£100m city landmark plan unveiled
This is an exclusive image of a controversial £100m development planned for Preston city centre.
Members of the multi-millionaire Preston-based Patel family are to hold a meeting with developers from the Preston Tithebarn Partnership (PTP) on Tuesday to discuss the Guild Legacy Building.
Brothers Arif, Munaf and Faisal Patel are to meet the scheme's key developers, Grosvenor, to discuss the building on the site of the Tradex building.
A spokesman for Grosvenor said the meeting was "part of the process" in pulling together its plans for the city centre's £750m rebirth.
The development, which would reach up to 19 storeys, is designed to house a range of luxury facilities including shops, an exhibition centre, apartments, offices, car parking, botanical gardens and a health club.
However, the site, which is currently being leased to Big D, has been earmarked as a multi-storey car park for the new John Lewis store as part of the £750m Tithebarn scheme.
The Patels hope a compromise can be reached to allow both developments to go ahead.
Arif Patel told the Lancashire Evening Post he hoped "common sense will prevail" at the meeting.
He said: "We are really hoping we can come up with a solution.
"Ideally we would like them to turn round and say yes, let's work with you. Let's stick it into the plans and have two icons in Preston.
"It would be a shame to have a big car park on that site, not because it is my site or anyone else's site but because, looking at it from a layman's point of view, coming up London Road you don't want to see a multi-storey car park there."
Grosvenor spokesman Ayo Daramola-Martin said: "These kind of talks are not out of the ordinary. Our agents will have conversations with these gentlemen as a matter of course in such a development and that is what we are doing."
The PTP, which will look to buy sites earmarked for Tithebarn in the future, has the power to apply for Compulsory Purchase Orders if no agreement can be found – and that would spell the end for the Patels' plans.
However the Patels have insisted that they have no plans to derail or compete with the Tithebarn project, but want to work alongside it.
Frank McKenna, chairman of business lobbying group Downtown Preston in Business, said the new plans looked "like a building any city would be proud of."
He said: "If you asked people in Preston whether they preferred an iconic building to a multi-storey car park, I am sure they would choose the iconic building.
"The Patel family has been at pains to keep the council in the loop every step of the way on these plans and, from that point of view, the importance of the meeting cannot be over-stated."
He added that his past dealings with Grosvenor in Liverpool had led him to believe that they "would be willing to negotiate" on changing their plans.
The Patels are now hoping they can talk out a compromise with Grosvenor which would allow both projects to go ahead.
They say they also met before Christmas with the leader of Preston Council Ken Hudson and chief executive Jim Carr after challenging city leaders to share their vision for Ring Way.
The Patels are confident the building could be in place before the 2012 Guild celebrations if it is given the nod.
| Created: | 24th April 2008 |
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| Last Updated: | 30th April 2008 |
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