Latest Preston city centre office block Unicentre to become apartments

Work on the cladding on the outside of the Unicentre had already been taking place Pic: Blog Preston

An office block in Preston city centre is set to be turned into apartments.

The 12-storey Unicentre building – on Lords Walk, close to the bus station – has operated as a commercial facility since it was built more than 40 years ago. However, Preston City Council has now given the nod to its conversion into 122 flats.

Under plans submitted by Bolton-based consultants MacMarshalls Ltd, the property will house 91 one-bedroomed and 31 two–bedroomed apartments.

The development will include a shared roof terrace on the third floor and, according to an application submitted to town hall planners, the external appearance of the landmark block will remain “largely unaffected” by the overhaul.

The Unicentre stands just yards from the 15-storey Guild Tower – Preston’s tallest office building – the conversion of which into more than 100 apartments was given the green light in June.

Under national ‘permitted development’ rules, changing the use of a property from business to residential is allowed if certain criteria are met.

The Unicentre was judged to comply with those stipulations, but the city council still had to consider whether their so-called ‘prior approval’ was required before the plans could be implemented – taking into account factors including the potential impact of the change on the roads and the effect on future of residents of the activities carried out in the surrounding area.

A report by planning officers concluded that while “some associated noise and disturbance” was likely, it was not deemed to be to the detriment of the occupiers of the converted building.

Lancashire County Council expressed no objection over highways issues, noting the accessibility of the site by public transport and determining that the parking proposals – to continue to use the existing 18-space car park for the site and provide 30 bicycle spaces – were acceptable.

County Hall did question the proposed pedestrian access, but that matter was beyond the scope of the prior approval assessment.

Prior approval was ultimately granted and the conversion can now go ahead.

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