For discussion on developments in the third city of North West England.

City of Preston: Projects List

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/40/97909219_62561a531a.jpg?v=0

Tithebarn Masterplan
Approved
Ward: City Centre
-£700m masterplan to rebuild run down quarter of city centre
-Involves around 50 new shops anchored by John Lewis
-Also new offices, apartments, eateries and a cinema
-Rebuilding of Victorian covered markets
-Involved demolition of several major buildings, including the bus station, St Johns Shopping Centre, indoor markets and Preston Office Centre
Architects: Building Design Partnership/Terry Farrell
Developers: Grosvenor Estates/Lend Lease

PROGRESS:
- Public enquiry passed! Discussions with Lend Lease to commence.

http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/8380/tithebarn3ef.jpg
(Thanks to preston_guy for scanning image onto forums)
http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/9588/tithebarnpreston2rl4.jpg
http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/1549/tithebarn29qx.jpg
http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/5528/tithebarn19bd.jpg
http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/6742/011hm0.jpg
http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/8171/010fc5.jpg
http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/3714/009tj3.jpg
http://img384.imageshack.us/img384/4085/008re0.jpg

Church Place
Proposed
Ward: City Centre
- Large scale redevelopment of the run down area in between the Tithebarn Zone and the city's clubbing heart on Church Street
- The scheme includes new offices, retail, apartments, and a public space
- The scheme would utilise the long disused former TSB bank
Developer: Ask/Bluemantle
http://www.bluemantlegroup.co.uk/images/blue_portfolio_pics/Church_Place_Preston2.jpg

Central Business District
Pre-Planning
Ward: City Centre
Developer: N/A
Architect: Concept planning by Frank Whittle Partnership
-Large scale regeneration project to take place in the area of the city centre running along lower Friargate in between the Ringway and University
-The key aim of this project is to maximise Preston's potential as a key regional centre by providing quality office space in the city centre, something which is currently virtually non-existant
-Currently, the part of this project with the most substance is the Approved Corporation Street Gateway. However, with a detailed concept now launched, detailed planning can now begin.
http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/3954/500lgwr6.jpg
http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/4747/502lgwz3.jpg
http://img49.imageshack.us/img49/8260/503lgom0.jpg
http://img49.imageshack.us/img49/4169/505lglt5.jpg

The Linen Buildings
Approved
Ward: City Centre
Developer: Countryside Properties
Architect:
-Large scale project to build a number of large residential building on the former Booths Headquarters site just of Queen Street
-The plans will include three towers of 18, 16 and 13-storeys high
-The masterplan will feature two major public spaces and one large retail unit at the bases of one of the buildings
-Planning application submitted. If permission is granted, developers hope to start construction later this year
http://img57.imageshack.us/img57/9840/linenbuildingszy2.jpg
LATEST: Official construction commenced, as CP have set up the site as a temporary car park

Lawson Street Student Village
Approved
Developer: BPS
Ward: City Centre
- Conversion of the former central police station which closed during 2009
- The development will add 2-storeys to the existing 8-storey building
- A total of 87 flats will be built in the project
http://www.lep.co.uk/webimage/lawson_police_station_4_1_783348!image/1439130128.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_595/1439130128.jpg
LATEST: Planning approval granted in June '10

Ringway Premier Inn
Under Construction
Ward: City Centre
- Plan for new hotel on the ringway on the site of a surface car park
- The building will be 10-storeys and have a public space in the middle with 2 retail units
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4154/4974592411_eaf8b00a2d.jpg
Image: Tony Worrell at flickr.com
LATEST: Fit out begun by Premier Inn

Adelphi Apartments
Proposed
Ward: City Centre
- Plan for 6-storey apartment building on the site of the former Gas Apprentice building next to the BT building
- Would include a retail unit at ground level
Developers: McKenna Developments
http://editorial.jpress.co.uk/web/Upload/PRES//TH1_151200856LEP%20Image.jpg

Riverworks
Pre-planning
Ward: Riversway Docklands/Ashton/City Centre/Fishwick/Penwortham East (SRBC)/Lower Penwortham (SRBC)/Lostock Hall (SRBC)
-£800m plans to redevelop the city's waterways, including the Lancaster Canal, River Ribble, River Darwen, Ribble Link Canal and the former Albert Edward Dock
-The plans include a tower in the dock basin
-Much of the current waterside retail park at Riversway will be demolished
-Floating cafes and new impressive waterfront buildings will be created
-Plans include a barrage to make the Ribble non-tidal
-A motorway link is also proposed from the M55 to the M6 junction at Bamber Bridge, creating a complete motorway ring road around the city
-Also included is a tramline running from Lostock Hall (inc Park and Ride) through the city centre to the Docklands
-New plans show a Central Park for the city and a landmark public art piece on the south side of the river
-Many of the city's major roadways would also be redeveloped including the Penwortham Bypass and the Dockland Carrigeway
Developers: Mersey Basins
Architects: Taylor Young
http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/4161/riverworksdj6.jpg

http://www.tayloryoung.co.uk/images/urban_content_10_02.jpg

Corporation Street Halls
Approved
Developers: Marcus Worthington
Architects: Stride Treglown
- Phase 2 of the overall development of the former Fox Street car park
- The building will replace the current Preston City Mission church, and create a new facility for them
- The building will be 13-storeys high and contain student accommodation
http://img831.imageshack.us/img831/8211/corpsttower.png
LATEST: Planning approval granted

Glovers Court
Proposed
Developer:
Architect: Frank Whittle Partnership
Ward: City Centre
-Large apartment development near Winckley Square
-Designed to cater for rental by local businessmen
http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/5944/491lgvl1.jpg
http://img49.imageshack.us/img49/9576/487lggf4.jpg

SPAR James Hall and Co. Head Office
Under Construction
Ward: Garrison
-New office complex and distribution centre for James Hall & Co.
-Will be the largest building in Preston
-Relocation from small and outdated facility on Deepdale Road
http://editorial.jpress.co.uk/web/Upload/PRES//TH1_25920067spar(2).jpg

Sharoe Green Redevelopment/Preston Business Centre
Approved
Ward: Sharoe Green
-Transformation of the huge site of the former Sharoe Green hospital which closed down last year
-The massive project will be 50% residential provision, 40% healthcare provision and 10% business provision
-It is hoped the plans will create 240 new jobs
-Similar plans for the site we're turned down last year because the GONW mistakenly said that Preston was receiving an oversupply of housing.
-Preston CC may eventually decide to include a Park and Ride scheme in the project
-Sharoe Green Hospital contains many Victorian buildings. It is not yet clear which buildings will be demolished, but it doesnt look like the huge main building will go
http://static.flickr.com/21/92327226_1f12d3341d.jpg?v=0
http://www.evoarchitects.co.uk/ImagesNew/Projects/COMMERCIAL/PrestonBusinessCentre-PBC/01.jpg
LATEST: Construction progressing well.

Foster Sports Centre
Under Construction
Ward: University
Developer: BAM
- New state of the art replacement for UCLAN's existing sports facility in the city centre
- Built on the site of the former university medical centre and accommodation services building
http://www.uclan.ac.uk/uclansport/files/New_Foster_Sports_Centre.JPG
LATEST: External construction being finalised

JB Frith Building
Under Construction
Ward: University
Developer: Morgan Ashurst
- New UCLAN teaching facility built on the site of a former car park at the city centre campus
- The building will house medical education facilities for courses such as forensics and pharmacy
http://corporate.morgansindall.com/interface/images/uploads/news/UCLan_web.jpg
LATEST: External construction complete. Due to be opened in November

Corporation Street Gateway
Proposed
Ward: City Centre
Architect: Wood Associates
Developer: Rhodi Group
-Large scale mixed use 13-storey development on the corner of Corporation Street and Ringway
-The site is currently occupied by 2 medium sized retailers and a car park
-It is hoped that the development will be all offices, but this may be cut down if there is not enough demand and replaced by apartments, and possibly a hotel
-The development will cost £30m
http://www.woodassoc.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/Corporation-Street-12.jpg

Horrockses Quarter
Approved
Ward: City Centre
- Redevelopment of run down corner of the city centre on the site of the failing Queens Retail Park
- Plans include a supermarket, shops, and hotel
- Recently submitted for outline planning permission
Architects: Cassidy + Ashton
Developers: Brookhouse Group
http://www.lep.co.uk/webimage/development_5_1_1047469!image/976901530.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_595/976901530.jpg

LATEST: Brookhouse Group have announced that construction will begin in the New Year

Flag Market Realm Redevelopment
Approved
Developer: PCC
Architect: Landscape Projects
- Public realm redevelopment of Preston's historic flag market
- Plans include additional planting of trees and new LCD advertising screens
http://editorial.jpress.co.uk/web/Upload/PRES//TH1_261200943FM001%20view%2003_publicity1.jpg

LATEST: Funding bid underway

Corporation Street Student Village
Approved
Developer: Bretherton Homes/Marcus Worthington
Architect: De Pol Associates
- Plans to build a set of student cluster flats of up to 8-storeys along Corporation Street
http://editorial.jpress.co.uk/web/Upload/PRES//TH1_231200915revA1.jpg

LATEST: Plans approved. Site cleared.

Thank you to various flickr users for providing photos, especially eat_at_joes.

Bit of news. The tower crane at the student halls being built at Maudland Bank has now been taken down. However, it looks like it has been replaced with a crane on wheels. Still very tall, but it wont be too long before we see the site empty of cranes.

>test

I've been reading the old Preston thread for quite a while now and thought it was about time I said hello. I had a little trouble signing up, so first of all thanks to Accura for the help! :)

I don't know if these should really go on the Preston development thread - if there is anywhere else I should have posted them let me know...

New Student Union Building
http://www.prestonlancs.com/forum/uploads/1119222136/gallery_18_3_13864.jpg

This building has come in for a lot of criticism, and in some ways I can see why. I can't help but get the impression that the architects have tried to build a fashionable modern building in the ilk of the Bilbao Guggenheim but ended up getting an industrial warehouse that has funny angles and is a bit shinier.

However...

I like it.

At least they are trying, and there is no doubting that this is a landmark building that provokes a reaction. Love it or hate it, at least it stays in your mind.

Too many new buildings, especially around Preston, are simply invisible. They might as well not be there for all people notice them. The St. Georges centre extension doesn't recieve much criticism, but it should. It is a boring structure. Meanwhile the bus station is ostracised, but people need to realise that if places like Preston are going to have their own character and not look like you could be anywhere, we need buildings with personality.

I like the new union building and the bus station, for those who don't I hope they can recognise that it is the mundane structures that should be attacked first, not the interesting ones.


Bus Station
http://www.prestonlancs.com/forum/uploads/1119222136/gallery_18_3_17719.jpg

I'm not one of those people that are 100% in the Save Preston Bus Station camp, but it seems a shame that Preston is going to lose one if its few unique and memorable buildings.

If the Tithebarn scheme can only go ahead if the station is knocked down, then so be it, but the project better actually replace it with something worthwhile and not just a few boring, soulless buildings.

Personally I would like to see the bus station incorporated into the scheme and adapted to fit a new use, but that extremely unlikely. Ah well.

Harris Museum
http://www.prestonlancs.com/forum/uploads/1119222136/gallery_18_3_47599.jpg

Offices on the Docks
http://www.prestonlancs.com/forum/uploads/1119222136/gallery_18_6_33008.jpg

St. Walburgs Church
http://www.prestonlancs.com/forum/uploads/1119222136/gallery_18_6_1956.jpg

Yay! It worked! Welcome to the boards.
Posting any old pictures in this forum is no problem whatsoever. I've always done it! If I've been around town taking loads of pics, I sometimes start a thread in the UK Skyscrapers and Skylines forum, but if I've just taken the odd image then it goes here.
Those are fantastic pics by the way. Love the docks one.

Oh no Accura :( the thread is gone! Nevermind, we will rise from the ashes! Or something along those lines anyway... Hello NCN and welcome, I like your pics!

I've just found out that all the deleted threads we're backed up and gothic and the rest of the admin team will be restoring them by the end of the week.
Hopefully, ours will rise from the dead too.

The LEP have got an article today about the U/C Moor Lane flats. If they can be bothered to update their site by this evening then I'll post it.
Interesting that they refer to the 3 new blocks as 'towers' :ohno:
It might be something to do with the old 16-storey triplets, but I would hardly call 6/5-storeys a 'tower'...

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Not the Preston Thread!

:)

Only joking Accy, you do a stirling job for the Preston Massive.

Thank you :) Much appreciated.

Okay, since the LEP have decided not to add the Moor Lane story to their site, I'll just bullet the key points:
-117 apartments are being built on the site
-The development contains 3 blocks of 3/4/5-storeys
-There will be parking for 107 cars
-The buildings will have large glazed staircases, balconies and metal cladding
-A courtyard will be created allowing the public to view the old windmill through from Moor Lane
-The development should take at least 12 months to complete

:)

I just got an email from LCC saying that they will be in touch soon regarding the plans for the new Preston bus station.

Thanks Accura, looking forward to the news!

I just got an email from LCC saying that they will be in touch soon regarding the plans for the new Preston bus station.
Is there a problem with the concrete in the Bus station. That is a great design, they should keep it. Get it listed.

Is there a problem with the concrete in the Bus station. That is a great design, they should keep it. Get it listed.
No, the current bus station is structurally sound (I think).
It might be a unique piece of architecture, but its still utterly crap.
Reasons to demolish bus station (hard to know where to begin):
-Stinks of piss
-Out of date
-Way too big
-Hindering development in that area of town
-Lots of crime in the network of subways beneath it
-Gives a bad impression to visitors
-Generally looks crap!

Good riddance to bad rubbish
Few piccies
http://photos5.flickr.com/5126180_cda513e43d_m.jpg

Looked crap even when it was first built!
http://www.carnote.co.uk/pictures/boring1-51/boring30450.jpg

http://www.photo-transport.co.uk/buses/under-pressure/pressure-preston-interior.JPG

I'm with Accura on this, the Tithebarn scheme will create around thousands of new jobs and as Accura said, it's way too big, unsafe, outdated and hinders development of a very large area, and thus, the surrounding areas. It must, and IS going. Yay!

Wrong! :)

QUOTE=Accura_Preston

No, the current bus station is structurally sound (I think).

