City centre primed for housing

PRESTON city centre is primed for the development of more than 750 new homes, after being designated a national housing zone.

Backed by £165,000 of Government funding, work will now begin on bringing empty buildings and ‘brownfield’ sites back into use for housing.

Linked with the ambitious £450m Preston, South Ribble and Lancashire City Deal, the new housing zone status will help transform city living in Preston.

Preston City Council leader Cllr Peter Rankin said: “This is another major boost for Preston.  It’s about promoting development and encouraging city living right in the heart of Preston.  Our focus is on re-developing empty buildings and also bringing brownfield sites back into use.

“What we are saying to the investment and development community is there is a marvellous opportunity here.  Preston is a great place to live with excellent communication and transport links, beautiful parks, a thriving university, world-class businesses and a growing economy.

“There’s also a real hunger and appetite for development in the city centre, so all the ingredients are there to take forward the development of city living in Preston.”

Lancashire County Council leader Cllr Jennifer Mein added: “There is high demand for housing in Preston and across Lancashire.  It’s vital that we support and enable the growth of sustainable and well-connected local communities.

“More people living in and around the city centre in turn will create greater demand for retail, leisure and restaurants. We want Preston to capitalise on this.”

The City Deal will help to create more than 20,000 new private sector jobs and see over 17,000 new homes built across Preston and South Ribble, as well as new school places, open green spaces and new health provision to cater for the growing population.

Jim Carter, Chair of the City Deal and Lancashire Economic Partnership board member, added: “Developer interest in Preston is increasing and this move to Housing Zone status is a key step forward.  I am optimistic that it will stimulate a response from the market.

“The City Deal will unlock the economic potential of the area. We’re putting infrastructure in place to provide the new roads that are needed across Central Lancashire. This will help people to get around, helping them to access new jobs and opportunities.”

The City Deal is an agreement between the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership and Preston City Council, South Ribble Borough Council and Lancashire County Council, along with central government and the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA).