The Preston Tithebarn

redevelopment Redevelopment is any new construction on a site that has pre-existing uses. It represents a process of land development uses to revitalize the physical, economic and social fabric of urban space. Description Variations on redevelopment include ...

project was a £700 million city centre regeneration initiative in Preston, Lancashire. The project was intended to be developed by Preston Tithebarn Partnership, a 50/50 joint venture between

Grosvenor Grosvenor may refer to: People * Grosvenor (surname), including a list of people with the surname Grosvenor * Grosvenor Francis (1873–1944), Australian politician * Grosvenor Hodgkinson (1818–1881), English lawyer and politician Places, ...

and

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in partnership with Preston City Council. In October 2005, Preston City Council and Grosvenor signed an agreement to go ahead with the Tithebarn regeneration project as part of Council's broader plans for Preston city. Tithebarn was objected to by neighbouring councils and the scheme was abandoned in 2011.

History

In 2000, opposition to the demolition of the existing Preston bus station led to an application to

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

for

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

status (as an example of 1960s

brutalist architecture Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by Minimalism (art), minimalist constructions th ...

). Preston Borough Council among others opposed the application which ultimately was unsuccessful. Putting forward the case for a smaller terminus, a report, commissioned by the council and Grosvenor, stated that "buses arriving and leaving the bus station have very low bus occupancy rates indicating that passengers alight and board elsewhere in the city centre. The bus station car park similarly suffers from the poor pedestrian linkages."

The project

The Preston Tithebarn project was to cover an area of approximately in Preston city centre and include a

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American civil rights activist and politician who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...

department store, a new

Marks & Spencer Marks and Spencer plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks & Sparks or simply Marks) is a major British multinational retailer based in London, England, that specialises in selling clothing, beauty products, home produc ...

department store, revitalised markets, restaurants, cafes, new cinemas, around 100 new shops, offices, homes, refurbished Guild Hall, a new bus station and extensive new public spaces and pedestrianised streets.

Development events

In January 2007, John Lewis confirmed it would anchor the development with a department store. In 2008 they released designs for the flagship store on their website. Pre-planning public consultation for the Preston Tithebarn project was conducted by Preston Tithebarn Partnership between May 2008 and June 2008, and thereafter by appointment. The Preston Tithebarn Information Centre at 50-52 Lancaster Road, Preston (next to the Guild Hall) was created for the public consultation where visitors were able to view plans, information and a 3D model. Preston Tithebarn Partnership submitted a hybrid planning application to Preston City Council in September 2008. All development within the application boundary was submitted with some matters reserved, except for the 1875 Covered Market and Fish Market for which full details were submitted. In October 2008,

confirmed it would join Preston Tithebarn as the second anchor, with plans to build a store. In December 2008,

Cineworld Regal Cineworld Group (trading as Cineworld) is a British cinema operator headquartered in London, England. It is the world's second-largest cinema chain (after AMC Theatres), with 9,139 screens across 747 sites in 10 countries: Bulgaria, Czec ...

also confirmed it would join Preston Tithebarn, with plans to build a new multi-screen cinema. On 14 July 2009, following 2 days of presentations, questioning and debate, Preston City Council Planning Committee approved the application. The matter proceeded to Government Office North West. In November 2011 the scheme was abandoned after department store

pulled out.

Listed building status

In January 2010 an application by The Twentieth Century Society to have the bus station registered as listed building was rejected by the Secretary of State which paved the way for the public enquiry into the Tithebarn development to proceed. In May and June 2010 a Public enquiry was held into the Preston Tithebarn Project.

References

External links

Official Preston Tithebarn website

Preston City Council's Preston Tithebarn page

Press releases

Building Design Partnership (masterplan architect) Press Release

News articles and comment

We are proud to be Nimbys - Tithebarn opponents
Lancashire Evening Post
Neil Tague on Tour: Barn to run
6 January 2009, Insider News North west {{DEFAULTSORT:Preston Tithebarn Redevelopment Preston, Lancashire Planned developments Redevelopment projects in the United Kingdom