Property

Preston's Magnificent Town Hall.

Preston Past: Sir George Gilbert Scott’s Preston Town Hall

An Architectural Gem for Preston. This is the magnificent Town Hall which was built between 1862 and 1866 standing on the site of the former Moot Hall between Fishergate and the Market Square.  It was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, a leading architect in the Gothic revival type of architecture. The clock tower, the second largest in Britain after the ‘Big Ben’ tower in [...]

439 days ago by
trafford street

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

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 [...]

476 days ago by
Fire team

Brave firefighters to assist Japanese relief efforts

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 [...]

793 days ago by
empty shops

North South divide hits shopkeepers where it hurts

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 [...]

816 days ago by
beers

Struggling pubs at risk as beer sales slide

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 [...]

834 days ago by
green cafe

New community cafe hopes for a greener future

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 [...]

834 days ago by

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