It’s always been known for its grand houses and picturesque surroundings...
But one village near Preston has been handed an official royal seal of approval – after a member of the royal family of Dubai became a homeowner there.
Sheikh Saeed Obaid Thani Al-Maktoum, a member of the Middle East kingdom’s ruling family, is the owner of a large home on Station Lane in Barton, near Preston, according to documents filed with the Land Registry.
He has even made an application to Preston Council for permission to build an extension on to the side of the property.
People living in the village said the owner of Garth House was not often seen, but many understood it to be owned by a member of a Middle Eastern royal family.
One resident, who has lived on Station Lane for four years, said: “No-one is really sure why a sheikh would buy a house here, although we are close to some big horse training yards, and everyone knows the royal families in the Middle East love their horse-racing. It is a very familiar name, so people soon started talking about it.”
Documents filed with the Land Registry in November 2010 showed Sheikh Al-Maktoum paid £820,000 for the property. The property was bought without a mortgage.
Coun Ken Hudson, a councillor for Preston Rural North on Preston Council, said: “There are quite a number of big houses in that area on Station Lane, so it’s not a surprise that someone of some wealth has bought this house.
“I’d be interested in speaking to him about getting a bit of sponsorship for the Riversway Festival!”
When contacted by the Evening Post, a spokesman for Andrew Freer Design Consultants, the agent for the application, declined to comment on the identity of its client, saying the information was confidential.
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