Member Article

Preston 4,000 housing masterplan is underway

Preston City Council has announced plans for a 4,000 home development in the north west of the city in partnership with Lancashire County Council and the Homes & Community Agency (HCA).

A blueprint is being prepared by the council, and will outline a framework masterplan to include road improvements, public transport provision, walking and cycling routes, green space, schools and community spaces as well as housing types and densities.

The plan will aim to create the best possible development for the area, which is close to the M6 M55 interchange.

URS Infrastructure and Environment Ltd have been appointed as lead consultants to assist the City Council in the production of the master plan to ensure it is created quickly.

Deputy leader of Preston Council, Cllr John Swindells, commented: “Preston is a great place to live and there is much demand from housing developers to build and invest here. But it is very much a case of ‘chicken and egg’.

“Preston does not yet have the […] infrastructure ready to support up to 4,000 new homes.

“There’s no point building the homes for people to get snarled up in traffic, or for children to have no school or play areas.

“That’s why we are preparing a comprehensive master plan of the whole north west Preston area.

Alan Houghton, project director at URS, commented: “We are delighted to have been appointed as lead consultants on this exciting project and look forward to working with the Council and its partners to produce a master plan which can deliver the many new homes that are needed within a high quality environment.”

Chris Hayward, city planning officer at Preston City Council, added: “We are pleased to have appointed URS consultants to produce this vitally important piece of work.

“The plan will provide certainty in the planning process and help ensure that the new communities in north west Preston are built to a high standard of design.

“The intention is to bring forward a detailed master plan that everyone can be satisfied with so that it can be formally approved by the council later this year.”

Head of planning at Lancashire County Council, Marcus Hudson, said: “This housing is crucial to Preston’s fortunes and it’s vital that we get the balance of development and supporting infrastructure right.

“This master plan will form a key part of the Preston City Deal, which the County Council is also pleased to be working on as it will bring hundreds of millions of pounds of investment and new jobs into Preston.”

A draft of the masterplan is expected for October this year, followed by a formal consultation period and adoption of the plan by the end of 2013.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Miranda Dobson .