Preston Bus Station is a monument and it needs to breathe. It wants a public space in front of it in order to regain its stature. Today it needs a front facade which should be quietly inviting, creating an esplanade
On that new esplanade, no new building could possibly compete in length or mass with the station’s immense presence. Therefore the proposed Youth Zone should go in one direction: up.
Located in the north east corner of Preston City Centre, the Bus Station sits in the heart of a 22,500 m² site. This site is situated between Tithebarn Street to the west and Carlisle Street to the east and lies just south of the main junction between the A59 and the A6. To the north and east of the site lie a mixture of a hotel, office blocks and a large retail outlet, whilst to the west there are a variety of commercial offers and an area of open space adjacent to a nineteenth century brick warehouse which is also a grade II listed building.
At the mid-point of Tithebarn Street lies St John Shopping Centre an important neighbour of the Bus Station. This retail centre is owned by Praxis Developments who are currently preparing refurbishment/redevelopment plans for it.
To the South of the site and linked to the Bus Station building via a high level footbridge as well as a pedestrian subway (an extension of the subway that serves the taxi rank) lies the Bus Station’s other important neighbour the Guild Hall complex. Similar to St Johns Shopping Centre, this building is also now under relatively new ownership (The Villa Group) and again subject to significant refurbishment/redevelopment plans.
Preston Bus Station is a monument and it needs to breathe. It wants a public space in front of it in order to regain its stature. Today it needs a front facade which should be quietly inviting, creating an esplanade. On that new esplanade, no new building could possibly compete in length or mass with the station’s immense presence. Therefore the proposed Youth Zone should go in one direction: up.
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