'Invisible' apartment block gets the green light off Preston's Winckley Square

The 35-dwelling scheme will front Mount Street and will include a ground-floor gym, co-working space on the top floor and a roof garden. It will spring up after the demolition of an existing disused two-storey building on the plot.

Since the plans were originally submitted, the design and scale of the block has been amended - with the overall height being reduced by 1.4 metres, the top three floors being set back from the south-facing elevation and the top two also set in from the Mount Street side of the building.

Preston City Council planning officers concluded that the blueprint would cause “a low level of less-than-substantial harm to the character of the Winckley Square Conservation Area”.

Nevertheless discussion at a meeting of the authority’s planning committee was dominated by how prominent the building would actually appear.

Committee member Stephen Thompson said that he did not feel the development was in-keeping with “the spirit” of the protected location. He also mused over whether the computer generated images of the block in situ were making it “look a bit smaller than it actually is in comparison with its surroundings”.

Agent and architect John Bridge said that he was bound by his professional code of conduct to present a “truthful” representation - and added that the simple fact was the building would be barely visible from most key viewpoints within the heritage area.

“It’s a tricky site to get a good view of,” he explained, adding that efforts had been made to establish that it could not be seen from the square itself.

“You could only see it…[partially] from the car park at the side of the train station,” Mr. Bridge said.

The plot sits behind 33-34 Winckley Square and is connected to a neighbouring office development to the rear of that address via a footbridge, which will now be demolished.

Mr. Bridge said that the design of the project - brought forward by applicant Branco Winckley Square Ltd. - “carefully considers its relationship with the surrounding built environment and [it] would sit comfortably within the streetscene".

The tallest buildings will continue to be 33-34 Winckley Square and the nearby St. Joseph's Orphanage.

Committee member Carol Henshaw said that the various “issues” with Mount Street - including its narrowness and propensity for flooding - meant that it was vital that conditions attached to the permission, including one requiring drainage plans to be submitted before work could begin, were adhered to.

Members approved the proposals by a majority, with only Cllr Thompson voting against.

The replacement building will contain 27 one-bedroomed properties, with the remainder offering two bedrooms – one of which will be a duplex-style property.

The application site also includes an associated courtyard car park area, which has gated access from Mount Street, where five parking spaces will be secured, including one with an electric charging point. There will also be storage space for 35 bicycles.