It might be a unique piece of architecture, but its still utterly crap.
It is unique. Why is it crap?

Reasons to demolish bus station (hard to know where to begin):
-Stinks of piss No it doesn't. And if it did; you don't fix that by demolishing the building. You buy some bleach.
-Out of date
In what way?
-Way too big
It is not excessively large. There is plenty of space which is better than not having enough.

-Hindering development in that area of town
True. Although there is no reason why the Tithebarn scheme couldn't adapt and update parts of the bus station if they wanted to.

-Lots of crime in the network of subways beneath it
Do you have any evidence of that? There are loads of cameras, security, and they are usually pretty busy. I've never seen anything dodgy (although I'm sure there probably have been incidents, as in many places)

-Gives a bad impression to visitors
How? By bring unique and memorable? Better than bland and forgettable surely.

-Generally looks crap!
I disagree

I think it is a pity Preston is going to lose one of its few unique, memorable, worthwhile buildings. Say what you want about they bus station, but it works!

The debate is pointless, because in all likelihood the bus station will go anyway, but I think it is a shame. If I was in charge of the scheme I would cut the bus waiting bays to just one side, add some more shops on the ground and possibly first floors and modernise the interior. Cutting the actual apron to just one side would make public access much easier - getting rid of the need for subways and allowing a new square to be built outside with new buildings on the other three sides (where the St' John's centre is now - a building that truely is crap; but unsurprisingly recieves no critisism because it is boring, bland and not noticed by people).

None of this is going to happen though.

Pity.

We'll have to wait and see as to whether they Grosvener project will be a worthy replacement. The council have made the mistake in the past of thinking new is always better. I just hope we don't get another Crystal House.

http://www.ephotozine.com/gallery/ulpics/14128_58418.jpg

that bus stop is huge too big in my opinion a nice glass one would look better and free up some land at the same time.

I agree tommygunn, from past renders the new bus station will be mostly glass and state-of-the-art and apparently, we'll have more news from the county council soon! The new location is a big debate in itself! There is a small picture on the PDF of the Tithebarn Masterplan found at: http://www.preston.gov.uk/General.asp?id=SX144B-A77FBA71&cat=767 Though this version is now outdated but as usual, we haven't been updated. Yet.

I respect your opinion NCN, and even I will be sad to see the bus station go in a way but it's become like a tumour that needs cutting off! If it's any help, it will probably get a mention in the Preston's History exhibit at the Harris Museum! It is a unique structure but I'm sure the new bus station will be a more pleasant place and give a more positive image of Preston to those travelling to it. Simply put, if the bus station didn't go I don't think Preston will ever earn an improved reputation which it needs and deserves. The Tithebarn scheme will receive criticism no doubt, that the buildings look dumb or bland or whatever, but it will act as a catalyst for further developments and the expansion of the city centre.

It is unique. Why is it crap?
Its an eyesore and looks like a wound in the city centre.

No it doesn't. And if it did; you don't fix that by demolishing the building. You buy some bleach.
Fair point, but it would take a hell of a lot of bleach to clean the station floor, the cafe, all the shops, the stairways, the car park, the sky bridge and the subways!

In what way?
The seats are in adequate. The materials used in construction are materials that will soon begin to show decay, similar to the old Moor Lane flats. The council have already investigated the bus station over concerns about concrete cancer. They gave it the all clear this time. If the station had been showing signs of concrete cancer, they would have had to close it immediately. The departure/arrival screens are outdated. There is loads more as well.

It is not excessively large. There is plenty of space which is better than not having enough.
Except during peak hours, roughly only half of the bays are used. If you walked down the bus station end2end at say 12 noon, you would find that both ends are virtually empty. Only the middle bays are being used. This is especially bad on the county and national side where services are much less frequent.

True. Although there is no reason why the Tithebarn scheme couldn't adapt and update parts of the bus station if they wanted to.
The only way I could see the current bus station being implemented into the masterplan is by cutting it in half, then giving it a full refurbishment. And with the money that would cost, they may as well build a brand new one. The current bus station forms a wall right from the Holiday Inn to the Guild Centre. Cutting off nearly everything behind. Thats around half the masterplan.

Do you have any evidence of that? There are loads of cameras, security, and they are usually pretty busy. I've never seen anything dodgy (although I'm sure there probably have been incidents, as in many places)
Granted, the bus station security has been improved over recent years (and the car park is now the safest in Preston), but there are still incidents and muggings happening down in the subways, especially the one going across to Tithebarn Street.

How? By bring unique and memorable? Better than bland and forgettable surely.
Noooooo! By dirty and horrible! The new bus station is supposed to provide waiting space like in an airport terminal. That means more comfort while waiting for your buses and allowing better use of facilities. The new Lancaster bus station (although quite small) looks fantastic. The waiting areas are great and the bay doors are automatic, so nobody gets cold.

I think it is a pity Preston is going to lose one of its few unique, memorable, worthwhile buildings. Say what you want about they bus station, but it works!
I can think of several hundred buildings in Preston I would much rather keep than the bus station lol. True, it does work, but after hearing visitor accounts, it could be made a lot better!

The debate is pointless, because in all likelihood the bus station will go anyway, but I think it is a shame. If I was in charge of the scheme I would cut the bus waiting bays to just one side, add some more shops on the ground and possibly first floors and modernise the interior. Cutting the actual apron to just one side would make public access much easier - getting rid of the need for subways and allowing a new square to be built outside with new buildings on the other three sides (where the St' John's centre is now - a building that truely is crap; but unsurprisingly recieves no critisism because it is boring, bland and not noticed by people).
I agree, with a good job, the bus station could be made to look nice (I like the public square idea). But with the money it would cost, its probably cheaper to build a whole new one.

We'll have to wait and see as to whether they Grosvener project will be a worthy replacement. The council have made the mistake in the past of thinking new is always better. I just hope we don't get another Crystal House.
Dont worry. When the scheme will hopefully be finished by the 2012 Guild, you will be absolutely stunned. Preston will be one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the country. When you see the street fountains, the public square, the new state of the art library, the revamped markets, the new office buildings, the business improvement district (Church Street), the new residential quarter, and most of all the new bus station, you wont miss the old one :)

Interesting link to a story about 3 of Preston's parks winning a green flag award:
http://www.preston.gov.uk/news/News.asp?id=SXBE6B-A7803C33

The student halls at Maudland Bank are now complete. Crane gone.

Okay guys, I'm off to Toronto tomorrow morning so I wont get a chance to post here again for 2 weeks. Cya when I get back! :wave:

OK Accura, hope u have a great time, wish i was going back! I love the public transport network in Toronto because its integrated so well and you can get across the city in no time. We cud do with the same here! Bon voyage!

OK, there's been a few things in the Evening Post over the last week or so regarding various projects in Preston so I'll give an overlook here. Some idiot who lives with me decided to bin the newspapers I'd kept together to do this so some of it is from memory!

There was quite a big article that was about Freedom of Information Act and the Tithebarn Materplan, which apparently, is officially just weeks away from being signed so we should have updates very soon. Basically, they were saying that the council and everyone involved with the project have been very secretive and much of this was unecessary. I think we can all relate to this! But as mentioned, there should be announcements made soon. It is quite frustrating to think the Tithebarn Project is already 2 years behind schedule before the deal has even been signed... Another shining example of our council's professionalism...

Next, there was an article about the possible (hopeful!) demolition of Canterbury Hall Social Club on Garstang Road (just in front of B&Q). It looks likely it will be demolished to make way for 15 flats and 1,338 square metres of office space. The buildings will be between 2 and 4 storeys and will be aimed at first-time buyers.

Lastly, an article featuring an interview with architect Charles Jencks regarding the Tithebarn Masterplan *again* He was absolutely right in saying the new buildings need to be sensitive to surrounding historical buildings in the city centre and that they need to be never seen before, striking, at the right price and of the right structure. He also said that the council needs to be strong and keep their nerve. Let's just hope they don't do anything stupid...

Thanks for the updates guys, have poor net access at the minute so irregular postings i'm afraid. Thanks for keeping things ticking over :D

Thanks for the updates while I'm away Preston guy. I'm using my aunties computer at the moment so I cant come on reguarly. I'll be back proper on Sunday morning.
Good news on Tithebarn :)

Old news but looking more fact than fiction... In today's LEP:
Beat Street Cafe Bar on Manchester Road is likely to be demolished and replaced with a four and five story building. There will be two shops on the ground floor and 18 one and two bedroom apartments with a private gym in the basement. The building will have a staggered pitched roof, zinc cladding and balconies to the apartments. The development will be close to another similar project and the new bus station. The idea is to attract more young professionals to the city.

Sounds good!

shame they didnt just add em together and made a nine storey, lol...
Zinc cladding though, could work out nice..

Thanks for that. Good news. Yet more apartments for that area.
BTW, I'm back in Preston now.

Just been going over the planning applications from the past couple of weeks:
-Official planning application for Avenham Park Pavillion has been put in
-Application has been sent in to build 21 apartments on a former public house site (the Einstein Theory pub I assume) following demolition of existing building and car park
-Wow... it appears that this scheme will be built in phases. The above is just phase 1. Phase 2 is construction of 22 apartments incorporating a car park on the ground floor. This project could be reasonably big.

Just a note on the Avenham Pavillion application... this project isnt just going to be a small mere pavillion. It incorporates all kinds of things including a new coffee bar and event room.

Welcome back Accura, how was Toronto? Good news about more apartments on Moor Lane and the new Pavilion. I hope it helps stage more successful music events. Did any of you go to that event where the Spice Girls performed on Avenham Park? That was massive! A real success. More recent offerings have been embarrassing disappointments.

Good to hear that the concert was a success, unlike a certain International City Festival last year ;)
Toronto was amazing yet again! (came back as a blonde though)
http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/990/38qs.jpg
Coming back on the plane in the early hours was amazing. My window was facing north so I could see Preston and Blackpool really clearly on the approach. Absolutely spectacular at night!

There is quite a few interesting little bits in tonights LEP:

First off is about D-day for the Dockland Waste Plant. So far, everybody has been against it except the Lancashire County Waste Department DESPITE the fact that building a waste plant there is against the Lancashire Structure Plan which is made by the county council themselves.
If they decide to go ahead with it, it would be very undemocratic.

Another is a new proposal by city councillors to make a quicker and more effective crackdown on eyesore homes in inner city areas and throughout the rest of Preston. At the moment, the councils yearly housing renewal target is 40 homes. It has now been revealed that it would take just under 30 years to complete this, so now the council wants to carry out the plans quicker.

The council have rejected plans for a marina in Lea. They claim that the construction would harm wildlife and also increase traffic in the area.

A new 4-storey building will be built on Market Street West containing apartments and shops. The site is currently vacant after a workshop was demolished.

Planning permission has been granted to an apartment development of 5 and 4 storey buildings on Manchester Road in the city centre on the site of a former cafe bar. The £2m development will include 16 luxury apartments, shops, and a private gym and beauty salon.
The development is next door to 2 similar developments and a warehouse conversion (apartments) development.

Mostly good news.

LCC have been their usual undemocratic self, and gone ahead with the waste transfer plant. Out of the 15 planning committee members, just 1 lives in Preston.
FUCK THEM!!!

I AM SO FURIOUS. I am writing a VERY heavily worded letter to those lame-assed bastards right now. What kind of f*ck-wits build a waste plant in an area planned to have a billion pounds worth of investment pumped into it in the near future? And seeing as one only lives in Preston that's just the sh*t on the cake. Bastards! Pardon my language lol

I think the city council need to start throwing the 'unitary authority' word around lol.

Updated planning statement for the Tithebarn Masterplan. Posted on preston.gov.uk a couple of days ago (PDF)
http://www.preston.gov.uk/Documents/General/Updated%20Planning%20Statement%20-%20final%20post-consultation%20draft.pdf

Thanks for that Accura, sounds quite promising. I like it that they see residential and office buildings need to be integrated with the retail sectors, rather than sticking them on the edge of the city centre. I'm also pleased we should be getting some good-sized retail units and more complentary leisure attractions eg coffee shops, cafes, bars etc but most importantly a cinema! Just gotta wait for the damned masterplan now...

Tis just a matter of days now ;)

Check this out! Ariel photo of Preston taken on flight simulator game! You can see my school!!!
http://www.prestonlancs.com/forum/uploads/1119222136/gallery_4_3_21593.jpg

Interesting article
http://img79.imageshack.us/img79/7823/boom6ov.jpg

cool screenshot lol that's pretty detailed! and that article is interesting. Has anyone any idea of retail chains interested in opening new stores in the Tithebarn area?

Not yet, but we should be hearing about stuff like that for FG2 in the near future.

Waste plant legal fight

http://www.prestontoday.net/getedimage.aspx?ImageID=289378
STORM: Developers want to build stunning apartments like this on the riverfront.

