Preston is another north west area that has been awarded city status in 2002. It is a great, upcoming area for investors for a number reasons. Here are our top three.
1. Location
Situated north of Manchester, Preston is home to UCLAN (University of Central Lancashire) which brings around 30,000 students to the city. Its railway station is a major station on the West Coast main line providing easy access across the North West of England and beyond. A trip to Manchester will take you 40 minutes while you’ll get to Blackburn in only 17 minutes.
One of the city’s main high streets in the centre has been upgraded to create a contemporary shared space for both pedestrians and vehicles. And a hopeful vision is to make Preston a key destination prior to the possible arrival of the planned HS2 network in the city.
2. Investment & Regeneration
One of the city’s biggest achievements is the Preston and Lancashire City Deal. This is a landmark agreement to achieve a transformation of the area, creating thousands of new jobs and homes.
A total £434m new investment is pledged, 20,000 new jobs are forecast and 17,420 new homes will be created. The deal will provide a huge boost to the local economy, which is expected to grow by £1 billion over the next ten years.
On top of that, the £50m Markets Quarter development is a major regeneration plan that comprises a new 11-screen cinema with a large format experience screen, seven family restaurant units and a new multi-storey car park of 593 spaces.
3. Universities
As one of the biggest universities in the country, the city deal project will be helping to improve the UCLAN’s campus and see the construction of a new Engineering Innovation Centre building due to start in 2017.
With a student and staff community approaching 38,000, UCLAN is the fifth largest employer in the North West of England. And two years ago, in 2015, the Centre for World University Rankings placed UCLan in the top 3.8 percent of all worldwide universities
