New student flats in North Road have been completed

Canterbury Hall's aerial view with the pub in the foreground and church behind — Canterbury Hall’s aerial view with the former pub in the foreground and church behind

The latest student accommodation block in Preston has been finished.

Canterbury Hall, which is built on land which has stood empty for more than a decade, is off North Road at the crossroads with Garstang Road and Aqueduct Street.

With 191-bedrooms, a roof terrace and high-spec living spaces it is a world away from the student flats of old.

Costing £15million the flats have all been sold to investors and is expected to be full of students and professional key workers by the end of October.

Fraser Morgan, who are behind the scheme, said the flats include large communal areas, a cinema room and the bedrooms are 25 square metres on average.

Managing director Mark Robinson said: “This is student living with a difference. The building has a luxury feel to it, but it’s much more than that. We did a lot of research when coming up with the wellbeing aspect of our offer.

“We’ve looked for ways to help students interact more and give them a feeling of spaciousness, whether that’s escaping to the roof garden to do some yoga and mindfulness, or meeting friends in other communal areas.

“We’ve thought carefully about interiors with all the desks placed under large windows to allow natural light and give the students time for quiet contemplation while they study. The dining space allows them to have friends and family come and visit them. We’ve also brought some greenery into the development with natural moss wall installations.”

A view of Canterbury Hall approaching from Aqueduct Street

The flats are next-door to the now closed Unicorn pub, which is grade-II listed and also the grade-II listed St Thomas of Canterbury and the English Martyrs Church.

Director at David Cox Architects who designed the building, David Cox, said: “Situated between two listed buildings, the design of this five-storey development successfully negotiates a change in scale from the monumental church on one side, to the much smaller pub on the other.

“The internal space has been very carefully considered to accommodate large living and communal areas. The speed at which these properties were let demonstrates the demand for this exemplar quality of student accommodation in Preston.”

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