LANCASHIRE County Council could face a legal challenge from developers furious at plans for a waste plant on Preston dock.
They are demanding compensation - saying the location of the plant will bring property prices crashing down in the area.
Councillors ignored public opinion and official opposition from Preston Council's planning committee to approve the controversial scheme on Wednesday.
But Preston Council leader John Collins is supporting the waste plant, saying it is a neccessary development.
In contrast, another Preston councillor is so outraged that he's asking colleagues to support him in blocking the county council from gaining access to the Wall End Road site, which has to be accesssed over city council-owned land. Others have labelled the county council's decision for the massive plant as a "mistake".
Last month, Preston Council announced an £800m regeneration plan for Preston Dock, known as Riverworks, which will include a £350m Central Park, reinstating a section of the Lancaster Canal, and maximising Dockland heritage.
And last year, shortly before the waste plan came to light, Preston Council gave planning permission for £25m plans for a stylish block of offices and apartments on the entrance to the River Ribble.
The project, which has been led by Preston chartered surveyors Parker and Co, will see an extra 75 apartments inside an eight-storey block - and will be the nearest development to the waste plant.
Today, Roger Parker, development consultant from Parker and Co, said the developers, Redburn Holding Corporation, were considering legal action to get compensation.
He said: "My client is committed to going ahead with this project but we're concerned about the approval of this scheme and the impact it will have on the values of adjacent properties, existing ones and those that are planned.
"My client wants to know whether, if it does have a detrimental affect on values, they will get any kind of compensation. It's not going to be as pleasurable an outlook from our development as we had hoped."
Meanwhile, Coun Normal Abram (Lib Dem), who is also a county councillor for part of the waste plant area, has tabled a notice of motion to fellow members of Preston Council.
He is asking for the authority to take "all appropriate measures, including specifically requesting the legal officer to advise if judicial review would be appropriate, to prevent any access being gained to this centre across any and all land owned by Preston City Council."
The leader of Preston Council, Coun John Collins, said the waste plant was crucial to avoid Preston's waste having to be transported out of the area, at a cost to taxpayers.
He said: "The county council have felt they were helping us by having a waste transfer station in Preston.
"If we were to attempt to try and fight this decision, the county council could ask us to use the recycling station in South Ribble."
The Tory chairman of the council's environment review board, Coun Anthony Gornall, was also in support.
He said: "It's not a tip or a dump. It's going to be a very important piece of kit for the city.
"Without it, we'd be taking our waste to Leyland which would have an impact on council tax bills if we don't have our own facilities."
Other members of the review board spoke out against the plans.
Coun George Wilkins (Con) said: "I think Lancashire County Council made a terrible mistake. Our planning committee was unanimously against this scheme. It's going to jeopardise investment in Riversway."
And Coun Ron Atkins (Lab), said: "We were more or less told take it or lump it. It does seem to me we were given very little opportunity to survey the whole of Lancashire.
"We were given one option and that is not good enough."
Coun Pauline Brown (LibDem), said: "I'm totally and utterly disgusted at Lancashire County Council riding rough-shod over the people of Preston again.
"There are other sites all over the place and they're putting it slap-bang in the middle of a residential area and in an area we're re-developing."
And Coun Alan Hackett, said: "It may be the right facility but it's not the right place."
A spokesman for Lancashire County Council said the waste plant would be run by a contractor on its behalf. He said: "We are still in the tendering process."
e-mail: emma.broom@lep.co.uk
Good to know this is meeting a pounding so early on. I'm pleased that the developers will still go ahead with this development despite the WTP.
I love the radical idea by the Preston councillor to block LCC from using city council land to access the site :laugh:

With a bit of luck it won't get the go-ahead, there's such huge opposition. I don't see why it can't be put nearer to the motorway on an industrial site, where it belongs. Sure it may be needed but just not there. It makes me SO mad it's untrue lol My complaint has been forwarded to the Development Control Section at the LCC. I will fight this myself if I have to!

I guess I should send a letter of complaint really. I can see the site from my bedroom window on the other side of the Ribble, so it can be justified.

Was down on the docks today and I've noticed that a large section of the Homebase car park has been closed and there is some sort of construction going on there. Hoardings up and everything lol. Its quite large, so it should be interesting to see what goes there.

preston guy, remember a while back when you posted the Channel 4 link for us to nominate the bus station for demolition? Well Channel 4 are doing their filming for the bus station program this week and have asked me to go into town and talk to them about why I want it demolished for the cameras! Did you get the same phone call?

Oh my god! That'll be so great! I didn't get any call lol they must not have liked the look of me! Have you any idea how many people voted for it? That should be interesting! Are you gonna do it? You'll have to prepare a speech!! lol

Yeah, I think I'll do it. Might give me a geeky image, but hey, nothing new there :D
They never said how many votes it got, but if they're doing a program about it, it has gotta be one of the favourites on the X List!
It will be nice to vent my frustrations about this, not just in the local newspaper, but on national television! :D
If they dont call you, I'm pretty sure you will still be able to come along cos you voted in the poll.

Anyone any news on Crystal House? I can't believe it's been left like this for so long. I was walking past the coffee shop there and overheard a visitor saying how stupid it looks, and I can't blame them!

Not so keen on the new business school now! I was in lectures all day :( yesterday and noticed all the windows appear to be blacked out?! I think they'd look better clear (as they appear on the plans). But hey ho, never mind! Still looks great, just a shame such a great building is on the very edge of the campus and overlooking... a primary school lol

Anyone any news on Crystal House? I can't believe it's been left like this for so long. I was walking past the coffee shop there and overheard a visitor saying how stupid it looks, and I can't blame them!
If nothing happens on the tower section of Crystal House by the end of the year, I'm going to attack the council in the LEP for doing a half hearted job.
However, it looks like work has properly started on the recladding of the Holiday Inn. Yes, the scaffolding has been up for ages, but now there are workmen on site and I've noticed that a large section of the existing cladding has been stripped. One to watch :)

Okay guys, good news :) I have FINALLY got a response from Lancashire County Council about the new bus station on Manchester Road.

Dear All

I have spoken this morning with my Group Manager, Chris Anslow,
re the above and I can now confirm the following;-

The Final Planning Application will be submitted as part of the Grosvenor
Tithebarn redevelopment in April 2006.

A draft version is available now (As was requested by the Lancashire Evening
Post and duly provided under the FOI Act) but Chris has asked me to stress
that this is only a preliminary draft version and is almost certainly
subject to alteration.

Chris has said that if anymore information is required, he would be more
than happy to set up a meeting to discuss the project further on return
from his annual leave. (After 8th September)

Thank you.

Andy Ray
Excellent news. This means we could see the designs very soon in the LEP. If its not in by next week, I'll goto the planning office and view them (and try to sneak some photo's in). And if they set up a meeting, I will most definately be going! At last, progress!

BTW, look at the new Burnley bus station compared to ours:
http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/corporate/news/press_releases/2004/04/14/0003_640x480.jpg

http://www.rocconsulting.com/transport/bbs5.jpg

http://dhf.earthcammobile.com/pics/5/225-1903.jpg

There they are, probably the worst town in Lancashire with that piece of genious, and here are we, the supposedly administrative capital of the county with a piece of crap!
Beaten by Burnley :ohno:

Thanks for that Accura, I'm so relieved this is making progress because it is literally the cause of Tithebarn's delay. I'm sure the design will be impressive, cos if it ain't there'll be murder! My only concern is that it's going to be pretty big and might look a bit dumb on Church Street... On the other hand, I guess with the Church Street Masterplan it may get away with it and should encourage development in the surrounding areas especially in Avenham. And there would of course be the glass tower not far away ;)

Well, i received a letter from LCC today... Grrr... It answers absolutely nothing. I was given a copy of the Report presented to the Development Control Committee (BUNCH OF WASTERS!) Ironically, it presents over 4 pages of negative effects of the plant, and even then they opted for it.

They admit the cons include:

FUTURE DEVELOPMENT BLIGHT OF THE LAND
Increased traffic
Pollution
ROAD ACCESS TO REDSCAR IS BETTER THAN RIVERSWAY-why not build it there?
The development is contrary to Preston City Council's Policy T20, whatever that is! Obvious health and safety issues for residents in the area with emissions, toxic fumes and dust
It will affect leisure development and is not in keeping with the area
IT WILL BECOME A STIGMA AND WILL RESULT IN LOST INCOME AS HOMES AND BUSINESSES ARE ABANDONED
The railway museum is close to the site WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH LCC?
It lies on one of the main roads into Preston and will be unattractive to visitors
IT WILL AFFECT PRESTON'S IMAGE AS A CITY
Will reduce attractiveness of the area to investors
Nature in the area will be affected.

Their justification for using this site is that there is a need for such a facility in Preston. Naturally, they didn't answer my question as to why it HAD to be on the docks. They simply enclosed this report allowing me to draw my own conclusions and I have... that LCC truly are a bunch of wasters! My dad actually works at Preston City Council as part of the recycling department so I'll see if he has any info. I will do everything I can to stop this going ahead. You don't see something like this on the banks of the dock in Liverpool! So why Preston?

LCC dont give a toss about Preston, which is wierd as we are the largest economic powerhouse in Lancashire. They seem to spend most of their time bigging up Lytham, Lancaster and Clitheroe while kissing Blackburn's and Blackpool's ass at the same time because they cant accept that they dont have any power there.
I'm not sure that this project will affect Riverworks as much as people make out it will.
About a quarter of the overall plan is focussed in the Docklands area, and most of that part of the plan is focussed around the main dock basin, which is quite far from Wall End Road.
Its still a disgusting plan which should be on an industrial estate, and should definately not be built on this site.

There is quite a bit of interesting stuff in tonights LEP. Firstly is that the unveiling of the Tithebarn plans have been delayed AGAIN until September because a lot of people are on holiday. Second is an article saying that once all the major projects are sorted in the city, planning for the 2012 Preston Guild will begin. And finally is that the railway museum on the docks will open in the Autumn :)

Shame about the delay but it's become natural to expect a delay where Tithebarn is concerned. At least it should be just a month now until we can finally see it. I'm glad the council see the need to start planning for the guild now. It should be the biggest yet, out first one as a city and of course, it will be taking place in a new Preston. Maybe they will include some kind of Olympic-themed events to attract people to the Guild. And the railway museum is a welcome addition to the docks.

Went around this evening taking various photos...

One of the various new apartment developments recently gone up in the Church St area. Checked down Manchester Road, no construction going on just yet.
http://img335.imageshack.us/img335/7752/churchstreet7cj.jpg

A depressing sight if ever I saw one...
http://img335.imageshack.us/img335/8651/guildcentre0vy.jpg

Work now properly going on with the recladding of the Holiday Inn. A significant section of the car park has been sealed off too.
http://img335.imageshack.us/img335/894/holidayinn15fq.jpg

Yet another pub on Moor Lane awaiting demolition to make way for new apartments
http://img335.imageshack.us/img335/631/moorlane18ml.jpg

Work continues on the Moor Lane flats. The drilling machine has now gone. A lot more activity on site than when I last saw it.
http://img302.imageshack.us/img302/5139/moorlane20hn.jpg

Norwhich Union. Its amazing how much better it looks since the small reclad.
http://img302.imageshack.us/img302/4404/norwichunion1dd.jpg

New windows being installed on Preston Office Centre. Gotta say, it makes it look a lot better.
http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/7053/redrosehouse0tx.jpg

Oh well. Crap weather for taking photos really :(

Interesting piece about the regeneration of Avenham Park being taken forward:

Preston bids for £2.8m lottery funding to re-vamp Avenham and Miller Park

22/08/2005

PRESTON City Council has submitted a bid for £2.8 million to the Heritage Lottery Fund to improve and restore Avenham and Miller Park, it was revealed today.

If this bid is successful, the cash will fund improvements including:

* Restoring railings, gates and grottos

* Improvements to cycle ways and drainage

* New lighting

* Restoration of historic features including the Swiss Chalet and Belvedere

* The construction of a new pavilion in Avenham Park to include a café/restaurant, toilets, meeting room, function room, exhibition space and Park Manager’s office

In addition to the bid, planning applications have also been submitted for:

* Planning permission for construction of the pavilion and landscape work

* Listed building consent for restoration of the Swiss Chalet and Belvedere

* Conservation area consent for the demolition of the bandstand and toilets in Miller Park, which are to be replaced by the toilets in the pavilion if the funding is approved.

Councillor Veronica Afrin, Executive Member for Regeneration, Community and Leisure, said:

“If the Heritage Lottery bid is successful, we will be able to transform the park with a new state of the art pavilion, improved lighting and a range of new facilities. We will also be able to restore historic features to bring Avenham and Miller Park back to its former glory.

“We took a major step towards achieving the funding last year when we were awarded £120,900 by the Heritage Lottery Fund to draw up the improvement plans. These plans, together with the design for the new pavilion by architect Ian McChesney, have been submitted as part of the bid.

“Improving the city’s parks is one of the council’s top priorities and if the lottery funding bid is successful, we can make one of Preston’s most popular parks an even better place to visit.”

There was also a piece in tonights LEP about a large new M&S store at Deepdale shopping park. It also said that Deepdale is in the top 20 shopping parks in the UK :)

The LEP is tonight reporting that seven new park and rides are being planned for Preston and Lancaster. The Preston ones would be at Jnc1 on the M55 at Broughton, the M6 Jnc31 at Salmesbury, the Broad Oak Lane roundabout in Penwortham, another one at Riversway and one at M6 Jnc31a in Fulwood.
Also in is a version of the article I posted yesterday with a couple of new renderings of the pavillion.
Also, somebody wrote in suggesting a tram link from the new bus station site to the railway station running along Fishergate, like the one which runs along Southport pier. I think its a pretty good idea :yes:

I like the idea of a tram, but putting it down Fishergate would really f*ck up traffic in that area. Imagine cars leaving St George's car park and having to wait for trams, and the trams and buses as well would just make it far too congested. An underground line would be ideal but the council isn't brave enough to try something like that. It could have joined with a tram network (linking it to the rest of the city) from the train station, if they persued the tram idea but it appears they like these guided bus things. The underground link would also probably cost too much and the area is too hilly. It's most likely the cheaper option, a shuttle bus service, will run from the bus station to the train station. However, with the right planning a tram line down Fishergate could work very well. Only time, money and the common sense of our beloved council will tell...

Unfortunately, the planned tram idea would not run along Fishergate, but underneath and across it next to the railway station. I did this before the Riverworks plan was published. It was more based on what the council's plan was. Since then, it has been suggested that guided busways, not trams would run along the former Longridge line (northern line).
The stations along the northern line I just made up based on demand and transport strategy documents. The other stations are shown on the Riverworks map.

http://img348.imageshack.us/img348/2158/metromap3mu.jpg

Ta phook?!
In this weeks planning applications!

http://img383.imageshack.us/img383/9052/crystalhouse17sr.jpg

Now we finally know why there has been a delay! If they are converting the building into apartments, this could mean major alterations to not only the facade, but the exterior structure of the tower!
We could be looking at balcony cuttings, new roof, alterations to podium top etc.
Excellent!

