Preston signs off 400 homes, youth zone
After a productive city council planning meeting, the way has been cleared for a 19-storey apartment block in the city, as well as for 280 houses and a long-anticipated youth centre.
The decisions were made at Preston City Council’s planning committee meeting on Thursday. All of the votes were in line with officer recommendation. Here’s a bit more on each of the approved schemes.
120 apartments in Adelphi Quarter
Portergate found success with its plans to build a 19-storey apartment block on land by the junction of Moor Lane and Walker Street in Preston’s Adelphi Quarter.
The residential block will be known as Moor House and will range from five-storeys to 19. The smaller section will have 36 apartments, with the hexagonal tower – designed by Buttress – having the remaining 84 apartments.
Of the 120 flats proposed, 16 will be one-bedroom flats and 104 two-bedroom ones. None of the apartments are to be designated as affordable rent.
In addition to the living spaces, Moor House will provide residents with a roof terrace and ground-floor lounge. There will also be space to store 120 cycles. No parking spaces are included.
Buttress designed Moor House for Portergate. Buttress director Andy Avery voiced his pleasure regarding Preston City Council’s decision to approve the project.
“The proposals will form a significant part of the University Square development providing a landmark building as well as creating quality new homes for the people of Preston,” Avery said.
“We are also pleased with the level of public realm improvements surrounding the scheme.”
In addition to Buttress, the project team includes Ridge and Partners, The Environment Partnership, and Martin Planning. Virtual Planit is the CGI artist behind the scheme.
Search 06/2023/0091 on Preston City Council’s planning portal to learn more about the project.
Officers had recommended that Bloor Homes’ plans for 280 houses be approved. Credit: via planning documents
280 houses in Lee
Bloor Homes has the green light to build 280 houses on 36 acres of former farmland off Riversway in Lea.
The approval of Bloor’s reserved matters application at Thursday’s planning committee meeting builds upon an outline planning approval from January 2021 for the same number of homes.
The houses are to be a mix of detached, semi-detached, maisonettes, and terraced houses. Most of the houses are set to have four bedrooms, but there will also be three-bedroom homes and two-bedroom ones built.
There will be variations in the way the houses look, with 19 house types proposed.
Affordable homes provision is also included in the project, with 84 houses set to have that designation. Among them will be 14 maisonettes, 36 two-bedroom houses, and 34 three-bedroom ones.
Nearly 15 acres of public open space are set to be included in the Bloor neighbourhood as well.
Savills is the planner behind the project and Escape Urbanists is the architect. The project team also includes Tyler Grange and Eddisons.
You can learn more about the application by searching reference number 06/2022/1177 on Preston City Council’s planning portal.
John Puttick Associates designed the Preston Youth Zone. Credit: Elephant Visual
Preston Youth Zone
OnSide is now eyeing a 2025 opening date for its Preston Youth Zone, now that the city council has granted the project planning permission.
When it opens on the corner of Crooked Lane and Tithebarn Street in Preston, the Preston Youth Zone will boast a four-court sports hall, martial arts room, built-in recording studio, climbing wall, dance studio, arts and crafts zone, and a mentoring kitchen. The facilities will be for members between the ages of eight and 19, as well as those up to 25 who have additional needs. Membership will be £5 for the year.
National charity OnSide has been working on the project for years, alongside Preston City Council and the Preston Towns Fund Board. Funds for the scheme will come from the council, Towns Fund, and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport’s Youth Investment Fund – as well as private donations.
Guy Topping, Preston Youth Zone Chair said: “This is an important milestone in the Preston Youth Zone journey and exciting news for young people living in Preston and beyond.
Topping continued: “Preston Youth Zone is a local, inspirational charity that will provide thousands of young people with access to activities, opportunities, and support from trusted youth workers. So much hard work has gone into getting us to this point and I want to thank everybody who has helped make this dream a reality”.
Preston City Council’s cabinet member for health and wellbeing, Cllr Jennifer Mein, said: “The Youth Zone will play an important role in building community cohesion and providing our young people with access to vital support services that’ll help with mental health and general wellbeing.
“In addition, it’ll also ensure our young people remain fit and healthy. It’ll give them access to a wide range of sporting activities that are shown to help bring people together. Its impact will be far-ranging.”
John Puttick Associates designed the Preston Youth Zone. Ramboll, Walker Sime, Hurstwood Environmental, Clarke Banks, and SK Transport Planning are also on the project team.
You can learn more about the Preston Youth Zone plans by searching 06/2022/1378 on Preston City Council’s planning portal.
