A series of one-way restrictions and traffic bans have been implemented on the edge of Preston city centre.

Lancashire County Council has formally enacted the changes on and around Friargate North, meaning enforcement action could be taken against drivers who flout the rules.

The new regulations have been introduced following the pedestrianisation of a large section of the route, part of a major revamp of the area which was completed earlier this year.

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All motor vehicles are now banned from Friargate North – around the clock – along the short stretch between Union Street and Ringway.

The authority had planned to make the remaining pedestrianised area – between Union Street and Marsh Lane – accessible to vehicles for just four hours a day, between 6am and 10am, in order to allow businesses to receive deliveries.  However, County Hall’s cabinet decided earlier this year to trial an extension of that time window – until 11am – following feedback received during a public consultation.

A driving ban has also now been introduced on Union Street, except for those vehicles needing access to premises based there.  The restriction runs for most of the length of the narrow street – from its junction with Market Street West until shortly before it meets Friargate North.  The remaining section of the route then becomes one-way in the direction of the latter junction – a change to the previous arrangement under which the entire road operated under a one-way system.

Elsewhere, one-way rules have come into force on Hill Street – from around 50 metres after its junction with Seed Street, through to Friargate North – and Heatley Street, which has become one-way from around 40 metres after its own junction with Seed Street, again running through to Friargate.

Meanwhile, during the hours when vehicular access is permitted to the Union Street-to-Marsh Lane section of Friargate North, those vehicles will be subject to a one-way system operating in the direction of the university quarter.

The trial of the 6-11am access on that part of the route could last up to 18 months and will require a further public consultation before any decision is taken about whether to make it permanent or revert to the initial four-hour proposal.

A fresh public consultation on the partial implementation of the original plans was carried out during September and October and no objections were received.

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