25 Jan 2021, 10:28 More than a year after Sport England blocked plans for 176 homes on former school playing fields, Blackpool Council has granted itself consent, and must now wait to see if the watchdog withdraws its objection. Advising the local authority, Lancashire planning consultancy De Pol Associates secured permission for 176 new homes on the 22-acre site which includes the former Bispham High School off Bispham Road. Bispham High closed in 2015 when the school merged with Collegiate High School to form the Aspire Academy on the Collegiate site. The housing development is subject to removal of an objection to the loss of the playing field by Sport England. The committee accepted the argument from De Pol that the fields were surplus to requirement, as identified in the council’s own recently published Playing Pitch Strategy.