A drawing in 1946 showing the city centre of Preston, click the image to view it bigger

Before the Ringway and before Preston Bus Station, how the city centre should look has always troubled the council.

It was an issue in 1946 as much as it is now, and this recently unearthed drawing shows what might have been.

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Found in a cupboard in the planning department office at Preston City Council by planning officer Nigel Roberts it details a grand vision for our city centre.

The shape of the Ringway is very much locked in but it includes a proposal for a smaller bus station, and a second much smaller bus station next door to the train station on the site the Fishergate centre now occupies.

In the centre of the city there is a large Civic Hall, what we can only assume eventually became the Guild Hall complex.

The plan by Granville Berry includes a grand tree-lined avenue stretching past a new health centre and education centre up to the new civic hall.

A police headquarters, public baths and cinema are also included in the proposals.

What became of them? We can only guess they were voted out during a council meeting or part of a competition with the eventual winners responsible for what happened in the city centre during the 50s and 60s.

What do you think of the plan? Do you think Preston would be a nicer place to live if they followed this plan? Let us know in the comments below