Memorandum submitted by Preston City Council
1. Preston City Council have worked and
are continuing to work with British Waterways on a number of major
city and regional regeneration initiatives.
2. Over the last ten years the Council has
worked in partnership with British Waterways on :-
— The Ribble Link—the last new
canal to be built in England which connects the Lancaster Canal
to the Leeds Liverpool Canal via the River Ribble and which has
created a whole new area for tourism, leisure and amenity in the
region;
— The second phase of redevelopment
at Preston Riversway Docklands (Quayside). This will create some
ten hectares of new waterside development sites and will add value
to a further 15 hectares of existing waterside areas. These areas
together will constitute a major commercial residential and leisure
destination for the city of Preston and will act as a catalyst
for economic growth to the west of the city centre.
— The study to reopen the disused southern
reaches of the Lancaster Canal (Canalside) where it leads into
the City Centre. This proposal is being developed to provide a
new waterside village adjacent to both the city centre and the
University of Central Lancashire.
— The Riverside Project—This
is designed to make the River Ribble the focus for Preston's emergence
as the third city of the North West. In the medium to long term
this will provide waterside parkland settings adjacent to the
city centre around which new housing and related facilities can
be located : all within walking distance of the city centre.
3. All of these projects are major planks
of Preston's City Vision for the 21st Century.
4. The Council is pleased to work with British
Waterways in these areas and is confident that it has unrivalled
experience in waterside regeneration and can call on a wide range
of expertise from its consultants' panel, including marine engineering,
environmental issues, masterplanning and leisure management.
5. The Council has been extremely satisfied
with the service and support that it has reserved from British
Waterways across a wide range of projects over a long time scale
and would urge that they are encouraged to retain their role in
water related regeneration / renaissance developments.
Preston City Council
March 2008
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