Council rules on plans for two new restaurants on Preston’s main shopping street

A new restaurant serving a Middle Eastern menu has been given the go-ahead in the former Past Times store on the corner of Fishergate and Glovers Court.

And a new cafe/restaurant with an outside seating area will take over the former William Hill Bookmakers shop on Fishergate, opposite the railway station.

Both planning applications have been passed by council officers, with the two newcomers adding to a string of eateries along the city's busiest thoroughfare.

The scheme to convert the Past Times store will be a return to dining for the corner unit which was a restaurant in a previous life. Developers want to develop it into a "landmark eatery" on the ground floor and three self-contained apartments on the two floors upstairs. The three-storey building, with its ornate Edwardian style architecture above a modern pastiche-style shop front, has been empty for around four years.

The name of the proposed restaurant has not been revealed, but according to planning documents it will be a small outlet - seating just 24 - serving a "Middle Eastern brunch menu."

The distinctive red brick and terracotta property, built in 1914, has had plans passed for a restaurant in the past - in the 1970s and in 1990. In its early days it was used by the Preston Sailors and Soldiers Free Buffet Association as a shop to fund the free refreshment stand on the railway station, providing food and drink to servicemen passing through during the First World War.

Past Times proved a popular occupant until the nationwide group went into administration in 2012, closing down many of its 97 stores, including Preston. The property then housed an art gallery until 2018.

A heritage statement submitted with the application says: "The building conserves an element of Preston’s historic past and conveys a sense of the township that existed in the early 20th Century. The building therefore has some illustrative historic value through its ability to depict images of the past.

"The relatively intact nature of the 1st and 2nd storeys still provide some notable historic value. The ornate style of building suggests it was procured by a person or organisation of some social standing."

Further down Fishergate the former William Hill betting shop has been vacant for some time and plans will see Rise Cafe, currently in Miller Arcade, take over.

The application includes a "temporary" outdoor seating area on the pavement at the front which attracted one letter of objection and concerns from the County Council's highways department. It was felt the 1.8-metres of space between the seating area and the kerb would be too tight for such a busy stretch of pavement. But after talks the applicant increased the gap to two metres and officers gave it the nod.

The project is for a cafe/restaurant with takeaway facilities. It will involve internal reconfiguration of the ground floor of the shop - the floor above is currently a medical clinic. And there will be a new-look shop front. The business will employ six full-time staff.

A report to the planning department says: "The existing shop front has a tired appearance and is at odds with the other shop fronts within this stretch of Fishergate.”