Shopping centre to be demolished for city revamp

A "tired" shopping precinct is set to make way for a new residential, retail and healthcare development, after a major regeneration plan in Preston was given the go-ahead.

St John's Shopping Centre will be demolished and replaced with three new high-rise buildings across the cleared site and an adjoining plot.

The firm behind the redevelopment is promising to create what it described as a "high-quality gateway" into the city centre.

Planning officer Patrick Marfleet said the new facilities were "a very important regeneration opportunity within the city centre".

The new structures, which range from 11 to 16 storeys in height, will include 500 apartments, commercial units and an NHS health facility.

There will also be a tree-lined central boulevard, conncecting transport on Tithebarn Street to the markets quarter and new Animate cinema, restaurant and leisure development off Lancaster Road.

Presenting the proposal on behalf of applicant Wansfell Ltd, Chris Hartley, said: "For many visitors arriving by bus [in] Preston city centre, this location forms their very first impression of the city.

"Today, that impression is shaped by an outdated retail centre which does not fully serve the needs of Preston's residents, businesses or visitors".

St. John's is currently home to about 20 retailers, and is promoted on its website as "the perfect place to grab a bargain".

Marfleet said it was a "typical post-war…shopping centre", with "no historic value".

He added that it was now in "a pretty tired and…half-empty state these days" – and that the local authority had "no objection to its loss".

The committee was told NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board had backed the plans for a health centre within the tallest building, and Hartley said this would be "a major investment in local healthcare provision".

But the plans for a Preston health hub are believed to be in the early stages of development by the NHS.

Committee member Michael Peak said the ratio of just 23 car parking spaces to almost 500 residential properties was "a joke".

But Marfleet said the development was near to the bus and railway station.

The meeting heard the authority had granted developers an exemption to the 30% quota of affordable homes, or up to £3.5m contribution to new school places requirements, after arguing it would not be financially viable.

The need for a more detailed final proposal – and the further permission that will require – was one of the reasons Hartley cautioned that there would be "no immediate commencement" of construction work.

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