New eateries approved for vacant Preston building

Monday, 28 September 2026 10:46

By Paul Faulkner

A building that has stood vacant on a busy street on the edge of Preston city centre for almost two decades is finally set to be brought back to life.

Plans to convert the former Bodyshapers gym on Corporation Street into two restaurants or cafés, plus a retail unit, have been given the go-ahead by Preston city council.

It will be the first time the property – which was once an assembly hall for St George’s Institute – has been in use since 2009. However, signs for the long-closed gym have remained in place for the intervening 17 years, giving the impression the building has been occupied.

The site will now be sub-divided into three units. No details were provided in the planning application about the exact nature of the trio of new ventures, but they will stand in a high footfall area connecting Preston’s university quarter to the city centre and station.

The restaurants/cafés will be permitted to trade between 7.30am and 11pm Monday to Saturday and from 9am until 9pm on Sundays and bank holidays. It is proposed that the shop will be open from 9.30am until 5.30pm every day except Sunday, when it will serve customers from 10am until 4pm.

One of the eateries and the retail unit will each be the same size – at 88.5 square metres – with the remaining food joint coming in at a slightly smaller 69.5 square metres.

A report by town hall planners explaining their reasons for approving the redevelopment acknowledges that the conversion will result in “an increase of comings and goings”. However, it was not deemed to be an “over intensified” use of the site, which operated as Bodyshapers for more than 25 years.

Two extraction flues will be added to the rear of the part-single part-two-storey building, but these were considered acceptable as they will not be visible from Corporation Street.

A first-floor flat within the property will be unaffected by the physical changes to the premises.