well as “back end” earnings from that pot – which must also be dipped into by the voracious Weinstein – they are entitled to use their modish status to secure significant paydays.

The People of the North East paper talks about the opportunities and challenges facing the region – and how working and hiring practices can rise to them

North East firms that are adopting flexible working models, inclusive hiring and investing in skills have been highlighted in a new report from a top regional business group.

The North East Chamber of Commerce’s People of the North East publication draws on a number of business leaders and experts to highlight the importance of creating healthier, happier and more inclusive places to live and work. The report lays out how firms are facing a period of massive upheaval that includes changing workforce expectations, rising costs and shifting labour markets.

It calls for a collaborative effort from firms, using examples from the fields of recycling, housing and business services to show what success looks like.

Tim Marsden, knowledge manager at North East Chamber of Commerce, said: “The North East’s greatest strength has always been its people. Across every sector and community, we see individuals and organisations driving innovation and creating opportunities for future generations.

“This report highlights both the opportunities and challenges facing our region. While we know there is fantastic talent, creativity and ambition here, we also recognise the barriers that still exist around economic inactivity, skills gaps, health inequalities and access to opportunity.

“As the economy continues to change at pace, one thing is clear: the future success of the North East will be shaped not only by investment and infrastructure, but by how well businesses support people, communities and opportunities.”

The report looks at how explores how businesses are adopting flexible business models and inclusive hiring practices to unlock untapped potential, enrich workplace culture and improve business performance. Sam Spoors, founder and managing director at recruitment firm Talentheads, talks about how firms are creating opportunities for people with criminal records, running targeted recruitment campaigns to get people from underrepresented groups and using partners to reach marginalised talent.

She said: “The North East’s future prosperity depends on more than economic growth – it hinges on how businesses support their people. Through inclusive hiring, flexible work, wellbeing strategies, skills development and purpose-led cultures, regional employers are setting a powerful example.

“These innovative practices are not just good for business – they are helping to reshape the region’s identity and build a more equitable and resilient workforce.”

Lee Eckert, senior operations manager at digital transformation specialist ArvatoConnect, talks about freeing up people from repetitive tasks to do higher-value work. He argues such a move can improve job satisfaction and build confidence.

He said: “Digital transformation often sparks concerns about jobs being replaced by machines. In reality, the most effective transformations are those that put employees at the centre.

“It’s about creating opportunities for people to live better lives, whether that’s through faster access to services, a more inclusive workforce or communities that feel supported rather than excluded by technology.”

The Rs 631 crore initial public offering (IPO) of CMR Green Technologies was booked over 127 times at the end of the subscription process on Friday. The company received bids for over 292 crore shares as against 2.3 crore shares on offer.

Demand was led by Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs), whose category was subscribed to 270.46 times, while retail investors subscribed 27.03 times.

The issue is entirely an offer-for-sale (OFS), priced in the range of Rs 182-192 per share, with a lot size of 78 shares.

With strong subscription and a healthy grey market premium, investors are closely tracking the issue’s potential listing performance.

CMR Green Technologies IPO Subscription Status

The IPO saw robust participation, with overall subscription reaching 127.04 times.
Retail Individual Investors (RIIs) subscribed 27.03 times the 1.14 crore shares reserved for them.
The Non-Institutional Investor (NII) segment led demand, subscribing 172.35 times the 49.07 lakh shares allocated.
Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs) subscribed to their reserved portion of 65.42 lakh shares, a robust 270.46 times

CMR Green Technologies IPO GMP Today

As of June 5, 2026, the grey market premium (GMP) for the IPO hovered around 40%. At the upper price band of Rs 192 per share, this implies a likely listing price of about Rs 269.

The GMP reflects the unofficial trading premium of IPO shares before listing, offering a sense of market sentiment and expected listing gains, though it is not a reliable indicator of actual listing performance.

About CMR Green Technologies

CMR Green Technologies is India’s largest non-ferrous metal recycling company by installed capacity and was the market leader in the domestic secondary aluminium segment in FY25, according to an ICRA report cited in its draft prospectus.

The company operates 13 manufacturing facilities across India, producing recycled aluminium alloys, billets, zinc alloy ingots and other value-added products. It is also a key player in the automotive cast alloy market, with an estimated 42%-45% share.

CMR Green is positioned to benefit from rising global demand for sustainable, low-carbon manufacturing. Recycled aluminium production generates significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions than primary aluminium and requires lower capital expenditure, the ICRA report noted.

In FY25, the company reported operating revenue of Rs 6,666 crore, up 12% year-on-year, while profit stood at Rs 155 crore, reversing a loss in FY24 driven largely by a one-time goodwill impairment.

Ahead of the IPO, the company raised Rs 188 crore from anchor investors, attracting a mix of domestic mutual funds, insurers and foreign institutional investors.

Brokerage Views

Analysts have offered mixed views on the issue.

Motilal Oswal highlighted CMR Green’s leadership in aluminium recycling, strong market share and exposure to long-term decarbonisation and sustainability themes. It also pointed to growth opportunities in segments such as extrusion and rolled alloys.

Swastika Investmart assigned a “Neutral” rating, noting that valuations of around 27x FY25 earnings appear reasonable versus peers, while acknowledging the company’s strong industry positioning.

However, it flagged risks including the pure OFS structure, customer concentration, dependence on a few key clients and relatively thin margins. It added that high-risk investors may consider the IPO primarily for listing gains.

The IPO comes amid sustained investor interest in manufacturing and sustainability-linked businesses, particularly those tied to recycling, resource efficiency and the circular economy.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)