38
HOTSPOT PRESTON
IN ASSOCIATION WITH:
By Ged Henderson
Preston city centre
STATION QUARTER IS ON THE RIGHT LINES
Representatives from the worlds of business, education and local government came together at the offices of Handelsbanken for Lancashire Business View’s Preston ‘Hotspot’ conference. They set the agenda and discussed the issues at the forefronts of their minds and the challenges and opportunities facing the city
Delivering Preston’s Station Quarter vision with much-needed Grade A office space is seen as vital for the city’s future as a major commercial centre.
The huge potential of the area around Lancashire’s gateway rail station was laid out earlier this year with the publication of a framework to guide its regeneration and redevelopment.
At its heart is the development of a new commercial quarter to deliver those offices and with them more employment opportunities.
A partnership approach is driving the initiative. The framework document was created by consultants for Preston City Council, Lancashire County Council and the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), working with landowners in the area.
The need to deliver Grade A offices in the city has been long recognised. Adrian Phillips, chief executive of the city council, says: “The success of Preston has always been based on a range of initiatives and its proximity, its connectivity.
“The future is around expanding the cultural offer, but we also know we have an outstanding need for Grade A office accommodation and our partnership work with UCLan and the county council is at the heart of seeking a means of delivering that through the emerging Station Quarter.
“We are pitching for the investment zone initiative. We have a range of
levelling up options that are sitting with the government at the moment, but we appreciate that one of the things we don’t have is an adequate supply of high-quality office accommodation.
“So that is very much at the heart of what we’re seeking. We believe we’ve got the ingredients for continuing success but are very much aware of the need for future strategic investments.”
John Chesworth is executive chairman of law firm Harrison Drury and chairs the city’s Towns Fund board. He says: “Station Quarter is something that has to happen really from the business perspective.
“We’ve got really talented kids growing up in this area, getting educated in a really good school system, and a fantastic further and higher education provision being led by UCLan and other colleges and FE organisations.
“We’ll end up losing these people down the M61 or down the train line to Manchester or to London if we can’t deliver the high-quality jobs that they want.
“We have an opportunity to bring some exciting employment opportunities to Preston. We hope to have a HS2 hub. Preston is ideally placed but we need that provision of great office space.”
Preston entrepreneur Rob Binns, who owns the Cotton Court business centre in the city and chairs Downtown in Business in the county, believes a new commercial quarter could benefit from the arrival of the National Cyber Force (NCF) in Samlesbury.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72
