Crane towering above the Friargate development

Building work on hundreds of new flats in Friargate has reached new heights.

A 45-metre crane has gone up on the Friargate Court site and now dominates the surrounding skyline.

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Portergate are building a 244-bedroom block of upmarket student and young professional accommodation and three new retail units fronting onto Friargate and Great Shaw Street.

The crane has been installed by the Eric Wright Group.

Anthony Jackson, chairman of the Portergate Group, said: “The arrival of the crane is another milestone in our development work on the site, which is now really gathering pace.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve seen a crane of this size on the city centre skyline and it’s another welcome sign of the regeneration that we’re beginning to see here and nearby with the University of Central Lancashire’s work on its Gateway project.

“The more cranes you see on the skyline the greater the investment in acity and we hope to see our machine joined by many others in the future. It’s exciting times both for us as a company and for this historic part of Preston.”

Nightclub Blitz, the Retro shop and Poppadom Palace were torn down once planning permission was granted for the scheme in late 2013.

The scheme also comes at a time when the University of Central Lancashire is preparing to invest £200 million in redevelopment at its Preston campus.

Stephen Harding, site manager for Eric Wright Construction, said: “It has taken us a couple of weeks to get the crane in place and piecing it together on site is a construction project in its own right.

“The crane will assist us with our heavy-duty lifting work throughout the build process and people will soon see the steel framework starting to take shape.”

Have you seen the crane? What do you think of the Portergate development? Let us know in the comments below