Emergency planners map Blackpool Pleasure Beach in 3D

Marking the first time the iconic British seaside amusement park has been digitally mapped at this level of detail, Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service has created a detailed 3D model of Blackpool Pleasure Beach. The project was carried out in partnership with Ordnance Survey and the Lancashire Resilience Forum.

Located on the northwest coast of England, Blackpool Pleasure Beach has drawn visitors since 1896 and now attracts over five million people a year. Its compact footprint of 125 rides and attractions, including structures such as The Big One rollercoaster reaching up to 65 metres in height, make traditional 2D maps inadequate for planning safe access routes, evacuation paths and staging areas.

Drones over the promenade

To address this, Ordnance Survey (OS), the UK's national mapping agency, trained LFRS operators in aerial drone mapping techniques. This allowed the local fire service to capture high-overlap imagery of the entire site and process it into a high-resolution 3D mesh. The model was then extended to cover the surrounding town using existing OS data, creating a seamless digital environment for multi-agency planning and training.

Tim Murrell, drone manager at LFRS and drone and robotics lead at the National Fire Chiefs Council, described the project as a step forward in capability. While his team had been operating drones for a decade, he said the complexity of the Pleasure Beach site pushed their techniques further. According to him, Ordnance Survey's expertise in UAS mapping was "pivotal in allowing us to safely and effectively map the site". The result, he added, provides "a highly visual platform for shared situational awareness".

A reusable asset across agencies

Kevin Topping, chair of the LRF Lancashire Emergency Response Plan Sub Group, noted that while the forum had long used GIS data for static mapping, newer technology opened the door to something more substantial. He described the Blackpool project as an opportunity to "build on our experience and widen the scope to more sites now and in the future, both in peacetime and during a response".

Chris Heap, propositions manager at Ordnance Survey, called the mapping of such a high-profile site "a tremendous privilege" and pointed to the model's versatility. The same 3D mesh, he noted, is suitable for applications ranging from town planning to large-scale infrastructure development, making it a reusable asset well beyond emergency response.

Ordnance Survey has previously deployed its 3D mapping capability to support real incidents, including a major evacuation in Plymouth in the southwest of England, coordinated with Devon and Cornwall Police, and a landslip response on the Isle of Wight off England's southern coast.