College to hold public consultation

Preston College is holding a public consultation on Wednesday 11 May to discuss plans for its existing Park Campus site in Moor Park Avenue.

Lis Smith, principal and chief executive at Preston College, John Brooks, director of planning for DTZ, and James Hyde from architects Taylor Young will be in attendance to discuss the proposals.

Miller Construction is currently on site at a £5m development at Preston College's Fulwood Campus site on St Vincent's Road.

DTZ advised the college to help secure full planning permission for the two-storey development on its behalf, which was designed by Taylor Young.

Brooks told Place: "The new Fulwood Campus was granted full planning at the start of the year which involves a new building, known as the Creative Solution, being built for the dance and performing arts school.

"The dance and performing arts school is currently based at Park Campus and Preston College wants to close the site and sell the land and the sale proceeds will go towards funding the Fulwood Campus and bring two sites into one.

"Park Campus consists of three buildings built in the 1990s on a two-acre site and we want to discuss redevelopment proposals with local residents and have already written to 250 residents in the area.

"We want to explain the current thinking ahead of a planning application being submitted for the college buildings to be used for residential use. We are proposing 30 residential units and are aiming to have the plans submitted in a matter of weeks, around the end of the month or early June."

"Local knowledge will bring something to the plans and holding a consultation always helps."

Brooks added that the site will be put to the market subject to planning approval.

The public consultation is being held at Preston College's Park Campus between 3pm and 7pm.