Adjusting the vision
After more than a decade of paper shuffling and private talks in smoke-filled rooms, the Tithebarn rebirth of Preston's city centre has begun.
Do not, however, expect the bulldozers rolling down Ringway towards the architectural icon that is the city's bus station... or registering for your John Lewis loyalty card just yet.
The work which has started can be found on far smaller sites – with far smaller price tags – dotted across the city centre.
Whether it is Lawson Street or Moor Lane, Crystal House or Friargate, the promise that comes with the £800m vision for Tithebarn appears to be finally bearing fruit.
With thousands of residential apartments, retail units and bars either springing up or set to bring across the city, leaders are questioning whether they bring with them the need for change to the Tithebarn masterplan.
Nicholas Watson, joint chief executive of the Preston Chamber of Trade, said he felt the combination of numerous smaller developments had put Tithebarn "into perspective."
"If you listed out the Media Factory, Crystal House, Moor Lane and all the other developments there is, it becomes a significant amount of money.
"I think, if it has not already happened, then the Preston Tithebarn Partnership – of Grosvenor and Lend Lease – will inevitably have to look again at the plans.
"I am sure upon Lend Lease's arrival it wanted a fresh look at the plans to ensure they are getting the return they need from their investment."
It is a view shared by John Chesworth, managing partner of law firm Harrison Drury which has been involved in a number of major development deals in the city.
He believes that people need a clear timescale on when Tithebarn is going to happen if it going to act as the catalyst for development for which it is intended.
"I would not be surprised if it has not broken soil until 2015," he said, "so what is going to happen in the meantime? Are developers going to put everything on the backburner waiting for something to happen or will they just look elsewhere?
"I think what Preston Council needs to do, together with the Tithebarn Partnership, is to work with developers, with local firms, to make sure that it brings change now – and not just in 2015."
Simon Price, a developer which has already cashed in on the coming changes, believes the impact of Tithebarn is far more subtle.
The director of Ice Blue Developments has built 43 two-bedroom flats on Grimshaw Street in the city centre and just finished a major office development in Cottam, on the outskirts of Preston.
"Tithebarn does appear to be stuttering on occasions," he agrees "or at least moving forward far slower than some people would have hoped, but I think the overall benefit of it has been very positive for Preston.
"It has lifted it above the parapet as a city – when you think a company like Carphone Warehouse has come and set up here, employing up to 1,500 staff.
"Out of all the provincal towns and cities in Lancashire, it has picked Preston, and I think there is a real appetite for development here."
That is a view shared by the Preston Tithebarn Partnership which has said it hopes to become "a positive catalyst" for the wider regeneration of the city.
Frank McKenna, chairman of business group Downtown Preston in Business, said he was willing to give the developers until the summer to put its masterplan before council planners.
"When that happens we will be asking serious questions about time scales and deadlines and by the end of this year we will expect to be in that position."
Far from the property boom being over, architect David Robinson, of the Frank Whittle Partnership, which is behind a number of schemes in his home city, believes it could just be set to begin.
"Preston has a lot more going for it than just about any other place in Lancashire," he says.
"It has got the communications, a thriving university and all the potential to house all the things you need for a city.
"I think that the more developments which go on in Preston it will only grow developers confidence in Tithebarn."
| Created: | 22nd May 2008 |
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| Last Updated: | 22nd May 2008 |
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