New road rules for new-look Preston city centre

Vehicles are to be driven out of several Preston city centre shopping streets at the busiest times of the day.

The new rules will be introduced on routes in and around the Harris Quarter as part of a major facelift being given to the area.

Work to transform Friargate South, Orchard Street and Cheapside got under way in July. The scheme will see dated surfaces replaced to give the streets a modern new look.

It has also been designed as the final phase of a vision to create a seamless link for pedestrians and cyclists from the university to the city centre.

That ambition began with the pedestrianisation of Friargate North and an overhaul of its junction with Ringway, which were completed almost three years ago – and further details have now emerged about how it will be fulfilled on the southern section of the route.

Friargate South is already a designated pedestrian zone between 9am and 6.30pm each day – but permit holders are allowed to drive onto it during that period.

Proposed traffic regulation orders published by Lancashire County Council reveal plans to “prohibit driving” on the street completely between 11am and 4pm, with access for loading by goods vehicles allowed only outside of those hours.

The same restriction is set to be introduced along the full lengths of Orchard Street, Lowthian Street and a small section of Market Street – in front of the market hall building – through to its junction with Earl Street.

All motorised traffic will be banned from the short stretch of Friargate South running from Orchard Street to the car park in front of Preston Mobility Centre.

Pedal cycling will still be allowed on all sections of each of the affected routes.

Those vehicles that are allowed limited access will be subject to a one-way system that will run along Friargate South from Market Street, in the direction of Ringway, before continuing up Orchard Street and onto the section of Market Street covered by the no-driving zone. Lowthian Street will remain two-way for all users.

The one-way flow for traffic – which will also be introduced on Cheapside between Fishergate and Market Street – is intended to facilitate two-way travel along all of the routes by cyclists.

An existing cycle path along Jacson Street, parallel to Turtle Bay, will be formally confirmed as such in order to allow it to be properly enforced.

Meanwhile, existing no waiting and no loading restrictions in force on Cheapside, Market Street, Earl Street and Birley Street between 9am and 6.30pm each day will be extended to operate around the clock. However, the current loading, disabled and taxi bays on those routes will remain in place.

According to documents detailing the suite of proposals – for which a final go-ahead from highways bosses is expected shortly, subject to the outcome of a public consultation completed last month – the aim is to create “a traffic-free corridor on Friargate, improving the environment and local amenity”, whilst maintaining “a defined window of service access to support businesses and residents”.

The measures will also “enhance pedestrian and cycle connectivity, promoting sustainable and active travel within the city centre”, County Hall says.

While it is the county council – in its capacity as the highways authority – that is responsible for drawing up and implementing any new traffic regulation orders, the Transforming Friargate South scheme is a Preston City Council project. It is being funded by a share – estimated in 2024 to be £3.8m – of the £20m awarded to the authority from the last government’s Levelling Up Fund.

The completed work on Friargate North was delivered directly by the county council with £14.7m from Whitehall’s Transforming Cities Fund.

The upgrade to Friargate South and surrounding streets has been characterised as the “missing piece” in a more than decade-long effort to create a pedestrian-friendly and less cluttered Preston city centre.

That endeavour began with the ‘shared space’ scheme introduced on Fishergate in the mid-2010s and continued more recently with the revamp of Friargate North – to which the Friargate South works are intended to be a natural and complementary extension, using matching materials.