Religious education facility in Fulwood to be converted to bedsits

An Islamic education facility in Preston is set to be turned into bedsits after the operation moves into a former pub nearby.

Planning permission has been granted for the conversion of the Noorani Education Centre on Garstang Road in Fulwood. The building will become an 11-bedroom house in multiple occupation (HMO) after the plans were given the go-ahead by Preston City Council.

The property, known as “Withy Trees House”, stands just yards from the former Withy Trees Hotel – around the corner on Lytham Road – which the Noorani Education Trust charity successfully applied to convert into an education and prayer establishment back in 2020.

At the time, the organisation said its Garstang Road base – which also functions as a food bank – was inadequate as a result of limited parking and a restricted internal layout.

A fundraising page was set up inviting donations from the local community towards the cost of refurbishing the pub for its new purpose, which was then estimated to total £200,000.

The Withy Trees Hotel called time for the final time in July 2019 after 170 years as a hostelry. Greene King sold the site – which was said to have had the largest beer garden in Preston and was once a popular haunt of Preston North End players – following a fall in trade.

The new Noorani facility is due to open in the former pub in late September, once the Garstang Road site has been vacated.

Approving the change to an HMO, a report by city council planning officers concluded that it was “compatible with the surrounding residential character of the area” and would not have any “unacceptable impacts” upon neighbours, highway safety or the appearance of the Fulwood Conservation Area in which the building sits.

The existing six parking spaces at the front of the property will remain for use by future occupants – and Lancashire County Council did not offer any roads-related objections to the proposal.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service attempted to contact the Noorani Education Centre for comment.

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