Property

trafford street

Councillors set to reject student flats plan for Plungington as case heads for appeal hearing

30th, January 2012 by

Plans to convert two shops in Plungington into student accommodation are set to be rejected by councillors. A former hairdressers and tanning salon on Trafford Street could be changed into six appartments. Fears over parking problems and noise have led local councillors and residents to petition the council to stop the development going ahead. Councillors have been advised to throw the plans out to strengthen [...]

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Fire team

Brave firefighters to assist Japanese relief efforts

19th, March 2011 by

Specialist members of Lancashire’s fire and rescue services have joined the relief effort in Japan. As details of the disaster unfold, trained teams have been sent from countries worldwide. Seven members from the region’s fire services have been sent to the stricken nation. They include Andy Hayes and Mark Noblet from Preston. Fire service officer, Richard Edney, praised the group for their courage. “Obviously they’re [...]

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Empty shop

North South divide hits shopkeepers where it hurts

24th, February 2011 by

Shopkeepers fear that the current dip in sales could mean the death of the high street as the north south divide grows ever bigger. Figures released by the Local Data Company show the shop vacancy gap between the north and the south rose by 2.5 per cent in the last six months. In Preston there are currently 100 empty shops with the worst areas being [...]

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beers

Struggling pubs at risk as beer sales slide

6th, February 2011 by

Pulling the perfect pint may soon be a lost art if beer sales continue to slide. The humble pub is losing out to supermarkets who can sell booze cheaply and according to experts at the British Beer and Pub Association, overall beer sales fell by four per cent in 2010. Beer sales in pubs have dropped by more than seven per cent, yet supermarket sales [...]

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green cafe

New community cafe hopes for a greener future

6th, February 2011 by

Newly-opened vegetarian co-operative cafe Beautiful Planet hopes to bring the community together to make a greener future for the area. It took three months of hard work from manager Brett Lund and a crew of volunteers to fix up the derelict shop on Friargate. “Every square inch needed to be refurbished,” says Brett, of Church Street. Beautiful Planet only opened last Thursday, but it already [...]

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rightmoveplaces

RightMovePlaces – A resource for Preston

26th, January 2011 by

As briefly summarised in my earlier post, RightMovePlaces is a website where people can give a flavour of the area in which they live through photos, summaries of their opinions on the area and vote on what they think the best and worst aspects are. In the next few days Blog Preston will also have an RSS feed that goes directly into the Preston section of the [...]

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withy trees

Withy Trees pub given ‘dream’ refurbishment

8th, December 2010 by

The Withy Trees pub has been given a fresh lease of life thanks to a new ownership and refurbishment. Situated on Lytham Road, Fulwood, the pub had been in a downward spiral until the last landlord’s licence was revoked. Lisa Gosling, a local nurse in want of change, pitched her business plan for the failing pub. Without any experience in the industry Lisa felt she [...]

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The scene several hours after the fire began. Pic: Jess Edwards

Police cordon off Deepdale area as blaze rages on

3rd, December 2010 by

A former warehouse has been evacuated and a 500 feet area cordoned off after a four-storey building was engulfed by flames. The building, on Kent St, is home to the Iqra education centre and the Biker Asylum motorcycle shop. Children were seen leaving the building barefoot, having been evacuated by fire-fighters. Eye-witness Pete Switzer, 36, described how he heard “two little explosions” adding the apparent cause was an electric heater. [...]

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Preston MP Mark Hendrick with members of the Jalgos Sports and Social Club

West Indian club Jalgos under threat from Tithebarn

29th, November 2010 by

The campaign to save Preston’s principal West Indian social club is in full swing  following the approval of Tithebarn plans. Preston City Council’s £700m plan for Tithebarn has caused problems for Jalgos, which will be forced to relocate to make way for space for buses to reverse into. The Jalgos Sports and Social club was formed almost 50 years ago and a campaign is ongoing [...]

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Outside-Wide

Preston Bus Station: picture special

18th, November 2010 by

With the Tithebarn regeneration project looking likely to go ahead, Preston’s historic Bus Station could soon be a thing of the past. There have been mixed views, and many debates about whether the building should remain; whether it is a work of art, or an eyesore. Jonathan Kenyon, who studies at Preston College focussed an entire project on the building, and produced some beautiful results.

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