The first sections of Blackpool's new seawall and promenade are to open on Tuesday.

New parades in the area around St Chad's headland will be made available for public use ahead of the start of the summer season, with further walkways to open once construction work is complete.

The facilities are part of a £73 million sea defence scheme, which will eventually see a 3.2-km stretch of sea wall replaced and six new headlands created in the hope of improving access from the town to its beach.

ReBlackpool, the town's urban regeneration company, is managing much of the project, which is being funded by the Northwest Regional Development Agency, central government and the European Regional Development Fund.

Doug Garrett, ReBlackpool's chief executive, described the new parades as the "initial platform to enable us to continue to build new innovative regeneration plans for Blackpool's seafront experience".

Sir Howard Bernstein was recently appointed as chair of ReBlackpool. The position is part-time and Sir Howard will continue in his role as chief executive of Manchester city council.