Preston Art Deco cinema frontage saved from demolition after fire

The Art Deco frontage of a fire-ravaged cinema building has been spared demolition as plans to turn the rest of the site into a car park were approved.

In May, a blaze in Preston tore through the former Odeon cinema and a block which was home to the defunct Evoque and Tokyo Jo's nightclubs.

The rear of the properties were largely flattened for safety after the fire.

Plans to clear the rest of the plot have been scrapped and the site will become a car park for two years.

Preston City Council planning officers had raised concerns that a total clearance would have had an "unacceptable impact" on the nearby Winckley Square and Market Place conservation areas.

The plans had attracted 34 public objections, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Lancashire County Council's historic environment team warned the plans would create "a large, open vista from Church Street which would obliterate the visual aspects of the historic grain".

County Hall recommended that the terracotta cinema frontage should be retained either for incorporation into a replacement building or for "careful dismantling or reconstruction".

It said it was a "significant feature" which reflected the 1920s era in which the cinema was built.

The cinema closed in 1992 while the Evoke nightclub shut in 2020.

The city council's planning committee gave the go ahead to an amended application for the partial demolition of other parts of the site which left the building frontages intact.

Councillors also approved the creation of a 116-space car park by Rigby Group Limited at the rear of the plot.

This use goes against city planning policy but was recommended for approval due to the "exceptional circumstances" of how the site came to be in its current state.

Papers presented to members noted the temporary facility would provide a level of "natural surveillance" which would reduce the risk to the site, which has been the subject of several fires this year.

Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram? You can also send story ideas to [email protected]