Preston is ‘flying at the moment’ says developer aiming to build new £22m student block in city centre

Liverpool-based Caro Developments wants to construct a seven-to-nine storey building offering 227 studio apartments within walking distance of the ever-expanding University of Central Lancashire.

And after submitting plans to the city council, managing director Neil Carlyle explained why the city was the perfect location.

"Preston is flying at the moment,” he said. “Heaton Group’s latest tower scheme has topped out, the former indoor market site is going through the gears and the Station Quarter will deliver a modern central office district that will attract quality occupiers to the city. It’s a good time to invest here.”

If approved the block will become just the latest in a series of high-rise apartment towers springing up across Preston, changing the city's skyline in dramatic fashion.

The Caro project, designed by Falconer Chester Hall, will see an L-shaped building constructed on land at the rear and side of the former police headquarters, which has been used as a pay and display car park since 2016.

The site already has planning permission for apartments from an earlier application which involved converting the police station into a 10-storey block called Lawson House. The police moved out in 2009. The new plans show a two-storey police building on the Walker Street edge of the site which had a a roof top car park will be demolished.

A planning statement says the proposals "have been designed with the modern student in mind." They include a gym, cinema, games room, study zone and rooftop garden.

Neil Carlyle said: "Preston’s student market has evolved since the pandemic and expectations have risen. Students have a more holistic view of how they want their home to contribute to their study and leisure time, as well as to their health and wellbeing. Our proposals address these needs directly.”

He says the scheme will offer a more "pastoral" management regime that addresses students’ focus on togetherness and sociability. “Preston’s student numbers have remained steady, but the sudden shift in how students want their homes to support their wellbeing means that the city risks losing out if its offer fails to keep pace with the market.”