Developer's bid to ditch affordable housing plan

Plans to create a gated luxury housing estate in suburban Preston risk being derailed by a demand to build affordable housing elsewhere in the city, it has been claimed.

The proposed redevelopment of the former Harris Park Orphanage site, off Garstang Road in Fulwood, was given the go-ahead by councillors almost three years ago.

The high-end scheme would see the historic plot's 11 Grade II-listed buildings converted for residential use, along with the creation of 16 brand new properties.

A total of 37 homes were set to be developed on what was now known as the Harris Knowledge Park.

The housing blueprint was approved by Preston City Council's planning committee in November 2022.

The firm behind the proposal successfully argued the project would not be financially viable if 30% of the properties had to be offered under the discounted affordable homes category and the stipulation was scrapped.

The applicant, Eden Grove Investment Properties Limited was told that "reasonable contributions" towards developing affordable properties on another site would be required if the Harris Park estate ultimately made more profit than was expected at the outset.

However, the city council has now been asked to write off even that prospect after it was claimed the resultant "uncertainty" was making the project unattractive for the developer and investors needed to get the blueprint off the drawing board, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The Harris Orphanage opened in 1888 and cared for more than 2,200 youngsters over the course of the 94 years which it operated.

Preston Polytechnic – the forerunner to the University of Central Lancashire – acquired the site in 1982 before disposing of it 24 years later.

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