£18m regeneration vision gets a coffee break
AN addition to the ambitious £18m regeneration of Preston’s Friargate has been given the go-ahead by city planners.
They have approved a move to demolish an old electricity sub-station on Great Shaw Street and build in its place a modern new retail unit.
The plans were submitted by Portergate Developments and the new building on the site, on the corner of Friargate, will become part of the stylish mixed-used regeneration project that is fast emerging in the historic part of the city.
The transformation of the strategic 1.5-acre site is already delivering three new retail premises and a 244-bedroomed building providing boutique hotel-style accommodation aimed at local students and employees of Preston’s high-tech manufacturing sector and new Enterprise Zone.
This latest new single-storey retail unit has been earmarked as a coffee shop and takeaway serving Friargate’s new community. Work to demolish the existing building will begin shortly.
Portergate’s chairman Anthony Jackson is delighted with the overall progress being made on the site and the increased investment that is now being seen in the area.
He said: “Our development work is really gathering pace and people can see the stylish, modern building that is coming out of the ground.
“The new retail unit that we’ve been given the go-ahead will be a welcome addition to the development, serving the people who will make this their home, and it has been designed very much in keeping with the overall look and feel of the main building.”
Portergate’s retail and apartment complex has been designed around open garden areas while being conveniently located in the heart of the city, only a short walk from the University of Central Lancashire and on the edge of the University Quarter.
Portergate, which already offers hotel-class student accommodation in Salford, has plans to roll its luxury accommodation concept out across the North West of England.
The first phase of the Friargate development, which is being built by Preston-based construction company The Eric Wright Group, is scheduled for completion later this year – with the new apartments available at the start of the next academic year.
