One of Preston city centre’s major redevelopment schemes has been delayed amid rising costs.

Work was due to begin at Amounderness House in the early part of 2025 but the scheme to bring the former courthouse into new life as an office hub has to be resubmitted for planning approval due to re-drawn designs.

An additional £1.6million has now been committed by Preston City Council to keep the project on track – with rising cost of materials and ‘market rates’ blamed.

Read more: Preston’s decaying heritage – council vow action on ‘dangerous’ buildings as stonewalling by property owners continues

The former magistrates’ court building dates back to 1857 and is grade-II listed and runs along Lancaster Road, Earl Street and Birley Street.

Revised proposals now need to return to councillors for approval due to fresh designs for the multi-million pound scheme. The original plans were approved in November 2023.

Standing empty for more than three decades the former police station, courtroom and cells were due to be transformed with work starting in ‘early 2025’ in the last update given by Preston City Council.

Changes are needed to plans for the rear of the building to ensure it is ‘sympathetic to the existing building’ and the floorspace of the overall plans remains approximately the same as what was previously submitted to planners.

A revised timeline of work beginning during the course of this summer has now been given.

Cabinet member for community wealth building and city regeneration, councillor Valerie Wise, told Blog Preston: “Due to market fluctuations and the rising cost of materials, the cost of the Amounderness House refurbishment scheme has increased. As a result, Preston City Council has had to revise the plans to reduce costs and secure additional funding from £7.4m to c.£9m, approved by Full Council (Dec 24), to allow the scheme to go ahead as planned.

“The Council remains committed to bringing this significant listed building back to life after 30 vacant years with a renewed purpose. The regeneration of Amounderness House, alongside other important heritage assets in the city, is critical to the regeneration of Preston’s historical Harris Quarter, and the overall ambitions and future sustainability and economic wealth of the city as the leading commercial hub of Lancashire, and the third largest city in the North West.

“The planning applications and listed building consent now need to be revised in order for the scheme to progress and as such, a start on site date is expected Summer 2025.”

The updated designs are being delivered by FWP Architects and submitted by S&L Planning – with the scheme overseen by Maple Grove Developments who have been overseeing the nearby Animate cinema scheme.

Nik Puttnam, development director at Maple Grove Developments, said: “Having been the development partner for Animate, which is due to open in Spring this year, we are proud to be playing a key role in bringing back this listed building into use and contributing to the ongoing regeneration of the city.”

Deborah Smith of S&L Planning said: “The building has an important heritage that needs to be celebrated while creating a modern space that will provide an important venue for new and growing businesses. It will also see an important building brought back into use and adds to the regeneration of Preston’s Harris Quarter.”

Funding for the restoration of Amounderness House is partly secured by the city’s TownsFund grant which has been the catalyst for the Harris refurbishment and Animate scheme amongst other major schemes in the city in what’s dubbed the Harris Quarter (an area around the Town Hall, Bus Station and Harris).

Chair of Preston’s Towns Fund Board, John Chesworth, said: “I’m looking forward to seeing this fantastic building being brought back into use and transformed into an important facility that will help stimulate economic activity in the city. The regeneration of the Harris Quarter is progressing well, and projects such as these will help stimulate additional investment in Preston.”

Subscribe: Keep in touch directly with the latest headlines from Blog Preston, join our WhatsApp channel and subscribe for our twice-a-week email newsletter. Both free and direct to your phone and inbox.

Read more: See the latest Preston news and headlines