Preston student flats to be used for NHS staff

Members of the city council’s planning committee voted unanimously to grant permission to Canterbury Hall having heard the move would help the NHS recruit international staff.

The approval for the development on Garstang Road is the second in recent months following a similar decision for The Tramshed on Corporation Street.

However, despite approving the bid, councillors expressed concerns about parking and whether developers are following a template of initially gaining planning permission before applying for a key-worker variation at a later date.

Council officers said the applicant, Sunglen Properties, had agreed to fund a residents’ parking scheme to allay concerns about an increase of vehicles expected with the addition of non-student tenants.

And committee members were told Lancashire Care Trust had supported the bid as it would “assist in attracting international candidates into senior clinical posts in the area” because of a lack of hospital accommodation.

Coun Stuart Greenhalgh said: “It has happened at other buildings and now it’s happening here. I can’t think of a planning reason to vote against it, but a cynical person would say (developers) do it as student accommodation (with no parking, first) and then change it later on.”