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Wednesday, 17th March 2010

New doubts over city redevelopment

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Published Date:
16 April 2009
Preston's £700m regeneration is facing "uncertainty" because of a looming £800,000 public inquiry, it was revealed today.
Objections from neighbouring Blackburn and Blackpool councils will force the Government to order a detailed review of the plans to revamp 32 acres of the city centre.

In a last ditch attempt to avert the costly inquiry, Preston city leaders have put the Tithebarn plans on ice for a few weeks to allow extra time to persuade the objectors to change their minds.

The planning application, which includes a new John Lewis department store, is now expected to be considered in June.

Jim Carr, chief executive of Preston Council, said: "The developer is getting uneasy because of the current planning situation and planning uncertainties.

"For them to move on through a public inquiry will cost them £800,000 at a time when companies are struggling to get hold of money.

"We've tried to prove to Blackburn and Blackpool that their concerns are unfounded but they've not been convinced.

But today, Blackpool's regeneration boss, Coun Maxine Callow, remained adamant in her objections and said: "I think we've said enough about Tithebarn – we're objecting and that's the end of it.

"Tell them not to bother delaying it – there's absolutely no way that we're changing our minds."

Coun Michael Lee, leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council, said: "I'm happy to sit down with them again and go through it and we'll show them our figures and our projections.

"I can't guarantee we would withdraw our objections because we feel their figures are wrong.

"I'm elected to look after the interests of Blackburn and Darwen and I must make sure I do that."

Mr Carr said he felt there was now an "80% chance" the project would go ahead but said the "uncertainties" over Tithebarn were "putting a brake of the city's progression".

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Lancashire Evening Post

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  • Last Updated: 16 April 2009 7:53 AM
  • Source: n/a
  • Location: Preston
 
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1

Perihelion,

16/04/2009 08:46:58
Preston needs and deserves this development. Can we have some good news please. As for Blackpool/Blackburn councils. What a bunch of self-serving insular idiots. If they had any decency they would not be stamping their little feet, they would be seeking similar development opportunities. Why should they be involved at all?
2

leroy cains,

16/04/2009 08:54:39
The bottom line with the proposed Tithebarn development, and indeed all other similar concepts for the City, is, and remains, that it should be mothballed.

Mothballed indeed until such time as there is in place a fully operational integrated transport strategy, without which the City Centre and its immediate environs will soon simply choke to death.

Emphasis generally is often given, and rightly so, to the outstanding strategic location of the wider City area and ease of access to national motorways and airports, as well as the countryside and local amenities and attractions. But without a vibrant heartbeat at the centre, the effectiveness of many development strategies will be greatly diminished,
whilst, in the worst case scenario, some strategies may well simply just fail altogether.

To my knowledge, proposals for a comprehensive fully funded feasibility study of all the transport options available, (be they bus, guided bus, train & tramway (rapid transport) etc. etc), have been around for well over 5 years now and such remains the overriding and urgent priority and first step.

Pivotal to such strategy should be the central bus/tram interchange based on fully refurbished present Bus Station, whilst another similar facility may, ultimately, prove viable in the immediate vicinity of the Railway Station.
3

leroy cains,

16/04/2009 08:56:48
Plans to demolish the present Bus Station look, to most interested observers, ever more lunatic, (on many counts), as time passes. Those who, despite much
& increasing public antipathy, continue to simply peddle such long outdated notions ad nauseam really do need an almighty “wake up call”.

Such “heads in the sand” attitudes do a great disservice to democracy and the community. Experience tells us that usually much is lost and little, if anything, gained. For example, the criminal destruction of the original Town Hall and the
advent of the (still) ghastly Crystal House.

As always, time will be the judge. But, by then, the loss will be irretrievable, and those responsible gone!

Whilst in essence the Tithebarn development has very much its place, such must not be at the expense of the iconic Bus Station, and an alternative location must be
found.

To date the Riversway (Docklands) development has been little short of a disaster and needs a complete revamp. A fresh start.

It does however provide one location, and there are others, which might provide a quintessential home for such as John Lewis and others of similar ilk.

But, first the area needs to be brought into the City as an integral part of the central mix. This can be achieved but only following the input of appropriate
high speed & visible rapid transport links and a major international attraction and/or development draw for the area.
4

Hudds,

16/04/2009 09:14:23
It isn't going to happen!!!! The middle of Bradford has been an empty building site for the last 5 years due to a similar scheme falling through.
5

eaglehill,

16/04/2009 09:59:55
There must be a re-think on the whole scheme.
Preston has many empty shops, in particular Woolworths.
When the Fishergate Centre was built it dragged all trade away from Church Street, and what a mess that created.
Do we need new build to drag it back and then leaving the Fishergate Centre with empty shops, I think not.
Preston people only have so much money and can only be spent once. Come on Councillors, get into the real world with the rest of the population.
6

graham nelson,

preston 16/04/2009 10:14:19
blackurn and blackool hang your heads in shame. you are a disgrace to the county palatine. you small minded people. no wonder your towns are in terminal decline.
7

sensible123,

preston 16/04/2009 10:23:19
Hate to be a "i told you so" - but this is a case of I told you so. This is a disgrace. Jumpin Jim should be sacked for stunting the city's growth for the past 10 years on the back of a failing scheme.

I believe, Blackburn and Blackpool are being used as scapegoats. In the current climate no scheme is ever taking place, at least for the forseeable future.

What a shambles. Even if teh scheme does not go ahead there should still be a public enquiry on the persons who were pushing this scheme through and all records should be made public. I bet there will be some surprises there.
8

objectiveconcern,

16/04/2009 10:44:55
good god the are so many people that want preston to just stay as the dismal "city" that it is. an iconic bus station? really? does nobody want to at least give preston a chance of getting out of the doldrums? what other schemes do people suggest that would bring that kind of cash injection? so what if we lose a monster bus station that serves no purpose as it stands i would quite happily welcome a smaller newer one considering most people would continue to to get off the bus on friargate or the ring roads etc
9

Prionmonkey,

16/04/2009 11:56:23
Tithebarn is looking increasingly shaky. See the Grosvenor loses £500m story elsewhere on this site. That and the recession look set to kill off this epic land-grab.
10

barnfarm,

16/04/2009 12:21:30
Well said 7. And 8 - the consumer-credit frenzy which once made Tithebarn viable is gone and unlikely to return on a similar scale in our lifetime.
Furthermore, by the time this recession is over - and it will last far longer oop North and in other skint areas - online and out of town shopping will have grabbed sufficient market share to make retail a completely unsustainable method of urban centre regeneration.
Preston and similar towns/cities (eg Bradford, as mentioned above, and Rochdale) have put faith in 20th Century solutions for 21st Century problems. Rethink vital.
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