Ambitious plans may create jobs
PLANS for an ambitious multimillion pound garden centre, marina and leisure facility that could create 280 new full and part-time jobs have been tabled.
Barton Grange Group obtained planning permission for the scheme in Brock, near Preston, last year, but the company has since re-designed the layout and is to submit the new plans this week.
If permitted, the project will make Barton Grange one of the biggest employers in the area, with more than 400 staff.
The main change is the planned garden centre building, which has been rotated 90 degrees to enable the cafe and restaurant within the centre to benefit from picturesque views of the River Brock, and to provide a better link with the planned chandlery and restaurant.
Barton Grange Garden Centres managing director Guy Topping said: "The fact that we've moved the garden centre building does mean that we will have to seek new planning permission. We feel it's worth delaying the project slightly to make sure we get it absolutely right.
"We are confident that permission will have been granted by early 2006, at which point we shall start work and we expect to open the Garden Centre and Marina early in 2007.
"We want it to be as good as possible, so we have fine-tuned the plans."
Various elements within the 15-acre core area of the 52-acre site have been changed.
The marina and boathouse have swapped places with the restaurant, hotel and chandlery, and are now in a more secluded position away from the roadside.
It means the hotel and restaurant buildings will be visible from the road rather than the boathouse.
The scheme will also include a new roundabout on the A6, which will have a spur road leading into the new complex. The company is hoping the new plan will be approved within the next five to six months.
Assuming the plans are passed and the Government Office North West backs the scheme, work on the first phase of a £12m investment in Bilsborrow/Myerscough, – the 80-berth marina, service block for boat users and garden centre – would begin next spring, with opening scheduled for Spring 2007.
Staff at the existing Barton Grange garden centre in Barton, which will close if the updated plans get the go ahead, would transfer to Brock.
Work on the second phase, a chandlery and restaurant, would begin in 2007. Future phases would include a 40-bed lodge-style hotel.
However, Barton Grange has planning permission for a £3m project to double the size of its existing hotel on the current garden centre site at Barton. Myerscough and Bilsborrow Parish Council has arranged a public meeting on September 22 at 7pm at Bilsborrow Village Hall.
e-mail: stef.hall@lep.co.uk

http://img238.imageshack.us/img238/6889/bartonmarina9bo.jpg

The LEP's report on Crystal House apartments plan:
The ugliest building in Preston

http://www.prestontoday.net/getedimage.aspx?ImageID=294404
CRYSTAL HOUSE: From ugly duckling, before the recent re-cladding, to must-have flats?

For £200,000 you could live in Preston's ugliest building.
That's because the owners of controversial tower block Crystal House have launched ambitious plans to turn empty offices into 48 prestigious apartments.
They want to convert floors three to 10 into one, two and three-bedroomed flats, costing between £150,000 and £200,000.
The owners, Deutsche UK Retail Property Fund, based in London, plan to plough almost £5m into the project which they hope will get the go-ahead from Preston Council.
As part of the plans, they also want the Birley Street building to lose its "ugly" tag once and for all and plan to re-clad the entire tower.
This follows on from a £2m project to re-clad the podium with ceramic panels to help it blend in with the nearby Harris Museum and the former Post Office building.
James Tibbles, director of Larraby Land, the developers working on behalf of Deutsche, said the new-look building would have a "clean and crisp design."
He said: "At the moment, it's an eyesore. It's very 1960s architecture which is ghastly but we can't knock the building down.
"We've spent a lot of time and money in seeking to create the right architectural statement within the constraints of the building and I think we've done a first-class job.
"Most people will agree that the phase one work has transformed the lower floors and we would hope that the tower would have the same effect. It will be lively and there will be people going in and coming out at all times and that transforms perceptions.
"In the medium term, with Tithebarn, which is significantly larger than anything else Preston has seen, this building will become a pivotal location. People will not view it as: Oh God, what's that?"
Originally the plan was to market Crystal House for office space but that option has proved not to be viable and the offices are all now empty. The last tenant, Birchall, Blackburn and Co Solicitors, moved out in May. Mr Tibbles said: "There isn't a market for Crystal House any more. The Preston office market has evolved in such a way that if you don't have car parking, nobody wants to take your units.
"The tower has been available two and a half years and we've had only two inquiries.."
Today, a former Preston mayor and the council's historic environment champion said the building was a "mistake".
Coun Jonathan Saksena, who has the job of ensuring the city's history is promoted, said: "I would be prepared to contribute to the cost of knocking it down with a bulldozer.
"Whatever you do with a trashy building, it's not going to improve its appearance.
"They've tried to make the lower levels look more presentable but there's still a ridiculous tower on the top of it. It's one of the numerous unfortunate mistakes that were made in the 1960s."
e-mail: emma.broom@lep.co.uk
31 August 2005

Still should have been demolished. Of course, will never happen now. Can't see the apartments being that sought after, with regular fair's etc on the flag market and drunken party-goers stumbling around at night. Oh well, we'll see wot happens...

Interesting article about a new project on Friargate:

Through gateway to new era of shopping
The regeneration of Preston's Friargate has been given a boost after plans were unveiled to demolish a row of boarded-up shops and replace them with new retail units and apartments.
Millions of pounds have been spent on the street, which lies in the heart of the city, but, despite the cash flowing in, there are still pockets of run-down buildings.
Now Wigan-based developers Parkinson Property Consultants has applied for planning permission to demolish three empty shops at 70-74 Friargate and the former Friargate Social Club.
It is hoped the buildings will be replaced with a three-storey building housing three shops and 16 one- and two-bedroom apartments.
The news comes just days after the Evening Post reported that a Fulwood businessman had applied to convert shops at 124 and 125 Friargate into a new restaurant and wine bar.
Local businesses have welcomed the moves, which they hope will improve the look of the busy street.
Ronnie Fitzpatrick, landlord of the nearby Dog and Partridge, said the development would only benefit other shops and pubs along Friargate.
He said: "This is fantastic news and I'm totally behind this project.
"But they must be proper shops and not takeaways in order to fit in with the character of the rest of the street.
"The council has spent thousands on new street furniture and anything else would be a waste.
"These new stores will attract more people to Friargate and other shops and pubs will undoubtedly benefit from the passing trade at lunchtimes and during the evening."
The area has already seen massive investment by the city council, with the installing of new pavements, lighting, flowers and controversial decorative balls.
Babs Murphy, chief executive of Preston and Central Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, welcomed the plans.
She said: "This is great news for the city.
"This development will put this site back into productive use.
"Preston is a key city in the North West and it continues to attract investment from all areas in the UK.
"The city is vibrant and has great potential for a mixed use project combining upscale residences with quality retail outlets."
The application will be considered by Preston Council's planning department in October.
Developers Parkinson Property Consultants were unavailable for comment.
e-mail: suzanne.harvey@lep.co.uk

Another thing, has anybody noticed that that horrible white building in between Friargate and Corporation Street has been painted black?!
I think it looks a lot better, would have prefered to have seen it bulldozed though :(
I used the bus station with my g/f today to goto Manchester. Once again affirming just how much I hate the thing...

Heh, this should get them to speed up, thank God...

Get your act together...or pay £250,000
Preston's planning service has been rapped for dithering on applications – and could be faced with a £250,000 penalty if it fails to improve.
Government-appointed inspectors looked at the service provided by the city council and decided improvements were needed, particularly in handling major applications.
It is dealing with only 33.3% within 13 weeks, instead of the 60% target.
Officers feel the planning committee delays around 30% of cases by overturning officers' recommendations, for example.
More than 90% of all planning applications are determined quicker than government targets require, but the remaining schemes, which are large scale applications, fall short of the standards.
With the £500m Tithebarn development looming, along with the £80m Riverworks project, it is felt that the service must have its house in order.
Fears have been raised that it could also hold the council back from getting an "excellent" rating and could lead to staff being demotivated.
The report, by consultants Addison and Associates, said: "While a great deal of change has been achieved, the service is still at a critical stage of this process.
"The capacity of the service to improve its performance on major applications is of concern.
"A single, prioritised improvement plan would benefit the service managers and members aiming to implement change."
In response to the criticisms, a task and finishing group will be set up to tackle problems.
Coun John Collins, leader of the council, said: "Although it says we're doing very well overall, the report does make some criticisms.
"We're being asked, as if this was a school inspection, to produce and approve a planning service improvement plan.
"The people on this task and finishing group will look at the way it's done in other areas.
"I think it's very important but I think we have to have an improvement plan and there are penalties if we don't – that could be £250,000."
Coun Ken Hudson, leader of the Tories, said: "If we don't do this, the consequences are dire."
The planning service is governed by a number of Best Value Performance Indicator targets which are established by central government.
It must meet a series of national performance targets by March 2007.
Coun Steven Brooks (Res) said: "The whole planning policy is about getting the right developments for the people of Preston and that's more important than meeting targets.
"It's more important than meeting the requirements of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, who has nothing to do with Preston."
The task and finishing group, made up of members of the Labour, Conservative, Lib Dem and Labour Independent groups, will make recommendations and a final decision will be made by full council.
According to national targets to be met by March 2007, 60% of major applications must be dealt with in 13 weeks, 65% in eight weeks for minor applications and 80% in eight weeks for other applications.
In Preston, the 13 week deadline was hit in only 33.3% of cases.
Major applications concern proposals for at least 10 homes, or other developments where the floor area is more than 10,000 metres squared for outline sites, or 1,000 metres squared for full details.
e-mail: emma.broom@lep.co.uk
06 September 2005
I hope they head that message. Could mean we may be getting a decision on the Ringway tower soon.

Also an article about councillors taking the wasteplant battle to the European authorities (good on em'!) and an article about plans to replace a huge factory eyesore in Fishwick with new homes (I'll add that to the project list)

Great news thanks for all the updates Accura. I'm really pleased about the plans for Friargate, it could become a really great place. And it's about time something was done about the council's lame efforts when it comes to planning applications etc It's not just Tithebarn, they really p*ss about with most major applications. They need some initiative!

Just seen the renderings of how Crystal House might look. Looks pretty good!

I like! Looks like a completely new building in the renders :)
Pics:
http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/2715/crystalhouse25ib.jpg

http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/3598/crystalhouse34in.jpg

A massive drilling machine has appeared on the site in between Homebase and Morrisons on the docks! This is turning out to be more than just a phone box or a security office!!!

Picture of the Holiday Inn today... as you can see, 2 recladding platforms have been attached to the top of the building. The cladding on the side with the scaffolding attached has been completely stripped. Nice to see this moving on.
http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/3478/holidayinn15ff.jpg

http://www.24x7updates.com/FullStory-News-Preston_Michael_Spears_Federline_has_Arrived-ID-200438.html

:)

LOL! So she did name it Preston in the end... :P

There was a piece in tonights LEP saying that the signing of the Tithebarn agreement has been delayed yet again because the council need to decide how to manage the city while Tithebarn is U/C.
HOWEVER, there was an updated model in a lousy picture. I couldnt see it properly cos some damn councillor was leaning over it (damn him!) but I could see what looked like some miniscrapers in there ;) We shall have to wait and see :)

Prepare Preston!

Das Ferge is back up there from Sunday onwards for another term, lol.. I shall be armed with me camera this time, (could try and lend a hand with that project list of yours, Accy..) In getting a pic of The Faculty of Health and the Darwin Psychology block, also even though I'm on ground floor this year, will see if I can sneak up to top floor and get a pic of what the view is like from up there.. if I can't I'll try n take one from Library instead.. some nice views up there from the brief glances I've had..

Ooohhhhhhhhh... we're really scared! :D
WB ferge... an extra camera lens around town will be much appreciated :yes:

So... we're going to chop the bus station in half while the Tithebarn work goes on? Is it any wonder Preston is a laughing stock?!

lol, I nearly cried laughing when I saw that... :rofl:
I dont think I have ever heard of anything so ridiculous!

lol... ANYWAY on a happier note, in the Citizen it says how the former office block at the former Preston Farmers' building will be turned into a Travelodge hotel with 70 rooms. A restaurant may be included in the plans. I think it said it should be completed by early next year. This is pretty good news, if the glass tower gets the go-ahead (please God! lol), this could be a pretty cool little area.

Good news about the hotel. Tis part of the overall plan for the old farmers market, so hopefully the rest of it will start soon too.

About the glass tower on Ringway...
A couple of days ago, I read through the most recent planning apps and noticed that the Brookhouse Group had submitted a new plan for the Queens Retail Park site, and the tower was no longer in the plan, but instead replaced with some kind of residential thing. Confused, I sent the query too the planning dept and got this reply:
In answer to your query, yes, the tower has been removed from the new planning
application.

However, I should point out the the original planning application which
includes the tower is still registered with us and will be 'reactivated'
if/when we receive some additional information to accompany the application.

Regards

John Crellin
Planning Policy Divisional Manager
Preston City Council
01772 906704
I remember someone telling me a while ago that if the Brookhouse Group could not find an occupier for the hotel tower, they would replace it with apartments. This may just be their backup plan so to speak, in case they cannot find an occupier for the hotel. This may just be it. We shall just have to yet again wait and see I'm afraid.

Just got back from Deepdale... utterly dissappointing performance.

Oh yeah... while driving through town tonight, I noticed that a lot of new brown tourist signs have gone up for the Ribble Steam Railway. Should be opening soon :)
A welcome addition to the city's tourism ranks.

They ever going to do anything with that fecking shopping centre? I lived in Kirkham for a while and enjoyed the "delights" of Preston. God damn, was the Fishergate depressing and that train station next to it is hell on earth!

lol OK... well if you look in Accura's Preston Project List, you will see the Fishergate Centre is to be expanded by around 50% which should balance that side of the city centre out when the Tithebarn Project finally gets underway. And the train station can get pretty hectic, afterall it is one of the busiest in the country ;)

Here EB:
http://www.fg2.co.uk/images/futureplans_5.jpg

http://www.fg2.co.uk/images/futureplans_8.jpg

Due to start very soon.
Preston station isnt fantastic but it aint bad either.

Maybe you just dont get that 'Aaaaaaaah' City feel when you leave Preston station because you...don't really see much, and when you finally do.. its not that much (not to discredit the place but... ya know its true)..

we ain't had city status for even 5 years yet so can u expect much more? lol get realistic

Depends which way you go on the rail line I guess. I dont really know to be honest. I've only ever headed south so I dunno what the northbound and Blackpool lines are like. The southbound line is okay at first but gets pretty boring once you get into south ribble. The county offices near avenham park and the skyline view is fairly good.

Okay peeps, good news. I got a reply from the nice people at Brookhouse about the confusing application I saw:

Dear Helen

Thank you for the e-mail - would you mind me asking where your interest
comes from?

To answer your question - the Tower has not been withdrawn from the
scheme - we are merely processing separate applications. I hope that
this helps.

