The long-awaited restoration of Preston’s former Park Hotel finally looks set to get under way after a developer secured the funding to acquire the landmark building.
The Heaton Group was granted planning permission for the redevelopment of the site – which overlooks Miller Park – exactly two years ago.
Their vision was to convert the property – often likened to a Disney castle – into a so-called ‘apart-hotel’ and to build two residential apartment blocks in its grounds, creating hundreds of new dwellings.
Read more: Holiday rental apartments plan for corner of Lancaster Road and Church Street
However, the blueprint for what was once – during the decades after it opened back in 1883 – the most luxurious place to stay in Preston has yet to be brought to life.
The site has been empty and fallen into increasing dereliction since 2011 when it was vacated by Lancashire County Council, which had used it as office accommodation since the hotel closed in 1950.
As the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) has charted, the refurbishment project approved in 2024 has been delayed amid, variously, a wrangle over affordable housing and a major redesign related to fire safety regulations.
But it has now emerged that The Heaton Group is only now in the process of purchasing the site from The Local Pensions Partnership, which owns it.
The LDRS was told back in 2023 by Paul Butler Associates, which was acting as the agent for the scheme, that the aim was for the developer to acquire the site once planning approval was granted by Preston City Council – a decision ultimately reached in February 2024.
However, property lender ‘Together’ has now announced that it has provided what it describes as ”a six-figure bridging loan” to The Heaton Group to finance the purchase.
It says the scheme seeks to create “a destination to attract visitors to Preston, whilst bringing back to life an impressive building”.
Phase one of the redevelopment will focus on completing the acquisition and making the building – which has been subject to significant vandalism and even some small fires in recent years – watertight in order to prevent further deterioration.
It will then be converted into a 92-room hotel complete with gym, spa and a restaurant open to the public.
A total of 239 residential apartments will be built across two new blocks, while an address at 8, East Cliff will be renovated and converted into supported living apartments.
Ritchie Watson, corporate sales director at Together, said: “This is an exciting opportunity to bring one of Preston’s most iconic buildings back to life. Our finance has enabled The Heaton Group to secure the site and begin the journey of transforming it into a vibrant destination that will benefit the city for generations to come.”
John Heaton, managing director at Heaton Group, added: “The Park Hotel is a cornerstone of Preston’s heritage. We’re proud to be delivering a scheme that combines regeneration, hospitality and housing.
“Together’s support has been crucial in making this acquisition possible and having a long term partnership with Together has meant we have been able to move quickly, and begin bringing a very special piece of history back to life.”
The LDRS approached The Heaton Group for further comment on the delay to its acquisition of the hotel.
What took you so long?
In October 2024 – eight months after planning permission was granted for the redevelopment of the site – the matter was back before Preston City Council’s planning committee.
The firm had successfully argued earlier in the year that the development would not be financially viable if it was subject to the council’s usual policy demanding 30 percent of the new properties were offered at a discounted ‘affordable’ rate.
With 321 apartments then set to be created across two newly-built blocks alongside the hotel – and a further six as part of the refurbishment of No. 8 East Cliff’ – a total of 98 of them would have had to be sold at less than market value.
While the authority accepted the developer’s case and waived the affordable requirement, it also put in place a safety net known as a ‘review mechanism’ to reassess the profitability of the project at a later date. That way, if the scheme were to make more money than currently forecast, the council would be able to claw back some of the cash and use it to fund the creation of affordable housing elsewhere in the city.
However, The Heaton Group later claimed that the arrangement was threatening to derail the scheme because of the uncertainty it created for investors. Town hall planners recommended that committee members should therefore agree to remove it for the sake of ensuring the hotel – which is considered a local heritage asset, although not a listed building – is salvaged.
Councillors agreed to forgo the potential future windfall, against the backdrop of warnings that the building was at risk of burning down amid a spate of arson attacks to have hit empty Preston buildings.
However, 12 months later, work was still to begin on the site – and the planning committee was being asked to consider a significant change to the original plans.
Members heard that compliance with new regulations introduced in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire could have delayed the development of the new buildings by up to a further year.
For that reason, it was proposed to slash the number of apartments for permanent residence by a quarter – while increasing the number of serviced rooms within the apart-hotel from 65 to 92.
A total of 82 apartments were removed from the blueprint for the new blocks, enabling both of them to be cut from nine storeys to six.
The first of the pair was now to contain 146 dwellings – down from 193 – and the second was to accommodate 93 apartments instead of the previously planned 128. The committee approved all of the proposed changes.
The present proposal for the site bears little resemblance to one that was first outlined back in 2019, when separate plans were put forward for it to be restored to a full hotel and for a new pavilion to be built alongside it, containing a 500-capacity banqueting suite.
Support Blog Preston: Keep our community reporting going and view the website without any adverts too. Sign up for a membership today.
Stay updated: Keep in touch directly with the latest headlines from Blog Preston, join our WhatsApp channel and subscribe for our twice-a-week email newsletter. Both free and direct to your phone and inbox. Help us report too, by contacting us if you see something we should be reporting on.
Read more: See the latest Preston news and headlines
