The new hotel being created in the former Old Post Office in Preston city centre is to have a new name.

Previously due to be branded the Harris Hotel there’s been a change of plan.

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Signature Living, the Liverpool-based firm behind the £15million redevelopment, have decided to give a nod to a famous football name associated with the city.

The Shankly Hotel is the name chosen – a name already used for one of its Liverpool hotels.

Use of the name has the full support of the Shankly family, and his connection to the city of Preston runs deep, as he signed for Preston North End in 1933.

He went on to play in the Preston side promoted to the first division in 1934 and featured in two FA Cup finals for PNE including the cup win in 1938.

Read more: Pictures show inside the old Post Office

Director of the Shanky Hotel in Liverpool and Bill Shankly’s grandson Chris Shankly Carline said: “It was always our intention to roll The Shankly out nationally and hopefully internationally, due to the phenomenal success of the hotel in Liverpool.

“Preston was a natural fit, it is the next place that resonates greatly with Bill Shankly and the family. He played for Preston for 16 years and in that respect spent a large part of his life there.

“He loved the club and the people, and they loved him. There are so many tributes to him at Deepdale, like The Bill Shankly Kop.”

Work has already begun on the grade-II listed building and it will have 65 rooms in the boutique hotel setting.

Mr Shankly Carline said: “The building in Preston is a gorgeous Grade II listed building with plenty of grandeur.

“The Shankly Hotel in Liverpool is all about the atmosphere and the guest experience, two vital components for any project carrying the Shankly name, given Bill was the man of the people. Everything about the hotel is a nod to who he was and what he achieved, and it will be the same for the hotel in Preston.

“From a world class hospitality experience, to amazing accommodation, events, drinking and dining, The Shankly Hotel in Liverpool is the perfect tribute to my grandad. These high standards will be mirrored in Shankly Preston.”

Read more: What to expect when Signature open the Old Post Office as a hotel

The hotel will include a bar and restaurant, a museum dedicated to Shankly’s career, plus the ability to host weddings and events.

Work is due to be completed by September this year.

What do you think about the name change? Let us know your views in the comments below