Kind regards

Andy Gardner
:banana: Tower is definately still in the plans then!!!

Great news Accura! I'm fairly confident it could get the go-ahead. When you think about it, there's only one hotel in the city centre at the moment (Holiday Inn) shortly to be followed by the Travelodge on New Hall Lane. Yet, this is unique and would be very popular with young professionals staying in the area and in the years following Tithebarn (whenever that may be), there's likely to be a few more of those around. Not forgetting of course the supermarket (depserately needed in that area I think), the new public square and shops/bars etc. Also, it would have pretty good links with the motorway. It's a really cool masterplan and I'm praying they can find a hotel group interested in the tower!

At the moment, all the prospects look very good for the tower... council support, support from local business, compliments from Grosvenor, no objections from other councils, no objection from local residents etc...
The main hurdle is finding an occupier, although the chances of that are also pretty high. Lets not forget that Preston is now one of the fastest growing cities in the UK :)

News on preston.gov.uk today saying that the second phase of Friargate Brow will soon begin. This will involve work on the actual buildings now.

BTW ferge, did you take part in the student parade?

My friend who works in Littlewoods on Fishergate told me today it is being turned into a Primark hopefully by Spring time next year and it should be a pretty big one. The main floor will be expanded as will the upstairs and part of the huge stockroom will be used as well. The move was confirmed in tonight's LEP business and money supplement. After the huge amount I spent in Manchester's Primark yesterday, this could be a bad move for me but a good one for Preston! :)

Hehe, Primark is quality. Cheap but good. I love the one in Manchester. Excellent.

Just a little article I found on the net shedding some more light on Tithebarn...

PRESTON

Tithebarn is Grosvenor's second huge retail and regeneration scheme in the north-west. The 1.5m sq ft (139,355 sq m) project will include 85 shops, a 12-screen cinema, a hotel, 400 homes and 2,500 parking spaces. The developer is currently finalising details with the council. Grosvenor anticipates starting work on the site in 2008 and plans to complete the scheme by 2010 (http://www.knowledgeplex.org/news/108801.html)

Nice one preston_guy. Every week I do numerous searches on Tithebarn looking for updates. I found a recent one (written in July) saying that there was going to be a tramway linking the development to the train station. I wouldnt cross your fingers on that one though...

BTW, Prestonian, if you are around can you make a quick post just to let us know your still here. You havnt posted in aaaaaaaaaaaages... and well, I'm getting quite worried.

hehe, i am still around, tho i don't have much time to post, i usually just browse. I like reading the updates tho guys, I should probably say thank you more often. I've been living up in Durham through summer so have been out of touch with the Preston scene a bit. I'll be home next week and may even have a digital camera so I might jus treat ya ;)

Expect me to post a lot more when the new tithebarn stuff gets posted, that should spur me on a bit to post, i've been feeling a little fatigued with it all recently, i want something to start construction.

Good to know your still with us :)
Should hopefully be very soon with Tithebarn. A bit of new construction that can be followed on now is the reclad of the Holiday Inn which seems to be motoring ahead now. I also want to know what is going on at that Docks site, its driving me mad!!!

The Tithebarn plans are mounted on the walls in my department, I couldn't get a nice look as was busy with induction, but theyre A2 copies of the images shown on here already, will try and get a toot soon.

Nice to see the uni backing the project! (or at least it seems that way lol) Cheers for the info.

Here is an absolutely terrible picture of that site on the docks for anyone who doesnt know what I'm talking about. I literally snapped it passing by.
http://img393.imageshack.us/img393/2558/docksthing17dl.jpg
The site doesnt look very big in the pic, but its actually surprisingly large.
The drilling machine is now gone, and there is still a total lack of information on the hoardings... Could be something interesting, but it could be just a new curb or something. I love surprises usually, but I despise this one!

Does seem a bit odd accura, wot the hell are they doing? I think I remember seeing something in planning applications for a bit of a reclad on the store itself, but dunno about this car park business. Maybe they're making changes to the layout of the car park? God knows lol

Anyhoo I'm pleased with the planned regeneration of Friargate and I hope things get moving soon. Also, the reclad of the Holiday Inn should be interesting. Do you know if it's just for the sides (like the building next to it) or the whole thing? Being on the edge of Tithebarn, I think the whole thing should be spruced up. As for Tithebarn itself, I've given up lol

Does seem a bit odd accura, wot the hell are they doing? I think I remember seeing something in planning applications for a bit of a reclad on the store itself, but dunno about this car park business. Maybe they're making changes to the layout of the car park? God knows lol

Anyhoo I'm pleased with the planned regeneration of Friargate and I hope things get moving soon. Also, the reclad of the Holiday Inn should be interesting. Do you know if it's just for the sides (like the building next to it) or the whole thing? Being on the edge of Tithebarn, I think the whole thing should be spruced up. As for Tithebarn itself, I've given up lol
Homebase car park: I dont think they would use a drilling and piling machine to make alterations to the car park. I took a look at Seddon's website and it looks like they only do buildings, big and small. I've sent an e-mail to them asking them about it, so hopefully we should know something soon.

I thought the same thing about the Holiday Inn, but they have platforms on the front and back of the building, so unless they are just doing the windows, its safe to assume they are redoing the whole thing. Either way, its gonna look a lot better when finished :)

Don't get too excited about the Homebase car park project you guys.

It's only going to be a new retail unit selling furniture. "CLS" I think.

Christ, its you again!
Thanks for the info anyway. Beats car park alterations. Kinda goes against the Riverworks masterplan though...

lol yeah seems a bit weird building new units that are likely to be demolished in a few years... oh well that's Preston for ya!

Coincidentally, Preston City Council's website has been updated on the Riverworks Project. Some pdf's are on there, perhaps they're old but I've not seen them before! lol the canal extension sounds interesting :) http://www.preston.gov.uk/Category.asp?cat=785

They've been there since the page was set up lol ;) They're pretty difficult to spot though I guess, being right in the bottom corner of the page.

Hello all, I finally managed to register. I'm going to have a good read of this thread, it looks very interesting.

Enjoy your stay :D

Got loads of piccies today. Made a thread in skyscrapers and skylines with em all on.

http://img366.imageshack.us/img366/8596/296qr.jpg

:puke:

Everything's so slow at the moment... but driving past the Moor Lane site today some of the boards were down and you could see inside but obviously, had to keep eyes on road lol did look like things are coming along tho, from wot i did see

Yeh, we sometimes get these quiet periods in terms of news, but things usually pick up again with something or other after a few weeks. I'm hoping our next big news will be a certain something beginning with T ;)

The planning applications for the offices in the final stage of West Strand are in this weeks batch. Looks like its just gonna be three 3-storey office blocks, probably like the one thats just been built there. An unexciting end to an unexciting project.

Yeah, considering the historical and locational importance of the West Strand area it could have been a bit more exciting. But it's good to see it finally being used after being wasteland for so long

There was a piece in tonights LEP saying that Canterbury Hall at the junction of Garstang Rd, North Rd, St Georges Rd and Moor Lane is to be demolished to make way for a 4-storey U-shaped building of apartments and office accomodation. Sounds pretty interesting :)

Some construction updates from yesterday:

Moor Lane
http://img119.imageshack.us/img119/4449/moorlane28cl.jpg

http://img119.imageshack.us/img119/2848/moorlane38ny.jpg

I'm very impressed with how this has turned out...
http://img119.imageshack.us/img119/5203/uclan27eg.jpg

And this...
http://img119.imageshack.us/img119/4986/uclan33yw.jpg

Thanks for the update Accura, great news about that gross thing being turned into a U-shaped building. Something which just occurred to me: imagine Preston without Uclan. Scary...

Without UCLan, Preston would be so much more boring. People complain about students, but they should really think of the consequences of losing the uni!
More Moor Lane news. In today's LEP there is an article saying that councillors have approved plans for a 'Dalek-shaped' apartment building on the site for the Einsteins Theory pub. We already knew about this, but sounds even more interesting now!
Dalek shaped... :rofl:
Also, in the Citizen, Preston's first £1m apartment went on the market today :) Really moving up in the world...
Also there is a really good article saying about how Preston should look to cities like Philadelphia and Pittsburgh as a blueprint for the future :)

Preston without UCLAN would be a lot worse off. Since the university has rocketed we've had loads of new investment in buildings etc which smarten up the city and loads of new little shops have sprung up which couldn't survive without the seasonal studnet trade.

The moor lane works are racing ahead, been ages since i've seen it so that comes as a welcome surprise! :)

With regard to strand road, its a complete cock up really. The thing lacked any sort of masterplan and the resulting developments look a bit hotch-potch and very un-cohesive. If Alstom ever closes down I will be furious if they demolish that building! especially if they replace it it with stuff the same ilk as that accross the road.


and finally.....

....COME ON TITHEBARN!!!!! ;)

I dont think that the Alstom building would be demolished if they closed down. The modern metal shed buildings might be, but not the old buildings. The Dick Kerr Works were a well known brand, making trams for nearly every town and city in the UK. If they were to develop that site, it would be a great area for a Riverside masterplan village if combined with the Oyston Mill next door :)

BTW, Tithebarn SPG has been updated. This could mean that they are nearly ready to release the plans :D

Yeah I noticed that too Accura. Seeing as they said it would be September we shouldn't be waiting too long now. Well, maybe til the new year lol

Bit of news about Avenham and Miller Parks:

PRESTON’S Avenham and Miller Parks are set to receive a make-over thanks to a £2.712 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), it was announced today.

The money will help fund a £4.9 million restoration of the city centre parks that will include:

Creation of a new pavilion in Avenham Park (and will be the first dry accommodation that the people of Preston have had in the park for the past 300 years);
Refurbishment of historic features including the Swiss Chalet and Belvedere;
Improvements to the entrance gates, boundary walls and railings;
Development of better visitor facilities;
Improved lighting and signage.

Good news, I'm looking forward to seeing the pavilion anything beats the shack that's there now!

Indeed. The current one is pretty pathetic, when in the middle of a beautiful park. Hopefully, the parks will be busier thanks to this. They are already very busy in the summer.

I'm not sure if these are a new find or not but there are some great renders of the pavilion from McChesneys website. Looks very smart! Looking forward to seeing the parks spruced up, they could be a great oasis for shoppers.

Thanks Prestonian, they are the best quality renders I've seen of the new pavilion and definitely worth a look:

http://www.mcchesney.co.uk/avenham.htm

It's good to actually have a functioning pavilion with a cafe etc as Avenham (and Miller) parks are hidden gems that few visitors realise are there. Also, it's something the community can use. All in all, great stuff! lol

Cheers for those. I'll stick them on the projects list. The AvenCentral renders were crap.

Thanks Prestonian, they are the best quality renders I've seen of the new pavilion and definitely worth a look:

http://www.mcchesney.co.uk/avenham.htm

It's good to actually have a functioning pavilion with a cafe etc as Avenham (and Miller) parks are hidden gems that few visitors realise are there. Also, it's something the community can use. All in all, great stuff! lol

and thank you for posting a link (i forgot that bit ;))

It says in todays LEP that the SU has won an architecture award...

It says in todays LEP that the SU has won an architecture award...

What in god's name for??? I know that the vice chancellor of the university hates it, he had trees planted behind it so that he didn't have to see it from his office. The finish on is truely appalling and I think the refurb of the old building they did, with those 'canopy' things is very poor.

Oh my God!! Tithebarn is signed and sealed!! :)

As for the SU award, it was the British Entertainment and Discotheque Association Awards - does this mean maybe it was for entertainment value as well as the design?

Signed and sealed
The long-awaited £450m deal to transform Preston into a shopping and leisure paradise has finally been completed.
Civic leaders signed on the dotted line at a special ceremony at the Town Hall yesterday – six years after the idea was first conceived.
The deal means the council has now entered into a formal development agreement with Grosvenor to redevelop a quarter of the city centre following much consultation, negotiation and wranglings.
But the deal could still hit a stumbling block if a number of conditions are not met by the council, including securing a major retailer for the 'anchor store' – the flagship of the whole development.
And, despite yesterday's handshaking ceremony, the identity of the major retailers due to make the city their home remains a mystery.
It's now known that the Tithebarn area, centred on the market and bus station area, will undergo a three-year transformation with a major department store, a 12-screen cinema and leisure facilities, food store, hotel, refurbished market and 85 shops all due to be built.
It is believed talks have been held with major department stores, including John Lewis, but no names have yet been confirmed.
In addition, there will be 400 new homes, along with restaurants and bars, and a health and fitness centre. Visitors will also be provided with more than 2,500 car parking spaces.
Stephen Musgrave, chief executive of Grosvenor, said: "We're delighted to have reached this milestone and signing the development agreement with the city council is a vitally important piece of this quite complex jigsaw.
"Now, we must continue to work with the city council and others to satisfy the conditions that will allow us to deliver the project – not least of which is the anchor store letting."
And Jim Carr, the council's chief executive, said: "We're on the threshold of major regeneration and investment in Preston.
"Tithebarn is set to transform the city but no one is under any illusions.
"It has taken a great deal of time and effort to reach this agreement but there is still a lot more work to do."
Along with some of the other major regeneration schemes for the city, including the Riverworks project, it is hoped the Tithebarn scheme will push Preston forward to become the third city of the North West.
Coun John Collins, leader of the council, said: "Tithebarn is
important to the future success of Preston. It aims to provide new shops, leisure facilities, new homes and bus station for the city. Tithebarn has the potential to transform the city and deliver Preston's third city vision.
"We've worked really hard to get to this development agreement stage and it's an important moment for Preston, but this hard work must continue if we are to maximise Tithebarn's potential. There are hurdles ahead, like getting planning permission and a department store on board, but the council is totally focused on making Tithebarn a reality and will do whatever we can to achieve this."
In 2002, a draft masterplan for the Tithebarn area, drawn up by architects Terry Farrell and Partners, was proposed and full consultation carried out.
A revised masterplan was then agreed the following year, including options to look at suitable sites for a new bus station.
Since then, the council and Grosvenor have conducted detailed negotiations over the development agreement.
Coun Ken Hudson, leader of the Conservative group, said: "The development agreement is the cornerstone of the Tithebarn scheme. We know there's a lot more hard work ahead but the council is fully committed to Tithebarn and the potential future and investment it can deliver for Preston."
Liberal Democrat leader, Coun Christine Abram, said: "Tithebarn is the catalyst to turn Preston into the North West's third city.
"Potentially, it could bring hundreds of millions of pounds of investment into the area."
Secretary Julia Horn, of the Preston and District Chamber of Trade, is eagerly looking forward to the announcement of which firm will take up the role of the Tithebarn's flagship department store.
She said: "The news there is going to be another major national brand coming to Preston is another vital factor and great news for the city. It is a major attraction which will bring people from outside the area to the city and help improve what we already have here."
e-mail: emma.broom@lep.co.uk
12 October 2005
About time!!!

http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/8380/tithebarn3ef.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

My only concern is how hushed they are about when work will begin "well, it could be 2008 but we can't be sure" (remember ages ago when I said it could be a building site during the Guild? lol). There seems to be a lot of 'buts' involved with the council which doesn't exactly inspire confidence. And the job of getting a major department store to move to Preston. They mentioned John Lewis which would be cool, we'll just have to wait and see. As long as it's along the lines of Debenhams (which does extremely well in Preston with people travelling from across the County to shop there) and something that can appeal to everyone, there shouldn't be a problem. But it's a relief to know it's finally signed. I prefer the new renders, I wasn't so keen on the circular department store. And the big building behind the department store (was it a hotel in the last masterplan?) looks pretty neat.
Oh, and THANK GOD they mention building the new bus station before demolishing the old one, scrapping all that half-bus station sh*t.

lol, I quite liked the idea of half a bus station! Would've made a great photo opportunity! :laugh:
I've noticed that the backward people are making their voice heard in today's LEP. Notice how they are all old... :sleepy:

lol well yes it would have been a unique picture. might have even made it into an exhibition. yeah, all those crazy old folk saying "the bus station is nice" blah blah now we know why it stinks of p*ss, cos they all hang out there with their incontinent buddies!! Well they can all rant and rave, but it's gonna happen so they can go down with the bus station if they love it that much lol

By the time this project is complete, a lot of them wont be alive. Harsh, but true.
A lot of these people are being pretty selfish by not thinking of future generations.

