come and work alongside a bustling new public square for civic use, live events and more.
“Our vision includes a new linear soft landscaped boulevard linking Fishergate towards the river bringing greenery into the heart of the development, creating a place where people want to spend time.”
Mark Rawstron is property and regeneration spokesperson for Lancashire Business Board, which championed the recently published Lancashire Growth Plan, developed by Lancashire Combined County Authority and which includes the Preston Station Quarter.
He said: “Preston Station Quarter is a transformational initiative designed to unlock Preston’s potential as a dynamic commercial and residential hub.
ALL STATIONS GO
Preston’s Station Quarter vision has taken a positive move forward.
Plans to create Grade A office accommodation as part of the regeneration of the Fishergate Centre site have been submitted to the city council.
The outline planning application proposes five office blocks rising to 15-storeys and totalling 770,000 sq ft, in the first phase of a wider development plan.
The aim is to create “a significant cluster” of Grade A office accommodation focused on the railway station’s entrance. The first five buildings are seen as a precursor to the overall redevelopment of the complete Fishergate Centre.
The planning application has been lodged by MPG, which bought the shopping centre for £8m in 2021.
The offices – which would be part of a wider proposed development – would be built on a car park south of the shopping centre.
The largest of the buildings in the first phase
would be around 250,000 sq ft and rise to 15 storeys. A planning statement has been submitted to the city council by architects BDP.
It says: “The regeneration of Fishergate Shopping centre presents a rare opportunity to consider and reboot the heart of a traditional industrial city, creating a distinctive and attractive development with the enduring appeal of Prestons’ rich industrial history which will make this such a unique place to work.
“The project is an important step in making the first stage in delivery of the SQRF (Station Quarter Regeneration Framework) city masterplan vision, supporting work to regenerate the city centre around the station quarter.
“The development will breathe new life into the former stock yard and retail site to create a new destination to shop, work and hang out.
“The project provides an opportunity to build a new mixed-use community on the former railway site and to provide an incredible place to
Frankly Speaking
MAKE 2026 THE YEAR OF DELIVERY OVER DRIFT By Frank McKenna,
Downtown Lancashire in Business
As we head into 2026, Lancashire, and the UK more broadly, faces a simple choice: carry on managing the status quo or get serious about growth.
Britain and the county do not need more glossy strategies or consultation exercises. We need decisions, delivery and a renewed confidence in enterprise.
My first wish is political honesty about wealth creation. Business is not a problem to be managed; it is the engine to be backed. Without profitable, growing companies there
is no sustainable public sector, no levelling up and no long-term prosperity.
Ministers would do well to remember that to redistribute wealth, you first have to create it. It is business that does that.
Devolution must be a priority. Lancashire needs to get real about winning greater fiscal autonomy, faster decision-making and local control over housing, transport and skills. Parochial politics stands in the way of progress on this important issue.
“Anchored by almost £1bn of investment and its proximity to the National Cyber Force headquarters, the project will deliver high quality office space, housing and public realm to strengthen the city’s role as a regional growth engine and enhance east-west connectivity across Lancashire.”
The need for Grade A office accommodation in Preston has been highlighted by business leaders in the city for some time.
Speaking to Lancashire Business View last year, city-based entrepreneur and investor Rob Binns said the Station Quarter was “critical” for the Preston’s professional services sector.
He said: “There are no Grade A offices. If a professional services firm wanted to come here, they would want enough capacity to bring to full team in and not to be a satellite operation.
“There is also the issue of staff retention. We’re competing against Manchester and Liverpool with their big shiny buildings. That is what we need at the heart of our connectivity, which is the train station.
“A business quarter, the leisure offering and the city living strategy all converging at around the same time, that would make a difference.”
For Lancashire’s business community, 2026 must be about execution.
We need housebuilding at scale, infrastructure that gets built, and a planning system that says “yes” to growth more often than it reaches for delay. The county has the land, talent and ambition; what’s been missing is urgency and the political will. That must change.
The visitor economy should be treated as the heavyweight it is. Hospitality, culture, sport and tourism are not fringe sectors; they are central to place-making, job creation and inward investment, and they deserve policy support to match their economic impact.
Business leaders themselves need to step up. Influence is not something granted, it’s earned. Less quiet complaining and compliance, more leadership and, when necessary, disruption.
If 2026 is to bring a more positive future, it should be the year Lancashire – and Britain – start delivering growth with intent.
LANCASHIREBUSINES SV
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