'Popular' Preston car park told to shut in 2027 after planning permission refused

A temporary car park that has been operating in Preston for seven years will have to close in less than 12 months after a bid to make it permanent failed.

The 51-space pay-and-display facility opened in 2019, at the junction of Saul Street and Walker Street, after the demolition of an NHS clinic on the site.

Preston City Council originally granted permission for parking on the plot - close to the magistrates’ and crown courts - until September 2022. However, the bays stayed put long beyond that date - without fresh approval being sought.

A retrospective planning application was finally submitted last year, when members of the authority’s planning committee gave the green light to the car park remaining in place for a further two years - in order to prevent it becoming an “eyesore” until an “alternative development” was brought forward.

However, applicant Allsop LLP recently requested permanent permission for 50 parking spots, with one being removed to accommodate the installation of three electric vehicle charging points.

But town hall planners - now in sole charge of the decision, having previously recommended that the committee refuse the two-year extension in 2025 - rejected the proposal. They cited local policy effectively banning the creation of new long-stay car parks in and around the city centre, of which there is considered to be an “overprovision”.

Their conclusion means the facility will have to close in September 2027, unless a successful appeal is lodged.

The firm behind the plans had offered to withdraw the same number of spaces from a facility it operates off Manchester Road, in the Stoneygate area of the city, so that the continued use of the Saul Street site would not result in a net increase in parking capacity in central Preston.

However, a report by planning officials stated that any changes to a “separate and unrelated site” did not alter the conflict with the local rules on new car parks - and so could be “afforded no weight”.

The applicant had claimed the Saul Street facility was “well used” and said a survey of 110 drivers parked there, undertaken last year, found that 70 percent were attending one of the courts, while 11 percent were connected to the University of Lancashire and the remaining 19 percent had other, largely work-related, reasons for occupying a space.

However, planning officers noted there were a number of alternative car parks nearby, including at the courts, the Animate complex and the bus station.

Two public comments in support of the plans had cited the facility's value to worshippers at a nearby mosque.

Last year, an adjoining car park on Sizehouse Street - located behind a student accommodation block that was formerly the main Preston police station - was also refused permanent permission, having operated temporarily since 2013.