Preston's Guild Wheel cash to be used for Winckley Square regeneration

The city’s Cannon Street is due to be given a facelift as part of a major regeneration of Winckley Square and the surrounding area.

The Winckley Square Townscape Heritage Initiative, part funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and backed by Preston and Lancashire councils, targets unused and underused historic buildings in the city-centre conservation zone.

But the latest confirmation of costs for the project has discovered a £79,000 cash shortfall, and £80,000 of City Deal money – originally planned for Guild Wheel improvements at Blackpool Road – will now be used to plug the gap. Lottery funding will also be used.

The Preston, South Ribble and Lancashire City Deal stewardship board agreed the reallocation of the funding at a meeting on Friday.

The Blackpool Road improvements will instead be undertaken as part of longer-term works.

A report to the board said: “Scheme costs now confirmed leaving a £79,000 shortfall.

“It is proposed to use the monies (£80,000) identified for the Guild Wheel improvements works at Blackpool Road, as this section of the Guild Wheel will be used as the haul road for the construction of the Preston Western Distributor and as such it would not be appropriate to upgrade the link in this location at this time.”