Went around Penwortham today getting a few skyline pics. Not great quality I'm afraid cos of the weather and my crap camera, but I'm getting a new one very soon! Soon there will be fab pictures!
From the railway bridge on Leyland Road, Kingsfold
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/Accura/100_2201.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/Accura/100_2202.jpg

From the Cop Lane bridge over the Penwortham Bypass (if they build the Queens retail park tower, this view will look great in a few years)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/Accura/100_2199.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/Accura/100_2200.jpg

Oh f**k... I could just hit myself now. I've just realised, in a 30 second cycle ride, I could have gone to the footbridge a bit further down the bypass (you can see it in the pic) and got a way better view! Damn! :wallbash:

lol I know the bridge you mean, you get a real good view from there. But I like these pics, I like the second one especially.

I can't believe there's so much objection to Tithebarn, are these people mad? It said in the Citizen there's a four year deadline for the council to meet all the requirements in the agreement... have they not wasted enough time already?

Good news about the Preston Farmer's site getting planning permission for supermarket, bingo hall and flats. Should mark the start of the city centre expanding that way. I hope it's a tasteful development, none of us want a repeat of West Strand!
Let's hope we get some news on the Ringway Tower soon...

I'm fairly confident that the New Hall Lane stuff wont be as bad as West Strand. We already know that there will be some decent conversion in this scheme with the Novotel. Hopefully, the rest of the development will be decent. Hope it starts soon, we need some construction!
As for all the negative reaction on Tithebarn, I'm fairly sure that the LEP are only putting the complaints in and not the positive comments. Some of the complaints that people have about this scheme are pathetic. I found the one about redeveloping the area being an effort to 'destroy the city's valuable history' particuarly funny. If a crumbling bus station, a run down shopping centre, a wholesale store and a boarded up pub are part of Preston's 'valuable history', I'd rather not have a history!

Greetings..

I said I'd try and get some pics taken.. but the course is very demanding, (as is my social life) thus... this is all I've got so far.. Having said that, I will start going into certain campus buildings with me camera when I have time, cos I know of a few places that have good views (of the Campus anyway)..

So for now, I'll leave you with these few (not exactly urban prize winners)..

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v224/ferge1985/IMAG0246.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v224/ferge1985/IMAG0242.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v224/ferge1985/IMAG0218.jpg
The weather changed... erm, a little..so to say :S

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v224/ferge1985/IMAG0263.jpg

Yo Pretonionionians

There's a fairly large article on developments in Preston in the Northwest supplement of this week's Estates Gazette magazine as well as a news article talking about the objections from neighbouring towns (Blackburn, etc.) to Preston's Tithebarn area development plans.

Worth a scan if you're in WH Smiths this week, anyway.

Cheers for that Awayo.
Nice pictures ferge :) I like the first one especially.

Thanks Awayo, i'll try and get hold of that. Blackburn et al can p*ss off! lol unless they can rival Tithebarn, they gonna have to grin and bear it

If they dont like it, they shouldnt have broken away. I read the argument between Preston council and Blackburn council. We ripped them to pieces on both this and FG2 :)

What is the suicide rate in Preston? I have never before seen such depressing pictures. I could not live there. I could not. Ferge, accy, no disrespect to your photography, but they paint a picture of urban horror. Ferge, how did you feel taking those pictures? Were you horrified or fascinated in some way? I think some kind of depressing Guardian saturday magazine article could be based around those pictures, with the theme: "The most depressing town in the world?" It looks worse than a lot of towns I have seen pictured in the poorer parts of Russia.

Seriously, I'm not having a go, I am just appalled by those images. They are too sad to look at for more than a few seconds. Preston cannot be that bad, can it?

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=261588

That's better. Winckley Street looks nice, and you know I am a huge fan of the bus station. I think ferge has stabbed you in the back, those pics are just horrendous. He has made Preston look like some abandoned town in Belorus, and yet your photos show it in a different light. Poor show ferge. He should be banned from Preston. It's funny, he took really nice pics of Liverpool. Maybe he was depressed in Preston, and his eye was just drawn to that which is not nice. If you were prone to depression, but not actually depressed, maybe those sights in Preston would send you over the edge and you would start feeling tearful and find all the world grey and unappealing?
Poor ferge. I am full of kindly thoughts now, he should be helped rather than banned.

"Sleepmasters - your first choice in beds". It's just such a depressing scene, viewed from that decrepit bridge. The rainbow doesn't help, it just makes the scene all the more desolate. Yes, somewhere over the rainbow there is all sorts of cool stuff, but evidently not in Preston, it seems to be saying. It is a picture of despair and conveys great pain.

Oh well, at least its an iconic piece of photography :) That part of town in between the university and the city centre is horrible. Thats as good as it gets around there I'm afraid.
Its cos of the Ringway. It totally blighted that area. Its hard to believe that the foreground of ferge's pic used to be a canal basin.

Yes Liverpolitan, ferge's pics are the most depressing I ever saw! Preston is a great place to live, in my opinion, and there are bigger and better things to come. Some areas ie those shown in those God awful pics, are in need of some tasteful new developments and no doubt these will happen at some stage. I will be investing in a new cam soon and take some pics to change some attitudes!

After doing some digging, I've found some info on the website of the architects who are doing the new mixed-use scheme on New Hall Lane.
http://www.pulmann.com/site/retail_preston.html
Small render:
http://www.pulmann.com/site/images/projects/retail/full/retail_2_full.jpg

I'm especially pleased about this part:
The designs will echo the key elements of the mill and will be constructed to a high specification both to the buildings and the landscaped setting.
So it wont be like West Strand. Phew :)

Thanks Accura, looks very nice and classier than I expected. Now, let's see some construction! I'm sick of bloomin' renders, we need some action!

Here's an interesting site: http://www.webbaviation.co.uk/preston/index.htm

It also has pics of other towns and cities in the UK and all over really. The pics are copyrighted but here's the links to my fave pics:

Winckley Square: http://www.webbaviation.co.uk/preston/m8171.htm

City Centre: http://www.webbaviation.co.uk/preston/preston.htm
http://www.webbaviation.co.uk/preston/m8177.htm
http://www.webbaviation.co.uk/preston/m8161.htm
http://www.webbaviation.co.uk/preston/m8164.htm
http://www.webbaviation.co.uk/preston/m8166.htm
http://www.webbaviation.co.uk/preston/m8167.htm
http://www.webbaviation.co.uk/preston/m8183.htm
http://www.webbaviation.co.uk/preston/m8187.htm

This pic shows how Ringway dissects the city centre:
http://www.webbaviation.co.uk/preston/m8189.htm

Not for much longer ;)
http://www.webbaviation.co.uk/preston/m8179.htm

Oh cool, last time I checked WebAviation, they didnt have Preston on. Cheers for that. I never realised that Brunel Court had a large courtyard like that :)

Oh dear oh dear... What have I caused?? :S

I admit, bar the first picture the content is not exactly stuff you'd want in a tourism advert but..that is what I see when I leave my halls.. I can't change that can I? I am going to get some better pics (I mean, look at the sky on that, would you be standing about taking pics gettin piss wet through for a few hours??? I think now). I keep finding some vocal points that I think may be worth taking pics of.

You are forgetting that Preston, alike virtually any urban area.. has bad, yet it has some fine high-quality buildings amongst it all (Which I shall have to include now).. I do actually like taking pics of the office blocks, even though they are some of the worst about, lol... But the other day in a lecture I got a view of virtually all of them clustered together, and well.. I liked the composition at least.

Finally, Thank you for saying that my Liverpool pics were at least nice..shows I'm not being completely ripped into.. I shall remove these pics when I get home, and replace them with something a little more to your standard.

My sincere apologies once more..
Ferg

No need to apologise ferge. You havnt done anything wrong. The first picture is very good, even though the weather wasnt on your side.

A few bits I found while routing on www.preston.gov.uk

Renders of the Moor Lane development:
http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/5821/moorlane11xy.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

I think this one is like one for future development but looks neat:
http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/4880/moorlane21jj.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Looks good!

Unfortunately, those renders are not what we are going to be seeing. They are just examples that were made for the SPG for the Moor Lane site. We will see something similar, but not the same. I still hope they landscape the area around the windmill. That'd be cool :cool:

aww that sucks :( never mind something similar would be cool. anyhoo, i'm on night shifts so i'd best be off!

Oh dear oh dear... What have I caused?? :S

I admit, bar the first picture the content is not exactly stuff you'd want in a tourism advert but..that is what I see when I leave my halls.. I can't change that can I? I am going to get some better pics (I mean, look at the sky on that, would you be standing about taking pics gettin piss wet through for a few hours??? I think now). I keep finding some vocal points that I think may be worth taking pics of.

You are forgetting that Preston, alike virtually any urban area.. has bad, yet it has some fine high-quality buildings amongst it all (Which I shall have to include now).. I do actually like taking pics of the office blocks, even though they are some of the worst about, lol... But the other day in a lecture I got a view of virtually all of them clustered together, and well.. I liked the composition at least.

Finally, Thank you for saying that my Liverpool pics were at least nice..shows I'm not being completely ripped into.. I shall remove these pics when I get home, and replace them with something a little more to your standard.

My sincere apologies once more..
Ferg

I wasn't having a go Ferg, I am a crap photographer and wouldn't know what was a technically good shot, but for what little its worth I thought you photos were very good, perhaps too good. I like that ultra-realistic style. It was the same when you came to Liverpool, you seem to have an ability to capture the feel of a place.

I'd like to re-visit Preston one day, but it's a long way away. Here is an idea for Prestonians, can you let me know if you think it's a possibility? How about if you built a huge Eden-centre style series of glass bubbles over the river (where Ferg's pictures are taken), and filter and clean the river, and make it fit for bathing? You could have a kind of pastoral idyll in the middle of the city, with meadows and trees and streams and grass and wild flowers. An urban Eden centre, with cafes and bars inside, and with large blocks of flats forming one wall - so their balconies are enclosed within the gigantic bubble. No rain, no cold, just serenity.

It could be used for small-sized "open air" gigs (up to say 500 people) year round, with a natural ampi-theatre leading down to the river, and once soft drugs are legalised it could have a chill zone where smoking is tolerated - you could hire hammocks by the hour and maybe some kind of games centre could be buried underneath.

I'm sorry for my sorry reply, lol..

I have been taking some more pics, but my camera is in my flat (I'm back at home for weekend) and can safely say I have some nice shots of Preston. I am also doing a small project which is replacing the 'Old Tram Bridge' over the Ribble.. which is cool.

Now, I'm off to my lil humble Wigan Development thread, as I have some 'Ex-high-ting' news.. :D:D:D:D

Interesting ferge. I've lived in Preston for 13 years, and I have yet to see the old tram bridge... oh well :( This project of yours sounds interesting.

Liverpolitan... have you been brainwashed by Will Alsop or something? :crazy:

Front page article in today's LEP. Big expansion of Deepdale retail park including 9 new shop units and a new housing estate. Not sure what to make of this. I'm not a huge fan of retail parks.

I'm not keen either, it seems we're getting more and more retail offer outside of the city centre. Like some of the most popular stores ie Next have far larger stores on our retail parks than in the city centre. I know Tithebarn will help change that but until then, do we really need such a grand expansion of deepdale retail park? Only time will tell...

As a means of redemption, here are some warmer pics of the Jubilee City. :runaway:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v224/ferge1985/IMAG0344.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v224/ferge1985/IMAG0402.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v224/ferge1985/IMAG0387.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v224/ferge1985/IMAG0399.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v224/ferge1985/IMAG0395.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v224/ferge1985/IMAG0314.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v224/ferge1985/IMAG0416.jpg

Next aim is to get that 'Clustered' shot I've been on about, lol.. and maybe some campus shots

How lovely, thanks ferge :) some great lighting effecty things...


Deepdale... not bad but not great news either. Where is there room for all that stuff unless they demolish bookers or something. Even worse, imagine the traffic that will result there now!!

lol yeah I was at the retail park this afternoon and it was manic. Some kind of work is going on at the old Athletic track on London Road, is this maybe the sports park thing discussed a while back?

God, aint checked this page in aaaaaaaaaaaages - good to see the Tithebarn project has moved on in the backroom area and also good to see some reclads happening on the uglier buildings.

