Preston's Park Hotel set for £70m transformation

An £8.6m pot of grant funding has been secured from Homes England to facilitate major redevelopment of the former Park Hotel in Preston city centre.

Money has been granted through the final round of the Building Infrastructure and Land Fund (BIL Fund), a £1bn UK Government initiative aimed at unlocking housing sites and supporting the delivery of brownfield, infrastructure or land projects.

Funds have been obtained thanks to a public/private sector collaboration between Preston City Council, Homes England, Hive Land and Planning and Heaton Group.

The property has been unoccupied since 2011 when Lancashire County Council vacated the premises and it is set to be transformed through a combination of extensive heritage refurbishment and new-build development.

Developer, Heaton Group, which has an impressive track record in the city thanks to schemes including The Exchange (Pole Street), recently took ownership of the building from the Local Pensions Partnership.

The firm is now all systems go for its plans to convert the property into a 92-bedroom apart-hotel and construct 239 apartments. The latter will be delivered as BtR (Build-to-Rent) with the owner and operator to be revealed at a later stage.

The City Council and its advisor Hive Land and Planning have worked collaboratively with the developer and Homes England to progress the grant funding bid through to a successful conclusion.

Councillor Valerie Wise, cabinet member for community wealth building and city regeneration at Preston City Council, added: "We are wholly supportive of this significant collaboration which marks a huge step forward in the city's regeneration journey.

‘’The Park Hotel is an historic, beloved piece of the city's legacy, a magnificent structure overlooking two of our finest Grade II listed parks, a prominent landmark and welcome into the city from the West Coast main railway line. It's a huge boost for this area and Preston's City Living Strategy." 

Nick Thompson, director at Hive Land and Planning, said: "This is a fantastic outcome for Preston and testament to the hard work and collaboration of key stakeholders. We are very pleased that Homes England have endorsed the City Council's regeneration vision with this substantial funding award."

Duncan Inglis, director of MPP North at Homes England, continued: "The transformation of the Park Hotel is an excellent example of how Homes England funding and close, cross-sector partnership working can drive forward regeneration and deliver new homes.

‘’By unlocking a long-vacant brownfield site in the heart of Preston, this investment will deliver 239 new Build to Rent homes alongside a revitalised apart-hotel business, enabling placemaking and economic growth in the city centre."

"The Park Hotel is a cornerstone of Preston's heritage", said John Heaton, managing director at The Heaton Group. "We're proud to be delivering a scheme that combines regeneration, hospitality and housing."

Graham Baldwin, vice chancellor of the University Lancashire and chair of the Preston Regeneration Board, concluded: "This is an excellent example of the public and private sector working together to bring forward a quality scheme. Preston is a great place to live, to be educated, to work and to visit and this key development will only improve that offer."