Heritage properties in Preston to benefit from funding boost as council aims to halt deterioration
Preston City Council has pledged to do more to preserve various vacant heritage properties in the city.
Council-owned heritage properties and other properties across the city at risk from vandalism and other antisocial behaviour, are due to get a boost from the recent budget proposals put forward by Preston City Council.
What work is already being done?
The Council launched an Empty Properties Taskforce in February 2025, established to oversee and co-ordinate multi-agency action to secure and preserve a number of heritage properties in need of help.
Working to enforce legislative powers and statutory action available to the City Council, along with regular liaison with private landlords, Preserving Preston’s Heritage Group, the police and the local fire service, the Taskforce’s activity has resulted in positive outcomes at some key sites in the city.
This includes ongoing enforcement activity including:
- Urgent works being carried out on St Joseph’s Orphanage, where collaboration with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has been necessary
- Urgent repair works at The Old Dog Inn, College House (Edith Rigby’s House) and the Harris Institute
- The necessary demolition of 12-14 Avenham Street, Lanson House and the Beat Street Café
So what’s newly been announced?
In its annual Budget Council in February, the Cabinet announced further funding to support being undertaken by the Empty Properties Taskforce, including:
- £100,000 for a feasibility study to Council-owned heritage assets - to establish options and costs for safeguarding and/or developing a number of Council-owned heritage buildings.
- New Housing Standards Officers and Building Surveyor posts – to support housing standards work and further resource to support the Council’s operational and investment property portfolios.
- Conservation Area Match Funding – a grants pot to help those facing difficulty affording improvements to homes in conservation areas due to the restrictive costs.
- £380,000 for Avenham Park and Haslam Park Lodges – redevelopment of key assets to protect and bring back into use.
- £1.27m to protect a number of Council-owned heritage buildings on Lancaster Road at risk of deterioration
These measures will also be supported by additional resources for the Community Safety teams in tackling anti-social behaviour, more and improved city centre CCTV, lighting and street safety measures.
What has the council said about its work?
Councillor Valerie Wise, Cabinet Member for Community Wealth Building and City Regeneration and the Chairperson of the Empty Properties Taskforce said: “It is important that we lead by example and will be looking to make some improvements to key heritage assets in our ownership that have been hindered by financial constraints in recent years. We have made some excellent progress over the past 12 months driven by city-wide collaboration, but there is still a lot of work to do. We encourage the public to report any unusual, suspicious or anti-social behaviour around empty buildings.”
Councillor Amber Afzal, Cabinet Member for Planning and Regulation, who is also an active member of the Empty Properties Taskforce said: “Alongside regular checks and inspections by our Housing Standards Team, Planning Enforcement and Building Control, it is important that we continue to use our legislative rights to hold those less scrupulous landlords and property owners to account, to improve and bring back into use empty heritage assets for the benefit of the city and for future generations.”
How Can I help?
To report anti-social behaviour, contact the Community Safety Team at [email protected]
Reports about anti-social behaviour around empty buildings can also be made to the Police. Call 999 if you or someone else is in immediate danger, or if the crime is in progress.
If it's not an emergency, you can report it on the police website, or by calling 101 (from within the UK) or by visiting a police station.