Former mill apartments in Preston approved

More than a hundred flats are set to spring up on the one-time site of a Preston mill which burned down in the 1960s.

Preston City Council’s planning committee unanimously approved the development on rough ground off Fylde Road, close to the University of Central Lancashire, which has been largely unoccupied since the fire-ravaged 19th-century building was demolished following the blaze.

As part of the plans, a remaining three-storey retail and office unit – which fronts the main road – will also now be flattened.  That was most recently occupied by a fireplace showroom and car rental facility, but has been empty for more than a decade.

Up to 108 flats will be built across two adjoining blocks, which will rise from four storeys in height at the front, to a peak of 10 floors in the central part of the complex, before dropping down to eight storeys at the rear, close to the railway line.

Fifty-two of the flats will have one bedroom, with the same number boasting two – and there will also be four larger, three-bedroomed dwellings.

A rooftop terrace and gardens will complete the latest example of high-rise living to appear on the Preston skyline, while the ground floor will contain space for retail premises.

In common with a series of other apartment developments given the green light in and around the city centre in recent years, none of the properties planned for Fylde Road will offered at ‘affordable housing’ rates – in spite of the city council’s own planning policy demanding that 30 percent of urban developments should be made available at less than market value.

That is because the applicant successfully argued that their development would not be financially viable if it had to meet the affordable homes criteria.     For the same reason, the developer will not have to provide the financial contribution – requested by Lancashire County Council –  towards the cost of providing the secondary school places that could be generated by the new flats.

However, the city authority’s planning permission hinges on the agreement of a clawback mechanism which would allow cash for affordable housing elsewhere in the city – and school places – to be claimed by the town hall if the development proves more profitable than currently expected.

The agent for the application stated in planning documents that while the site is earmarked for employment use in Preston’s local plan, the most recent occupiers of its last surviving building did not fall into the “traditional” definition of that category – and so the development should not be regarded as resulting in a loss of employment land.

Meanwhile, the Health and Safety Executive said it was satisfied with a fire safety statement for the site, following amendments to the documents originally submitted.

In a report presented to the committee, town hall planning officers concluded that the proposed redevelopment of what was described as a “well-located brownfield site within close proximity to the city centre” should be approved – and councillors on the cross-party planning committee unanimously agreed.