Blackpool eyes future as 'Las Vegas of North'

The seaside town of Blackpool announced bold plans for its metamorphosis yesterday, amid lingering disagreements over whether it should become a "Las Vegas of the North."

The town, which suffers 5.1 per cent unemployment in the winter, with a more marked seasonal variation in employment than any resort in Britain, unveiled a £1bn development plan centred on a 500-acre site, which could create 20,000 jobs over 20 years.

But Leisure Parcs, owner of the town's famous tower, said the plans did not go far enough. The company said Blackpool needed to reinvent itself as the nation's first casino resort if – as expected – a Bill liberalising gambling laws is introduced in the Queen's Speech in November.

Mark Etches, managing director of Leisure Parcs, said the plans had not recognised that resort casinos were the "economic engine" needed for full regeneration.

Others in the town expressed concern about losing the "old Blackpool", with Roy Fisher, the council leader, insisting that casinos were "just one part of a far bigger picture". As he unveiled the council's plans, Mr Fisher said: "There's been a lot of talk about Blackpool becoming the new Las Vegas, but it's important people understand that these plans are first and foremost about regeneration."

The plans were produced after consultation with Peter Moore, the tourism entrepreneur behind Center Parcs and Alton Towers. They envisage up to four casino hotels, a glass-covered entertainment complex to complement Blackpool Pleasure Beach and a 32,000 sq metre conference and arena complex.The new attractions would be linked by glass-covered walkways.

The blueprint also includes a proposal to rebuild the town's tram system and restoreBlackpool's faded Victorian architecture. The annual illuminations would become a year-round attraction.

Alternative plans drawn up by Leisure Parcs include six casinos as well as slot machines offering high payouts and an Egyptian-themed, 500-bedroom four-star hotel, complete with mock sphinxes and pyramids.

Mr Etches' aspiration is for Blackpool to equal the success of Atlantic City in the United States, an unremarkable New Jersey coastal resort before it was transformed in the 1980s into a gambling centre full of casinos decked out as pirates' ships and Aladdin's caves. Atlantic City now collects about $450m (£300m) a year in taxes and, under a deal hatched in 1977 to permit the relaxation of gambling laws, a large amount is spent on the state's elderly and disabled people.