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.”