New church for UCLan students to be established on Preston industrial estate

A new church aimed at university students is set to spring up on an industrial estate in Preston.

City council planners have given the go-ahead to the conversion of a unit on Moor Park Court – on St. George’s Road in Deepdale – which will become a new base for The Potters House Christian Fellowship.

It will be the second community the evangelical church has established in Preston, joining an existing facility on Garstang Road which opened back in 2010.

The fellowship told the local authority that a large number of its anticipated worshippers live within walking distance of the new site – and that it expected “the majority of congregations [to] be made up of university students”.

The venue will offer services on Sunday mornings – which around 85 people are expected to attend – and Sunday and Wednesday evenings, when in the region of 40 are likely to take part.

In a report outlining the reasons for their approval of the proposal, planning officers concluded that noise levels generated from the building “would be reduced as a result of the change of use” – because of the reduction in its hours of operation.

After submission of a travel plan, highways officials at Lancashire County Council were satisfied that there would be enough parking spaces available for those who did choose to drive to the church.

Worshippers will have access to an existing 28-space car park, their use of which has not been deemed to affect neighbouring business, because they will not be operating at the same time as the services.

On its website, the fellowship describes itself as “a vibrant community dedicated to spreading the message of faith and hope through evangelism”.

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