Decision reached over future of traditional Preston cobblers shop

A terrace house is to be created from a Preston shop that for decades operated as a shoe repair and key-cutting business.

’Cobblers’ traded from premises on Church Street, on the edge of the city centre, for more than half a century.

The outlet - which also offered the watch repair and engraving services typical of such retailers - relocated to Bamber Bridge around four years ago. From its new base on John Street, it continues to serve customers as Cole’s Cobblers and Keys - and is run by the craftsman who took over Cobblers in 2017.

Preston City Council has now given the nod to the conversion of the vacant ground floor of the Preston building in order to turn the whole property into a three-bedroomed residential dwelling.

The overhaul will also involve the reconfiguration of the first floor, which currently functions as a flat. An extra bedroom will be created and new downstairs living quarters.

An application from North West Collective Design had sought so-called ‘prior approval’ from planning officials under legislation that governs the proposed switch of a commercial site into a domestic space.

A town hall report outlining the reasons for approving the change concluded that “the loss of [the] shop is not considered to reduce the community’s ability to meet its day-to-day needs to an unacceptable degree”.

It also noted that access to public transport meant the location could be considered a "sustainable" one for housing.

Meanwhile, it was judged that the proposal was “not considered likely to expose future occupiers to unacceptable levels of noise”.

The applicant had highlighted the history of “townhouse-style properties with retail units to the ground floor” along Church Street.

Their proposal added: “Following decline over several decades, many of these buildings have been demolished and replaced with residential units and a large number of the remaining properties, similar to 102 Church Street [the Cobblers site] contain residential units either in part or full use.”