Sponsored by
New railway station planned in city revamp
A new railway station and six new city park-and-rides could be built in and around Preston to cope with an expected rise in the region's population.
A station would be built in Cottam with park-and-rides set up at M6 Junction 31a, Broughton, the Tickled Trout, Penwortham Way, Cuerden Green and Riversway.
A new link road connecting Bamber Bridge and Lostock Hall and a Preston city centre shuttle bus would also be built as part of the ambitious plans to transform Preston.
Other railway stations could be set up in Buckshaw Village, Coppull and Midge Hall while Whittingham, Cottam, Longridge, Leyland, Farington, Chorley town centre, Buckshaw Village and Euxton are expected to see a boom in population.
The plans are unveiled in the Central Lancashire Preferred Core Strategy which sets out the need for improved environment, healthier communities and better jobs for local people in the next 18 years.
And it also claims that by then, Preston will be a well established alternative to Manchester and Liverpool.
Andrew Cockerall, Preston Council's principal planning officer, said: "At the moment, the document is a preferred strategy. It's certainly not set in stone and these are the sort of things we are looking for feedback on. So far, most of the feedback has been generally positive.
"Some people have concerns about specific aspects like what might or might not be happening in their street."
The number of people living in Central Lancashire – including Preston, South Ribble and Chorley – is expected to rise from 342,300 in 2006 to 374,600 in 2026 as people live longer.
Mr Cockerall added: "The development of this core strategy has been going for about two years. It's designed to be fairly broad.
"For funding, it doesn't go into that level of detail but it would be a mix of city, national and local government and developer contributions."
By 2026, it is also hoped Chorley will be an "accessible, contemporary market town and Leyland will be a successfully regenerated centre, with a good range of shops, improved environment and services to meet the needs of the local areas."
Coun Neil Cartwright, cabinet member for development, said: "This is the first time the planning system has gone from grassroots upwards.
"It's about getting a full picture of what our options are and what people want."
For more information, visit centrallancashire.com. Comments should be sent to Freepost, Central Lancashire LDF by December 19.
>> Vote in our latest web poll
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Preston
Wednesday 08 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -4 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 2 C to 4 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: South
