Plans lodged to bulldoze city shopping centre

Fishergate Shopping Centre could be completely bulldozed to make way for a new vision

A city shopping centre could be completely demolished as part of plans that would see the area transformed.

It is almost two years since a blueprint emerged for a series of office, leisure, retail and residential developments for the Fishergate Shopping Centre in Preston but it had stopped short of stating that the entire building would be bulldozed.

However, plans have now been lodged with Preston City Council that describe a multi-phase project that would culminate in the shopping centre being flattened to make way for “a high-rise, mixed-use development”.

The council said it could not comment on a live application.

How the site could look after the current and all future proposed phases are complete

The regeneration framework sets out an ambition to give a complete facelift to one of the main gateways into Preston, which is considered to give a “poor first impression” to visitors in its current form.

One of the largest and most prominent premises within the centre – the former Debenhams store – remains empty almost three years after its closure.

Documents that have now been lodged with Preston City Council describe a multi-phase project made up of a total of eight new buildings – four of which would be constructed on the shopping precinct’s huge car park.

A submission made to the town hall on behalf of the Fishergate Shopping Centre’s owner, the Martin Property Group also revealed that the first two proposed buildings would form part of a pitch for Preston to provide a 15,000 square metre “regional government office hub”, said to be “in direct response” to the requirements of the Government Property Agency.

No timeframe has been put forward for the completion of the individual premises, but the framework envisaged the overall scheme taking shape over the course of at least a decade, if approved.