Major update on new Miller and Carter restaurant planned for Preston - for the last eight years

A major restaurant chain has insisted that it still intends to open an outlet in Preston – in spite of it being almost eight years since the plans were given the green light.

Steak specialists Miller and Carter were amongst the proposed line-up of businesses set to come to the Eastway Retail Hub in Fulwood, which was granted planning permission in September 2018.

The development – which also features a Lidl superstore, Costa Coffee and Subway – opened just over two years later. However, the part of the plot reserved for what was initially approved by Preston City Council as an unnamed pub-restaurant remains untouched.

Since Miller and Carter’s intentions for the site were revealed in 2019, several estimated opening dates have come and gone, with the latest – summer 2026 – now fast approaching.

The Lancashire Post can now reveal that the eatery is likely to be another 12 months away from welcoming its first guests – with building work unlikely to begin before the end of the year. The availability of contractors to construct the 170-seater venue is understood to be amongst the reasons for the latest delay.

Mitchells and Butlers, which own the Miller and Carter brand, previously blamed the impact of the pandemic for the hold-up in getting the venture off the ground.

In November 2023, the firm said it did still plan to open the outlet, but not in “the near future” – suggesting the launch could be as far away as September 2025. When that date passed, the company said it hoped to be opening the doors of the restaurant this summer.

Last November, the city council gave the go-ahead to a series of tweaks to the design of the long-planned building – including changes to the layout and elevations, along with the use of solar panels.

However, in the six months have elapsed since, the site has remained fenced off, with no sign of any imminent activity.

When asked by the Post for an update on progress, a spokesperson for Mitchells and Butlers, said: “We are looking forward to bringing Miller and Carter, your local steakhouse restaurant, to Preston.

“Unfortunately, due to operational reasons, the wait will be slightly longer, but we think you will agree, it will be worth it.”

The chain has previously said the Fulwood development will create 60 jobs.

It will become the fifth Miller and Carter in Lancashire – the others being in St Annes, Poulton-le-Fylde, Parbold and Aughton.

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