A new campaign is proposing to repurpose the Preston Basin of the Lancaster Canal.

The Restoring Preston Basin campaign wants to see the site of the 300 feet (91 metre) long, 19th century basin repurposed as a 21st century multi-purpose amenity, recreational and biodiverse space.

Preston Basin, once a major transhipment basin of the Lancaster Canal at its terminus in Preston, lies beneath the Corporation Street Retail Park on the corner of Corporation Street and Ringway.

The Lancaster Canal, Preston Basin and the adjoining tram road played a crucial role in the development and growth of Preston at the beginning of the 1800s.

Read more: Canal carriers in Preston, a lost way of life

The campaign is a response to the Preston Station Quarter Regeneration Framework, which was launched in March 2022.

The framework outlined a number of objectives for the area, including to improve the public realm, create new open spaces, reuse heritage assets and develop a network of green infrastructure.

Spokesperson for the campaign, Daniel Crowther, said: “Sadly, Preston Basin is currently buried and largely forgotten. The site provides an ideal footprint with the potential to help deliver some of the objectives of the framework, repurposed for a multi-functional, open, green and biodiverse space.

“The basin does not necessarily need to be restored in the conventional sense with water, and could instead be restored as an open, green space. This has been achieved in recent examples such as with a former canal basin at Murrays’ Mills in Manchester.

“The release of Preston Station Quarter Regeneration Framework provides a once in a generation opportunity to restore and incorporate the site of Preston Basin, and the Restoring Preston Basin campaign hopes to provide a starting point for how this could be achieved.”

Four possible restoration options are outlined on the campaign’s website. To find out more, visit the Restoring Preston Basin website.

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