A slideshow showing images related to both the Preston Car Parks problem article and the Future of Preston article.

The Future of Preston

With several redevelopment projects in the pipeline, the future for Preston looks bright. Not everyone however is impressed by the current plans to improve the City Centre and Preston as a whole.

Preston became a city in the year 2000. Since then several development projects have been announced as authorities try to turn Preston into a place which truly reflects its newly acquired city status.

The Tithebarn project, set to be finished in 2014, is the most high profile current regeneration project. It will cost £700m and will see the regeneration of a large, rundown area of the Town Centre.

Other projects include a plan to rebuild Preston Bus Station in a new location, a proposal for regeneration in a rundown area to be known as the Horrockses Quarter , a new development by the River Ribble and the Avenham Car Park development.

I talked to some of the shoppers, business owners and shop employees in the Town Centre and asked their thoughts and opinions relating to the future of Preston.

Francesca Jackson, 20, from Ribbleton said, “I don’t think things like the Tithebarn project will make a difference. The People of Preston are past caring anyway.

“They’ve been promised it for so long. It was meant to go ahead in 2003, then 2005; were still waiting and nothing’s happened.”

Margaret Booth, 42, also from Ribbleton said, “I think they get their priorities wrong, we need more hospitals and more facilities for old people.

“We already have a couple of shopping centres and that’s enough.”

Other people were more positive on the subject of the developments. David Rhodes, 67, a City Centre Jeweller from Fulwood said “Any development is good for Preston. Preston already has a good name in Lancashire and new developments can make it even better.

The new bus station development will be built on a site at the junction of Manchester Road and Church Street. The new Station would have 27 terminals rather than the current 33.

Rebecca Prike, 30, from Bamber Bridge couldn’t see how the new plans for the Station would work. She said, “They will be drawing too much traffic on to Church Street which leads onto Fishergate.”

I also asked people whether they thought that car parking in Preston could be improved.

I asked Mr Rhodes about this and he said “If they could improve the parking facilities it would be much better. They also need to reduce the cost so it’s not so expensive that it frightens people off.

Douglas Dackhouse, 41, works as a Lawyer in Preston but lives in Lancaster he said, “I think Preston is the same as many other places and certainly in Lancashire where I come from we have a car-parking problem.”

Having seen how full of people Fishergate can be I wondered whether people think Fishergate should be pedestrianised. Almost everyone thought it should.

Lyn Hartley, 45, from Wigan said “it would be a very good idea to pedestrianise Fishergate. Some Café pavements maybe would be good, a bit like Manchester.”

I asked Rebecca Prike this and she said “Yes, why not. There’s other ways to get to Penwortham so there’s no real need to have Fishergate open to traffic.”

The Problems of Car Parking in Preston

Residents in Avenham are against the building of a new shopping and apartment complex on Avenham car park, according to a local news agent.

Taru Bhakta, co-owner of Dips News on Avenham Lane said there is already a shortage of car-parking spaces for Avenham residents and this will make it worse.

The project planned by Local developer Salya Homes will create over 300 new apartments and 13 shops.

But 600 car parking spaces would be lost – stretching Preston's already clogged parking to the limit.

Mrs Bhakta a long-time resident of the Avenham area said that both business men and shoppers park in the area leaving no spaces left for actual residents.

She said, “People I know, who come in the shop, are really fed up. Often people are having to park far away from their homes.

“Most people around here cannot believe that the council are reducing the number of car-parking spaces when they should be making more; they’re getting their priorities wrong.

“Councillors should be making sure there is ample parking space for us rather than focusing all their attention on new regeneration projects.”

Mrs Bhakta thinks that the problems with parking in the Town Centre could be eased if more effort was put into park and ride schemes.

“If more people used the park and ride then it would reduce congestion and maybe reduce the number of Town Centre visitors who park in residential areas.”

“The problem with it now is the cost of busses. To take the bus from near the park and ride to the Town Centre costs £2.30.”

“It’s no wonder people don’t use public transport. Prices like this make it cheaper to run a car.”

Mrs Bhakta however does not think a congestion charge for Preston would be good for the city.

“Unless they had a special pass for people like me, if I went to pick up my son, as I often do, I would charged. This would be terrible for us and for most people who live around the Town Centre.

“It may also cause me to lose passing trade. If that happened I would lose my usual morning and evening trade.”

In Mrs Bhakta’s experience Preston is not a car friendly place.

“It’s hard to navigate around Preston. I find it difficult when people ask me directions to the Town centre, even though it’s so close.

Despite being against the Avenham development Mrs Bhakta is in favour of new Preston regeneration in principle.

“I think Preston should be made to look as nice as possible and be made up to date.

“Customers often comment on new projects they’ve read about in the LEP. Most things I hear are positive; they are glad that effort is being made to improve their city.

“They have done a lot of improvement already, for instance in the park and on some of the buildings in this area. Regenerations and developments can be good and bad.”