Preston approves Caro’s £22m student scheme

The Liverpool-based developer can now build 227 flats on part of the former police headquarters off Lawson Street.

Designed by Falconer Chester Hall, the scheme will deliver an apartment block ranging from seven to nine storeys, providing accommodation for students of the nearby University of Central Lancashire.

Caro Developments’ own student living brand, Caro Student Living, will operate the facility, which will provide residents with a gym, study zone, games room, and cinema.

Neil Carlyle, managing director for Caro, said: “In a post-pandemic world, students want their homes to contribute to how they study, to their leisure time and, as importantly, to their health and wellbeing.

“We’ve sought to address these needs head-on and these will be the only homes of their type in the city”, he continued.

“Preston is going through the gears and it’s a good time to invest in the city.”

The neighbouring eight-storey former office block previously used by the police has already been converted into student halls by BPS Developments.

BPS sold the remainder of the site to Caro for the development, marking the developer’s first foray into Preston.

Plans for the £22m scheme were submitted in January.

Robert Brym, associate director at Falconer Chester Hall, said: “We have designed more than 7,000 student bed spaces across the UK and so took the brief in our stride.

“This was always about quality and performance, not numbers, and we are pleased to have designed such a well-received scheme.”

As well as Falconer Chester Hall, the project team includes planning consultant Zerum and landscape architect LDA Design.

To learn more about the project, search for planning application number 06/2022/1346 on Preston City Council’s planning portal.