Plans lodged for major Preston hotel redevelopment

The redevelopment of a well-known Preston hotel has taken an important step forward with the submission of a planning application, which also includes the creation of more than 300 apartments.The Heaton Group is looking to change the use of, and extend, the former Park Hotel, which was last used as the County Council offices, to provide a 65 room apart-hotel.A co-working space and gym are also planned for the ground floor of the building, alongside commercial floorspace to accommodate a publicly accessible café and restaurant.The hotel site also includes number 8 East Cliff, which is a grade II-listed building that was built in 1835 as a detached town house, but has more recently been used as an office.Under the plans, the building will be converted to include six apartments, while two new buildings will be constructed to provide a total of 354 one- and two-bedroom homes.The first building, rising eight to ten storeys, will contain 236 apartments with the second nine-storey tower housing 118.A planning statement prepared by Paul Butler Associates noted that the scheme would create a host of jobs, including more than 600 during the construction phase, alongside those being employed by the hotel.It added that the redevelopment of a “prominent and important site” would contribute to the ongoing regeneration of the Station Quarter and would “encourage further investment into this key gateway area to Preston city centre”.Preston City Council will review the application in due course.