PROJECT UPDATE: Preston Sorting Office plan

£5.9m flats plan on course to be complete early next year.
An artist's impression of the roof terrace on the finished buidlingAn artist's impression of the roof terrace on the finished buidling
An artist's impression of the roof terrace on the finished buidling

What is the project?

A north-west property developer is set to breathe new life into Preston’s former Royal Mail Sorting Office. The Heaton Group took on the Grade II listed building in West Cliff last year after it fell into disrepair.

The group is now mid way through the project to bring the site back to its former glory by converting it into luxury apartments.

What’s involved?

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As part of the £5.9 million renovation, 31 one, two or three-bed apartments will be created, with communal rooftop gardens, private terraces and car parking.Set to be completed early next year, the apartments will join the city centre’s other major developments, including the recently opened indoor market and a new cinema, which is planned for 2020 as part of the Preston and South Ribble City Deal.

What do the developers say?

John Heaton, Managing Director at The Heaton Group, said: “The Sorting Office is clearly an attractive building with a lot of character and is a recognisable landmark for the people of Preston, having stood for 200 years.

“To see such an fantastic building empty and falling into disrepair was a sad sight, so sympathetically renovating it into housing seemed like a great way to bring this historic, city centre landmark back in to use.”

What will happen on the site now?

The Sorting Office is just one of many historic, graded sites in the north-west that The Heaton Group is in the process of transforming.

The renovation of the Grade II listed, Georgian, Park House in Chorley is almost complete, while workers are about to begin work on the Victorian Station Terrace in Preston.