Eric Wright starts on £9m Amounderness House revamp

The 1857 police station turned magistrates court will become a flexible workspace in June 2027 after sitting vacant for three decades.

Maple Grove Developments, the development arm of Eric Wright Group, is delivering the Amounderness House project for Preston City Council.

The £9m scheme was designed by FWP Architects and will see the grade two-listed building be converted into 26 offices and four studios, with meeting and event spaces. Preston-based Wrkspace will be the 14,700 sq ft facility’s operator.

MGD’s sister company, Eric Wright Construction, is the main contractor and has commenced enabling works on the site.

“With our spades in the ground, MGD is proud to be part of the team bringing forward the restoration and refurbishment of this part of Preston’s history into high quality managed workspace, complementing the wider regeneration of the Harris Quarter,” said Nick Hague, project director at MGD.

“Delivery of this managed workspace will play a key role in supporting the further economic growth of central Preston with more opportunities for up-and-coming local businesses,” he added.

Preston City Council Cllr Valerie Wise, the cabinet member for community wealth building, said: “The start of work on site makes our plans to breathe new life into this treasured building a reality.

“We believe that Amounderness House will play a major role in supporting the growth of innovative local businesses by providing them with a tailor-made city centre hub.”

In addition to FWP, the project team for Amounderness House includes S&L Planning Consultants, SCP Transport, Cowburn-Watson Box, E3P, Graham Schofield Associates, TRP Consulting, and Eden Heritage.

You can learn more about the project by searching reference 06/2025/0086 on Preston City Council’s planning portal.

Amounderness House is part of the city council’s wider £200m Harris Quarter Towns Fund Investment Programme, which received £20.9m from the government’s Towns Fund in 2021. Other projects include the £45m Animate leisure complex, which reached practical completion last year, and the Preston Youth Zone, which is under construction.