I feel sorry for your bus station though - I wish they could remodel and slim down rather than demolish.

This is a sad day, ferge has owned me with his pics. Those are fantastic. I love the town hall tower shot.

preston_guy: I also saw the construction going on at the London Road Athletics track. Thank God for that. That massive eyesore will finally be gone. You know, in a way, this means that Riverworks is U/C ;)

http://img321.imageshack.us/img321/9069/foxst18td.jpg

App for Fox St apartments (about bloody time!!!)
7-storeys... thats 8-levels, 2 more than the origional plans! :D

Also an app for a 5-storey apartment block somewhere on Grimshaw Street.

Excellent! Those apartments were discussed aaaages ago. Thank God they're finally coming about. And decent height as well.

3rd tallest known proposal we have at the moment :P

hehe yeah that's true. I can't see there being any objections. That site looks gross it needs something 'big' to give it a lease of life.

I'm disappointed over the barristers' chambers being on hold because the firm pulled out. I hope they can find someone to take their place as that site is a real eyesore. I don't think the proposed building is that bad. It's a pretty small site so it's as good as it gets I suppose! It's weird, cos I emailed the construction firm last night asking when they'd be starting! Must be psychic...

The barristers chambers are on hold? Where did you find that out? Great shame. They spent ages getting it through the planning too :(

There were initially objections to the Fox Street scheme because the site is apparently site to an old burial ground. Everything was sorted though :) And the site at current is a total mess...

I thought I wasn't imagining it, I thought I'd heard about graves or a graveyard on Fox St! Yep, in tonight's LEP middle pages small piece of the barristers' chambers :( Seeing as they were due to have been constructed and inhabitated by around this time, something should have been sorted sooner. But it's got the planning permission so maybe another firm will have it

Oh well :( At least the site is still being well marketed. Somebody will come along eventually, better sooner than later :P

Interesting, if small article in tonights LEP saying that the Crystal House thing is going for approval on Monday. I think the chances of this going ahead are very good :)

Well, they've said it'd be too expensive to demolish and office space is out of the question so it will have to do! I'm not entirely convinced that it's the ideal place for people to live. But the tower will look nicer. I hope they can get a coffee shop or something to occupy the units facing the flag market as it looks a mess at the moment.

It would be cool if they had a cafe with a decked seating area on the roof of the podium looking over the Flag Market.

An email from JYM Partnership regarding the Barristers' Chambers:

Thank you for your mail. I appreciate your interest, however the project for the Barristers has now been abandoned due to circumstances beyond our control. Although we are now in discussions with other interested parties in order to fulfill the brief and construct the building as the original design.

So it should still go ahead :)

Thats good news then :) Thanks for that.

Look at this photo of Preston from the air in 1958 and how the TOWN centre looks bigger than the CITY centre we see today. God damn Ringway. It really makes you wonder what the HELL they were thinking when they built it. I hope it gets buried at some stage in the future.

http://img314.imageshack.us/img314/5826/prestonaerial1rj.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Image and a few others from: http://www.francisfrith.com/pageloader.asp?page=/search/viewphotos.asp&townid=35076&cid=50&partner=UK

Shows how that end of town was the busiest part before the Fishergate Centre was built. Excellent stuff. Prestonian is a bit of a Francis Frith fan I believe ;)

Well, quite a bit in the LEP tonight! First, the troubles at Centenary Mills which are pretty appauling. Here's these apartments that cost between 110,000 and 160,000 each and yet the residents experience leaking pipes, mould, botched plumbing and cupboards falling to pieces to name a few. This was Preston's chance to show it can compete with other cities in terms of luxury city centre living and it has failed. Let's just hope the problems are sorted soon and the people living there can say some positive things about the development...

The development on 70-74 Friargate got the go-ahead. It will be transformed into two small retail units on the ground and 16 apartments on the upper floors. There will be an 'urban garden' to the rear for the residents. This is the latest addition to the Friargate regeneration and is great news. One of the councilors said Friargate would make a neat little Chinatown-esque area. That is true, if it wasn't for Ringway...

And lastly, the Crystal House flat conversion has got the go-ahead. Unsurprisingly, it was met with mixed reactions. I really wish it had been demolished. But hey, you can't have everything. And it should look quite attractive once it's done. Just hope they start soon, construction workers in Preston seem to be the slowest on earth. Maybe the shop fronts overlooking the Flag Market (ie Pizza Hut etc) will get a facelift at some stage. There needs to be more 'upmarket' names in those units overlooking the 'historic flag market' - Home Bargain, Oxfam and Pizza Hut aren't exactly a good match are they?

Good news on Friargate and Crystal House. I know what you mean about the shops facing the Harris. They should put one of those big screens on the blank concrete wall above Pizza Hut and reclad the rest of those shops.
I'm guessing that Crystal House wont be called Crystal House anymore when the apartments get put in...

That's true, it does need a new name. People will always associate Crystal House with how it used to be and associated feelings of... hate and revulsion. Basically!

Here's the render from the LEP of Crystal House. Looks a bit plain...
http://img431.imageshack.us/img431/7158/crystal11ld.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

I prefer this which was turned down :( Would have looked good with the colour scheme of the approved one. Looks less plain
http://img431.imageshack.us/img431/1369/crystal25wu.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Is there a Virgin store in Crystal House now? or is that logo on the render a possible hint of something to come....


Francis Firth - truely excellent! ;)

Well, there really should be a Virgin Megastore in Preston. It is possible, as they've put Slaters up there as well which is already there and they usually just put "signage" or something if they don't know of any names. But it would probably be quite a small one unless they get some of the other retailers to move out.

I believe the unit directly beneath that Virgin sign is currently vacant, so maybe its going there.

I thought than rather speculate about a Virgin store in Preston, I'd contact them and here's the reply I got (e-mail):

Thank you for your e-mail.

In regards to your query, I can confirm that at present we have no plans to open a Virgin Megastore in Preston. We do update our store locater on our website when we have plans to open new stores, so it may well be an idea to keep an eye out over the coming year or so, although I cannot guarantee a store will be opened in that vicinity at any point.

So, apparantly it won't be happening just yet but hopefully at some stage. I mean, Manchester has about 4! I hope we get some news soon on possible retailers for the available retail space at Crystal House and some future ones for FG2 (don't forget, there's gonna be a new 4 storey department store there unless the plans have been changed) and and of course, Tithebarn.

Just reading through one of the regeneration pdf's re: riverworks

this one http://www.preston.gov.uk/Documents/02%20docklands.pdf infact

and look at this line "There is also a feasible opportunity for a landmark tall building at the head of the dock to the west of the waterspace."

cool eh! :)

@ Prestonian:
In the outline rendering for the docklands part of the Riverworks masterplan, there is a tall building shown at that location. Just in case you havnt seen:
http://www.tayloryoung.co.uk/images/urban_content_10_01.jpg
:)
Looks about 10-15 storeys. That is just the outline though, so maybe the finished product will be taller :D
Interesting article in tonights LEP about revamping Ashton Park on a large scale.

Thanks to LCC that tower will have a stunning view of a waste transfer station amongst other things. But otherwise it will be excellent. I can't wait to see some progess with the Riverworks development. There could be a swimming pool or ice skating place or some kind of leisure activities in that area, besides the watersports.

I've got my new camera now :D And it takes pics at night really good! (soooooooo much better than my last one!) I got this for you tonight:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/Accura/DSC00102.jpg
I'll be going around town on Monday afternoon to do a full photo thingy. Might go to the docks too. College finishes early so I'll get the bus in from Runshaw :)

Hi there, I am a newbie to the site, still trying to find my way around.
I am a student journalist at UCLAN, and have been given the task of creating a four page website that covers the redevelopment of Preston City Centre, in particular the Tithebarn project. Just realised how much is going on around the city! So, I was wondering a few things- firstly is the general consensus around here that the Tithebarn project is a good thing?

I'd like to make the website more focused on how this project is genuinely going to affect local people though, and I don't want to turn it into just another propaganda website to make the Duke of Westminster a bit more money, which (according to my lecturerer!) is all this project is. What are people's thoughts about that?

Finally, apparently this is all actually going to have to come out of the regular tax-payers pocket- ie you and (well i'm a tax dodging student, but one day I will be paying for things like this, and i'm not sure if i entirely approve!)
So what does everyone think that the general public will be funding a lot of this project, which will just help big business?

Thanks to anyone who writes back- I would be most grateful, and there are a few pints in it for anyone who would be willing to give an interview!? Sorry if any of this has offended any die hard Tithebarn fans, that is not my intention at all, i just want to present a balanced view of all this.

Kieran x

Hey Keeks,

I'm doing Architectural Technology at UCLAN, and in my departmental building (Harris) and the plans for the city regeneration are up in there.. I suppose it wouldn't do any harm to enquire for help or email a tutor from the Built Environment course, as I'm sure they're about to know something.

Good luck with the work!

hi ferge,

thanks, i'll send someone from there an email now! anyone else feel anything about this project- positive or negative? x x

We're all pretty positive about Tithebarn on this forum. Most of us feel that the current area is very bad for Preston, and badly needs regenerating for the Guild, for the city status and most importantly, for the people.
If you want to see some more 'mixed' views, there is a lot here:
http://www.pne-online.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=19140
As you have probably heard (living in Preston at the moment, its impossible not to), most of the 'no' camp dont like the fact that the bus station is demolished.
Personally I think the loss will be worth it. The only thing special about the bus station is that its a unique design. That doesnt stop it being ugly and bad at functioning.

Oh my God Keeks, this is an on-going battle at the moment. For reasons only God knows, many people are against Tithebarn prattling on that it's only about money in the Duke of Westminster's pocket etc but if that means we have an improved city centre, who cares? I drove past the Tithebarn area earlier today and it's such a depressing and badly under-utilised area. I personally can't wait for Tithebarn. It's not going to answer all our problems and turn Preston into a thriving city overnight, but it's the first step.

I found this while routing around. It's the company working for Grosvenor to help plan the redevelopment of the market area. The drawing looks real neat, hopefully the real thing will be similar!

http://www.marketsquared.co.uk/projects/preston.html

Nice find :) Its good to see them moving on with other aspects of the project too.

I'm gonna go to the planning office tomorrow to view the plans for the Fox Street flats (camera hidden in pocket of course ;) )

Few from tonight:

Not the greatest quality, but taken in dim light, from a moving car, at full zoom :P
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/Accura/DSC00204.jpg

This is the view of St Walburges from my room in Penwortham
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/Accura/DSC00190.jpg

Lowthian House has a hidden beauty, despite (IMO) being Preston's ugliest highrise
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/Accura/DSC00206.jpg

The pylon equivalent of Canary Wharf from my room :)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/Accura/DSC00191.jpg

hey thanks for all the info- and so quick too! x

Yes, we're very efficient like that :yes: :D

Having only started looking into the whole development of preston because of an assignment, I have to say it has now truly captured my attention! After looking at lots of plans and hearing both sides of debate, I can't believe there are people who don't want this! It sounds fantastic, and I am just disapointed I won't be here for most of it- I plan to get out of Preston as soon as I (hopefully) graduate. Have you been to manchester?! It poo's all over preston from a long way up. And the sad thing is, preston could have similar things, albeit on a smaller scale. Pity there are so many people living in the past and not willing to embrace change!

x x

People are always comparing Preston to Manchester/Liverpool Keeks and it's one of the dumbest comparisons but if it makes Manchester looks better, good for them! I'm quite happy for Preston to just be Preston in it's own unique little way. I understand what you're saying though and you're right, Preston could have a lot more. But it's early days yet. I'm always saying this but it's only been a 'city' for 3 years so it'll be a while before we can offer some of the things the big boys can.

I went to the planning office today to view the plans for the Fox Street masterplan. There wernt any proper rederings, just drawings, and I couldnt take any pics this time cos I had to view the plans in the reception area. I have a few names and contacts from the plans which I wrote down, so I should hopefully have something for you soon.
I can say that I was very impressed with what I saw. This scheme is gonna be absolutely huge ;)
Harris with its tree up. It appears that the flag market will be the site of the new bus station :laugh:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/Accura/DSC00225.jpg

Moor Lane update
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/Accura/DSC00214.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/Accura/DSC00210.jpg

Tell us more about Fox St!! lol what kind of design is the building? anyhoo, cool pics. I drove past Moor Lane last night and it's moving along very quickly which is great to see.

Is Moor Street city apartments?

Whoa! I used to work in that blue BT building! I only left in April and there's half a new building there already.

Welcome to the thread Tuesday, work has pressed on quite quickly on Moor Lane. Do you know if the BT Building will be demolished? Any insider gossip? Go ooooon lol

@ Prestonian:
In the outline rendering for the docklands part of the Riverworks masterplan, there is a tall building shown at that location. Just in case you havnt seen:
http://www.tayloryoung.co.uk/images/urban_content_10_01.jpg
:)
Looks about 10-15 storeys. That is just the outline though, so maybe the finished product will be taller :D
Interesting article in tonights LEP about revamping Ashton Park on a large scale.

Accy, what is that water called? Is one bit the River Ribble, and the other water is called what? Is it a dock or canal or a diversion of the river or what?

I can't help but think that with filtering and solar-powered heating there is a city beach just waiting to be made, as in my Urban Eden idea earlier. What is the approximate depth and flow and nature of those water courses? What is the quality of the water? Is it full of poo from other towns, or nice and clean? My dream for Preston is not dead. My only requirement is that people do not deliberately piss in the Eden Beach water, it will be treated to discolour (purple?)and fizz should anyone urinate in it.

Tell us more about Fox St!! lol what kind of design is the building? anyhoo, cool pics. I drove past Moor Lane last night and it's moving along very quickly which is great to see.
The the building is gonna be clad in wood, terracotta and aluminium, with stainless steel balcony's. There are going to be two retail units facing onto the ringway and one onto Fox Street. The old motorbike shop is going to be demolished, and the building will extend right along from the little church thing to the Garside Waddingham Building. In the middle of the development will be a big public sqaure with all three retail units facing onto it and a fountain thing in the middle. It also looks like there will be a new access created from that square onto Fishergate, so it'll probably end up being pretty busy :) I imagine it will also be a popular throughfare for people who usually have to walk from Corporation St and then up Lune St.

