The city of Preston is undergoing a period of major change and investment as it positions itself as the 3rd City of the North West by 2012. The delivery of this 3rd city vision is underpinned by a number of transformational projects that will support the growth of the city and its economy to ensure it continues to perform above national and regional averages.

One of the other key projects identified to deliver the 3rd city vision is the development of a Central Business District (CBD). This will provide new, high quality office space to meet the requirements of both new and existing businesses. This modern office space will be of particular importance to the city council's aim of securing public sector relocations to Preston. The commercial office space will be supported by complementary mixed uses and will be centrally located in order to integrate the CBD into the wider city centre.

Context

The rationale for the CBD comes from a number of recent studies, which can be downloaded at the bottom of this page:

• Preston Economic Regeneration Strategy and Prioritised Action Plan – 2005;
• Central Lancashire City Region : Office Needs Assessment – 2006;
• Preston City Centre CBD Master plan – 2007/8

All of these studies have highlighted the need for new office provision to be developed in Preston city centre and, in addition, the city centre has been identified by the North West Regional Development Agency (NWDA) and Lancashire Economic Partnership (LEP) as a strategic priority for the development of high quality sites of regional importance.

National, regional and local plan policies also support the delivery of new high quality office accommodation in the location. The adopted North West Plan sets the spatial planning framework for the region and identifies the main development locations across the North West. Preston, along with Blackburn, Blackpool and Burnley, is identified for development within the Central Lancashire city region and delivery of the CBD is seen as being an integral part of Preston City Vision projects which will raise economic performance across the city region.

Preston is also included within the Central Lancashire and Blackpool Growth Point, where the rate of house building, including affordable housing. will be accelerated.  Funding for the Central Lancashire area in the New Growth Point programme was announced in December 2008.

Preston profile

Preston has a population of over 130,000 and also serves a hinterland with a population of 400,000 within 30 minutes travelling distance of the city:

• 20,000 people commute into the city each day
• It is home to 90,000 jobs and 35,000 students at the University of Central Lancashire 
• As a measure of productivity, Preston is above regional average and more closely aligned with national growth rates
• Preston acts as the ‘hub’ or gateway into the sub-region and is recognised as the heart of Central Lancashire city-region under the Northern Way
• It is an engine of economic growth for Lancashire, with the potential to act as a major stimulus for wider regional regeneration
• Preston is well located and well connected; it is close to where the M6/M61/M55 and M65 converge; it is also served by the West Coast Mainline connecting Preston with Glasgow and London, and Liverpool and Manchester airports are within an hour’s drive
• Preston has the largest economy in Lancashire, 11th biggest in the North West and is ranked 83 out of 408 local area districts in Great Britain.

Designated area

The Central Business District (CBD) has been identified as the preferred location by the city council for over 700,000 sq ft of new grade A office development in Preston. It occupies a strategic location within Preston city centre between the West Coast main line railway station and the University of Central Lancashire.

The CBD is centred on the four corners of the city centres pivotal axis point at the junction of the A59 and Corporation Street. This junction is the gateway into the city centre for main destinations such as the railway station, the university and existing retail and commercial areas.

Further growth of the CBD northwards to connect with the university is envisage thus creating a physical link between the academic and business communities for the enhancement of both.

Place making/public realm

An integral part of the growth strategy for the city centre is a planned programme of major improvements in public realm funded jointly with the North West Development Agency and Lancashire County Council. This includes a major upgrading of the A59 / Corporation Street junction to improve the pedestrian connectivity of the CBD to the city centre, the University and the Main Line Railway Station.

Improvements to the highway network will also provide enhanced vehicular access for parking and servicing of sites within the CBD.

Site details

Further information on sites within the CBD is available using the links below:

Site 1 - Corporation Street / Railway Station

Site 2 - Corporation Street - Aldi / In-store / Block Buster

Site 3 - Fox Street / Corporation Street

Site 4 - Corporation Street / Hill Street

Site 5 - Hill Street

Document links

Document downloads	File Size
Adobe Acrobat Reader is available FREE of charge. You can download it directly from Adobe's website by clicking the link to the right. Once on Adobe's website, follow the instructions on screen to install the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Preston Economic Regeneration Strategy 2005 (PDF)	1.3MB
Central Lancashire City Region: Office Needs Assessment 2006 (PDF)	5.7MB
CBD Masterplan 2007 (PDF)	2.3MB