HOUNDS Hill shopping centre has announced its plans for expansion in a £70 million scheme which would more than triple the size of the complex.

The plans, including space for more than 20 new shops and a major new department store and an upgraded central square with a mall cafe, were announced earlier this week.

This comes in the wake of news that Blackpool is to receive £20 million regeneration money from the Government and Leisure Parcs announcing its plans to attract £2 billion of investment via a Las Vegas-style development.

But, says town centre manager Nigel Hanson, the plans will not conflict.

"They will complement each other. To me it seems the Leisure Parcs plans centre around the seafront and the entertainment industry.

"Bringing a major department store to the town centre is just what the public have been asking for." Meanwhile, Marc W Etches, managing director of Leisure Parcs announced a £2 billion, 20-year scheme to turn Blackpool into the Las Vegas of Europe.

Last Thursday the leisure giant revealed that it had produced plans with top casino operators London Clubs International to create a "Golden Triangle" stretching back from the Golden Mile with a host of new developments, including several towering hotels and a conference centre. The plans involved making a submission to the Gambling Review Body, who will report back to the Government about relaxing the laws on gambling early next year.

If the laws are relaxed it would mean that the company could set about building more casinos in the town.

If successful the 20-year plan could bring as many as 25,000 new jobs to the area.

Marc Etches explained that Leisure Parcs had a vision for Blackpool when they moved in two years ago.

"At one level, Blackpool is apparently very successful," he said.

"Twelve million visits every year, the same as Euro Disney, and we are probably the busiest seaside resort in the whole of Europe.

"But we have some very serious social and economic difficulties -- not least because we are a highly seasonal town.

"What we've got to do is recreate the town so that it is vibrant for 12 months of the year.

"Our vision is to focus on the resort's casinos. Gaming is a very important part of the plan -- it is that which draws the private investment -- but so are the shows and the other attractions, which bring in the families.

"This is about Blackpool realising that this is a golden opportunity that needs to be grasped with both hands.

"And it is about the people of Blackpool making themselves heard in Westminster and saying that this is something the town wants to do."

Pictured here is an artist's impression of how the casinos development might look.