Outline planning permission for major Preston city centre regeneration

Praxis, the UK-focused real estate investor and developer, has secured outline planning permission for a major residential-led regeneration scheme at the St John’s Shopping Centre in Preston city centre. The scheme will deliver 500 apartments across three buildings, alongside retail, leisure and healthcare space in the heart of the Harris Quarter. The application received unanimous support from Preston City Council’s planning committee.

Praxis acquired St John’s Shopping Centre in 2014 and has since invested in both the operational performance of the asset and its long-term potential. The surrounding area has seen substantial public realm investment in recent years, including the refurbishment of the Grade II-listed Preston Bus Station, the council-owned Animate leisure scheme, and the Harris Museum and Gallery.

Head of Capital Markets at Praxis, Calum Hulme commented:

Our professional team has worked incredibly hard on this project for a number of years, both in maintaining the operational performance of the St John’s Shopping Centre, securing planning permission for a transformational scheme at the heart of Preston City Centre and negotiating long-term pre-lets which will underpin the scheme.

We also want to acknowledge the pragmatic approach taken by Preston City Council on affordable housing and Section 106 obligations. In the current environment with elevated construction costs, higher interest rates and a subdued housing market, schemes of this nature simply do not work financially without flexibility. The Council’s commercial mindset has been essential in getting us to this point.

The next step is securing detailed planning permission, and we look forward to delivering a project that will genuinely transform Preston city centre.”

Praxis has over 1,000 residential units across its portfolio, from development-stage through to income-generating assets.

Praxis worked with LSH and NW Architects on the planning application.