Accy, what is that water called? Is one bit the River Ribble, and the other water is called what? Is it a dock or canal or a diversion of the river or what?
Its the Albert Edward Dock, one of the largest single inland dock basin in Europe. The Ribble passes the dock, you can see it near the top of the picture. The depth of the Ribble varies with the tide, but part of that plan you posted is to install a barrage which will make the water level deep all the time so its better for boaters and watersports. The quality of the water in the dock isnt great at the moment, its full of algae. It is however currently being cleaned by Mersey Basins, so it should be algae free in a couple of years :)
The water quality of the Ribble isnt too bad. There are no other major towns further up on the Ribble. Just the rural Ribble Valley, and then the even more rural Pennines.

Welcome to the thread Tuesday, work has pressed on quite quickly on Moor Lane. Do you know if the BT Building will be demolished? Any insider gossip? Go ooooon lol
There was talk early last year of BT moving out of that building and into a new building on the docks. I'm not sure what happened with that though.

Whoa! I used to work in that blue BT building! I only left in April and there's half a new building there already.
Ahh well... I got this for you today:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/Accura/DSC00211.jpg
Doesnt look as nice from the back does it :P I quite like it from the front. When you go nearer to it, only then do you realise how big it is. It looks tiny from a distance.

Is Moor Street city apartments?
Yes dinp, the Moor Lane apartments are in the University Quarter, probably the fastest changing part of the city centre
Few more Uni Quarter pics:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/Accura/DSC00216.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/Accura/DSC00220.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/Accura/DSC00219.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/Accura/DSC00217.jpg

Speaking of Moor Lane, that crappy 3-storey block of flats on Lawson Street is being demolished. I wonder what could be going there...
There is only one project I know of on Lawson Street, and its 8-storeys ;)
Fingers crossed :D

Thanks for the updates Accura, everything sounds great. The pics are good, too. I don't know if I've said before but my dad works for PCC (not anything to do with planning, though) but he heard a little bird say all those REVOLTING flats down North Road have asbestos in and are likely to be demolished at some stage or other... He actually thinks they don't but the council will use that as an excuse. Good on them!

The BT building isn't that bad I suppose! Maybe it could be developed and bought by the uni, they are running out of space now and will soon have to build up instead of out. Still I'd sooner see it demolished! The location is a bit daft but I guess it didn't look as bad next to Moor Lane flats.

The Fox St. apartments sound great. I like the idea of a new courtyard and pedestrian links to Fishergate.

FG2 has taken a hell of a lot longer than I expected to get off the ground. Laing O'Rourke obviously don't see it as a major development, it's not even included on their website!

Where is the new bus station going exactly? I seem to keep hearing different things!

^The new bus station is definitely going on the site on the corner of Manchester Road and Church Street.

Nice stuff about North Road preston_guy, its a dump at the moment.

Cheers! x x

Good news people :)
I have been conversing with a source over the past few days about the new Performing Arts Centre at UCLan we first heard about several months ago.
Here is what I know:
-It will cost £12m
-It is supposed to be next to the Victoria Building near the SU
-Funding has been secured :D
-Renders are due to be released in the next few weeks :)

Good news eh? ;)

Also there has been a slight update to www.fg2.co.uk
Construction dates have indeed been changed and we will find out when at the beginning of 2006. The info is on the scrolling thing at the bottom right hand corner of the first page.

accura, i wonder if you could tell me the outstanding project in preston, lowrise that is. i think i want to write about one, which would you recommend :)

Great news about the Uni building Accura. Looking forward to the renders. There's just no stopping Uclan, it's expanding at a crazy pace. It desperately needs a performing arts place though, so this is excellent.

I noticed that thing about FG2 a while ago I suppose they left it til the New Year so christmas shoppers wouldn't be put off? No word about retailers who'll be occupying it though. Am I correct in thinking there'll be a new department store?

Definitely Tithebarn or Riverworks :yes:
Tithebarn £500m
Riverworks £800m

can you post a link in here to the page with them on and ill take a nosy and see what else i can find from there.

Riverworks
Council's page on it. Contains a few pdf's
http://www.preston.gov.uk/News.asp?id=SXF476-A78037C7

Architects site, contains a sketch and a layout plan
http://www.tayloryoung.co.uk/urban_content_10.asp


Tithebarn
Terry Farrell's page on it
http://www.terryfarrell.co.uk/projects/mixing/mix_tithebarn.html

Council's, probably contains the most extensive
http://www.preston.gov.uk/Category.asp?cat=767

Grosvenor also have a page on it, but their site is Flash so I cant give a direct link. There is also loads of stuff on the net about Tithebarn.

brilliant stuff, ill pick something off there to write about when its a quiet news day

Businesses will be bulldozed if the council gives the go-ahead for a £30m gateway to the city.

Staples, Maplins, and Sleepmasters are on the hit-list to make way for a building on the corner of Ring Way and Corporation Street, which could become the city's biggest office block.
The entire development, stretching 150,000 sq ft, would be able to cater for up to 1,000 workers and could tower up to eight storeys high.
The exact use of the building has yet to be decided, but offices, apartments and a hotel have all been suggested.

Praise God! lol I hate that area. Those businesses could be shipped over to the retail parks (ie Deepdale when/if it is expanded) and make way for proper city centre shops. Though it may be mostly offices. Would be a good place for a hotel so close to the train station and a great public square. I am so happy this could finally be happening. If Ringway is developed around properly, it could act as a seam to bring the two sides of the city centre together. Hopefully Aldi/Blockbuster will be next on the hit list ;) The article says there is a great deal of demand for office space in the city centre but we obviously don't have the space cos of crappy warehouses such as Sleepmaster. This is great news anyway and it's early days but with a bit of luck, it will get the go-ahead. Another 30 million... How much investment have we got at the moment?

That's good news its a dump round there

Good stuff, some nice developments going on in Preston, more going on there than in Hull and Wolverhampton anyway, I'll have to visit sometime. :)

We look forward to having you Brighton boy! Some great things going on in your area, too. Some of the developments down there are really excellent :yes:

Welcome to the thread Northender, what's your view on Tithebarn Project? Anything in particular you wanna see happening in Preston? Apart from some actual construction! :nuts:

Tithebarn is a good thing I think. The Church Street area is a complete shithole. I want the Queen's retail park scheme to go ahead as that will probably have a greater effect in expanding the city centre, or at least parts that will be used by people. Theres lots i want to see done in Preston as i think that it would be able to cope with large scale redevelopment in many quarters

I also hate the ring road and think that the dockland area is a complete waste of a prime site. especially that totalfinaelf refinery. Stinks

I also hate the ring road and think that the dockland area is a complete waste of a prime site. especially that totalfinaelf refinery. Stinks

Lol, Sheffield has an Incinerator on its main 'gateway' into the city. Lovely.

I read about the new 30million scheme.. sounds good and across the road from me, maybe I should put in a good word :P :) Seems wherever I live they go and build next to, could I be a good luck charm for you Prestonians? ;)

Heres some more pics from today, to compile with my pics from a few weeks ago.. This is some campus shots mainly, Expect to see my Greatest Hits Collection on the Skyline threads soon, lol..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v224/ferge1985/IMAG0019.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v224/ferge1985/IMAG0044a.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v224/ferge1985/IMAG0012.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v224/ferge1985/IMAG0027.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v224/ferge1985/IMAG0032.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v224/ferge1985/imag0047.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v224/ferge1985/IMAG0048.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v224/ferge1985/IMAG0056.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v224/ferge1985/IMAG0070.jpg

As always, more soon :)

You've made some good points Northender! Pretty much echoes what most of us think in here. I hate Ringway with a passion. I'd like to see it buried but that would be too expensive so building around it seems the only option.

The Queens Retail Park scheme has submitted planning applications so we should hear something soon... It is a great scheme and I hope it gets the go-ahead. I hope they don't just stick up more apartments (the alternative plan to the tower) as in a few years when there should be more demand for offices etc, there won't be anywhere to put them because they're slapping apartments all over the place!

Riverworks will be great for the docks and the whole area. Just hope funding can be secured and things get moving. Too much talk and no action at the moment!

Anyway, here's the pic from the LEP tonight. This is only a small one but it gives you an idea of what it will look like

http://img274.imageshack.us/img274/9757/img0086cb.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Great pics Ferge, that must be a great camera you have! You even managed to make the BT building look quite acceptable somehow!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v224/ferge1985/IMAG0070.jpg
Fucking showoff!
Absolutely fantastic pics ferge :)

Great news on the Corporation Street office scheme. 8-storeys of offices... that would be pretty high :) Its also fairly ironic as the building getting demolished is the one liverpolitan said blighted one of ferge's origional pics. The current buildings are an eyesore so good riddance. I also hope that it will lead to a greater interest in this building adjacent to the site:
http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/8569/prestoncorpst10ip.jpg
Its could be fantastic and has got good business potential with all the students in the area.

@ Northender...
With your reference to Church Street, there is absolutely TONNES planned for the street. There is at least a dozen different apartment schemes planned down there, the masterplan you mentioned for Queens Retail Park which would create a public square on Church Street, the buildings in Tithebarn facing onto the road, Church Street is currently in a campaign to become a BID which would basically create a new CBD down there, plus they are also building the new bus station down there. That street has got a lot going for it in the future :cool:

Two new planning applications. Both including hotels. Seems to be a bit of a hotel explosion at the moment, which is good to see.

This one sounds good:
http://img455.imageshack.us/img455/65/guildhallappl4kz.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

And ANOTHER one near Ferge. Must be some kind of agreement he has going with developers...
http://img455.imageshack.us/img455/3364/marshapp0jt.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

That first one in guildhall st appears to be where fives is now and thats just outside the tithebarn area.
Iths one of the first roads off fishergate.

This new scheme isn't to my liking, It could be a lot better than some brick thing like this, considering they want to market it as a 'gateway proposal'.. Although I can't believe the nimby comeback was 'The area is 'modern' enough as it is'..Pfft, Utter arseholes they are.

I know it's not quite what I imagined. I pictured a big building with a cool corner feature! Maybe they should employ some of us instead. But it's only a small render and early days. A bit more glass would be good ;) Bricks are sooo last century lol

This new scheme isn't to my liking, It could be a lot better than some brick thing like this, considering they want to market it as a 'gateway proposal'.. Although I can't believe the nimby comeback was 'The area is 'modern' enough as it is'..Pfft, Utter arseholes they are.
We will almost definitely see a design change. These plans are far from finalised, and remember the architects who are doing this are the same who are doing Royal Locks, which also saw a massive design change. And going by the quality of Royal Locks, I have a lot of faith in the architects for this.

Great news on these new 7-storey hotels!

Here's an article I found on the Citizen's website:

£315m plan for commercial quarter in city

"A £315million commercial quarter could be built in the heart of Preston, the Citizen can reveal.

City chiefs said much of the city's office space is out-of-date, and a dedicated business district with new office blocks is vital if the business and information technology demands of the 21st century are to be met.

Although the location is yet to be decided, Nicola Turner, city vision manager, said areas within or on the perimeter of Ringway were being looked at.

She said: "A lot of the city centre office space was built in the 1960s or earlier, and it tends not to be of the quality or condition that is appropriate for current office use."

The demand for a business district was identified by GVA Grimley, a consultancy firm, that produced a report on regeneration for the city council earlier this year.

A developers forum is to be held in the next year to gauge the potential interest.

Mark Clarkson, of Eckersley, a commercial property consultancy based in Starkie Street, agreed with the need for commercial quarter but reckoned its success would depend on its location.

"Where is there in Preston that you could clear away a site? There are developers actively looking for sites at the moment," he said.

He said Winckley Square used to be a business district but had becoming more a residential area in recent years.

And he added: "Car parking in the city centre is the main problem which needs to be addressed."

The plans have the backing of the city council.

Councillor Veronica Afrin, cabinet member for regeneration, said: "Business brings a lot of people into the city each day and it's important that we do upgrade."

She rejected claims that the city's economy could not support such a district.

"We already do well selling Preston as an attractive location. As long as we get the residential, leisure, and business balance right, as well as the traffic right, we will achieve what we want," she added.

The plan forms part of Preston's strategy to become the third city of the North West by 2012.

The strategy also includes the £450m Tithebarn regeneration project to build new shops, a department store, homes, and restaurants in the city centre by 2011. An agreement, to build the project, was signed by city council and developers, Grosvenor, last month.

Another part of the third city vision is to develop the use of the River Ribble under the £800m Riverworks project that would see the creation of hundreds of new homes along the river's edge.

If investors can been found, building work could start within a couple of years."


Car parking is a major problem. With the bus station being demolished, they could have made a huge underground car park. As long as it was well designed, well lit and with plenty of security to staff it, why not?

This sounds pretty exciting. £350m is a lot. The ideal place for a new CBD where there could be lots of land cleared is the area on the immediate north side of the Ringway, in between County Hall and Lawson Street. There is already quite a bit of open space there, and lots of crappy buildings waiting to be demolished. And they can demolish Lowthian House while they're at it too.

Yes, that area is in such a poor state. And as the police station should be moving, that vile building can be demolished. And all those crummy places like Kwik Fit. My sister's boyfriend works at Kwik Fit, he says their lease up and they have to move... so demolition looks like it's on the cards :)

As for Lowthian House, I've decided I hate it! It just looks dumb, in an awful location (overlooking a listed Victorian market? lol) and casts a shadow over the area. Plus, it's been empty for so long. Just get rid!

flurry of news items while i've been away. Great news with regard to the whole Maplin area, there are loads of awful buildings around there that I wouldn't be sad to see go. The only thing i'd keep is Giacomos pizzas, easy the best takeaway for miles :). That site is great, they could front onto/link with Friargate (demolishing Walmsleys). It's also huge, if you take account of the car park, and well located. I actually thought a while back that it would make a good location for the bus station, esp given its access to ringway...

@ Ferge, excellent pics :)

@ Gothic, a slow news day news item would be lovely and even more so a quiet word in Farrells ear for tithebarn renders ;)

All I want for christmas is some Tithebarn renders please :) lol

When you look at the tithebarn masterplan pdf on the council's website has anyone else noticed that section 6 is missing. I think that section is entitled streetscapes or something. Does that mean there might be some sooner rather than later?