Preston regeneration projects set for 2026

Half a dozen regeneration projects are set to be completed or to begin in Preston over the next 12 months.

The city will see the long-awaited openings of its youth zone and the replacement of the ‘Old Tram Bridge, connecting Avenham Park to Penwortham.

Elsewhere, work will start on schemes including a facelift for Friargate South and the creation of a new east-west cycle route along the edge of the city centre.

Meanwhile, revamps that are already under way – of Moor and Waverley parks and the former magistrates’ court building, Amounderness House, which is being converted into flexible office space and retail units – will enter their most significant phases.

2026 was always going to struggle to compete with 2025 for milestone moments in the city after a year in which the £45.9m ‘Animate’ cinema, restaurant and leisure complex opened and the Harris Museum welcomed visitors back after a four-year, £19m renovation.

However, Preston City Council cabinet member for community wealth building and city centre regeneration Valerie Wise – while describing the past 12 months as “phenomenal” – insisted that there was still plenty for residents to look forward to in the year ahead.

 “The momentum of development and investment for the city is the strongest we have seen for more than a decade – and it’s showing no signs of stopping on our way to what promises to be another very busy year for regeneration and the built environment in 2026,” Cllr Wise said.

PROJECTS SET TO COMPLETE IN 2026  

Vault Youth Zone

More than 15 years after the idea was first conceived, Preston will finally get a youth zone.  Vault – as it was named by the city’s young people – is set to be fully operational by the spring, following a phased opening previously revealed by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

More than 20 tailored activities will be on offer, including an indoor climbing wall, a four-court sports hall, a gym, a dance and drama studio and a 3G kick pitch.

Meanwhile, a ‘Maker Zone’ will give young people the opportunity to work with 3D printers and will also boast a training kitchen, a music room with recording studio, an arts and crafts room and an enterprise and employability suite.

Eight-to-19-year olds can now sign up to become members – with the facility being open to those up to the age of 25 who have additional needs.   Membership costs £5 per year and there is a charge of 50p per visit.  Hot meals will also be available for just £1.

The new ‘Old Tram Bridge’

It will be more than seven years since the Old Tram Bridge closed when its replacement will open in the spring, restoring the popular pedestrian and cycle link between Preston and South Ribble by reconnecting Avenham Park and Penwortham.

The four sections of the new structure were craned into place earlier this month and work to complete the decking and panelling, install the handrails, and remove the scaffolding is now under way.

The bridge’ s new lighting features are the next piece of the jigsaw to be completed, along with the resurfacing of the Old Tram Road ahead of the opening on a date yet to be confirmed – which will come after almost two years of on-site work.

Return of the red phoneboxes  

The iconic row of nine traditional red phoneboxes that lined Market Street until their removal in December 2024 are set to reappear after a refurbishment and repurposing – but not until much later in 2026.

Preston City Council told the LDRS earlier this month that the facilities – now defunct as methods of communication after being disconnected and falling into disrepair more than a decade ago – will remain in storage so they are not damaged by streetworks taking place in the area.

More time is also needed in order to install the cabling that will be needed to fully realise the vision for the booths to be resurrected as audio-visual and art installations.

PROJECTS SET TO START IN 2026

Friargate South facelift   

Work will begin in the spring to upgrade the section of Friargate that runs from Ringway to the Flag Market.

New paving will be installed along the already pedestrianised route – along with new seating and planting – as part of the estimated £3m project, full details of which were first unveiled in December 2023.

Preston City Council has previously described the thoroughfare – which has become notorious for the number of empty shops lining it – as the “missing piece” in all the improvements made to Preston’s public realm over the last decade.  Those include the transformation, two years ago, of Friargate North, which links Ringway to the university quarter.

The Friargate South works – part of Preston’s successful £20m Levelling Up Fund bid in 2022  – will bring to life a long-held blueprint for better connecting the university to the city centre and include new cycling facilities.

The scheme was given a £1.1m boost from Levelling Up money reallocated after the cancellation of planned new sports facilities on Ashton Park in 2024.

City centre lighting upgrades

The second phase of Preston’s ‘Illuminate and Integrate’ project is due to begin early in the new year.

The overall package of measures will see a combination of column, canopy and wall-mounted lights shining across an area centred around the Harris Museum, Cenotaph, covered market and the new Animate cinema and leisure complex – lighting the way between the latter and the bus station.

The new fixtures will replace some existing lights and complement others on a total of ten streets – Lancaster Road, Friargate, Market Street, Market Place, Birley Street, Earl Street, Old Vicarage, Lowthian Street, Orchard Street and Anchor Court.    Moving images will also be projected onto the pavements in some areas.

Upgrades to pedestrian and cycling facilities have also been made to the stretch of Lancaster Road alongside the Market Hall .

New east-west cycle path

Next summer has been set as the new start date for works that had been expected to begin in 2025 to install a 700-metre long cycle path that will run along Queen Street and Avenham Lane – creating a new cross-city route for cyclists.

The £1.5m facility – which will be segregated from motor traffic – is intended to improve two-wheeled connections between the railway station in the west and places of education in the east.

It will also form part of the wider cycling network, linking in with the Guild Wheel and routes to Avenham Park and through into South Ribble, via the reopened tram bridge link.