A new pub & post office to open in Preston... well sort of! The University of Lancashire expands CSI village
An interesting planning application was submitted to Preston City Council last week and we’re here to get to the bottom of it...
Last Thursday, an application went in to replace the existing ground floor windows to the rear of the houses located at 53-56 Harrington Street with doors.
The plan drawings reveal that the new doors are needed as the homes are set to be completely transformed inside.
53 Harrington Street is to be a pub, complete with a kitchen and store room whilst 54 is to be a post office and shop, again featuring a store room.
55 Harrington Street will be a basic custody suite, featuring interview rooms and a cell, then the final home will be comprised of a briefing room, kitchen and toilet.
Unfortunately for the wider Preston community, the new businesses are not all that they seem.
These houses on Harrington Street, which split into two flats each, have been used by the University of Lancashire for their forensic science and criminal investigation students’ training since 2021.
Fifteen of the vacant flats were repurposed into authentic crime scenes five years ago as the university saw its course numbers increasing and needed to create more practical scenarios for its students.
The majority of the properties, which comprise of a galley kitchen, small bathroom, bedrooms, lounge and hallway, were largely untouched to replicate the real-life surroundings crime scene investigators would face out in the field.
A selection of old charity shop sofas, beds, chairs and carpets were added which had been fire damaged to imitate arson and electrical fire scenarios.
CCTV was also installed in all the properties and the cameras link to a specialist observation room where the academics can watch and listen to the students during the practical sessions.
A University of Lancashire spokesperson confirmed that the interior changes were simply to provide new facilities for their forensic science and criminal investigation students.
In particular the pub and post office/store forensic sets are to be moved from inside terraced houses on Maudland Road, where they had been for around 20 years.
The custody suite - featuring a desk and interview tables and chair- will then be a new forensic set whilst the fourth home is to be made up of teaching rooms.
A University of Lancashire spokesperson said: “We are committed to ensuring our students have access to fantastic facilities which will help their development and equip them for the world of work.
“This project will see our exceptional replica post office and pub sets move from our crime scene investigation houses on Maudland Road to the forensic science flats on Harrington Street. We will also create excellent additional teaching spaces including a replica police custody suite and interview rooms.
“This will allow us to bring our real-world facilities together in one fully accessible space.”