Plans to turn historic Preston pub, The Unicorn, into an apartment block take another step forward

In March 2021, permission was granted to transform the Grade II listed Unicorn pub on North Road into a building comprising five apartments on the first floor, and a communal area downstairs.

The pub would then become a front for ‘Unicorn Hall’, a 3-5 storey block with 121 flats to the pub’s rear, land which was the car park of the former B&Q store. However a new planning application was submitted on December 1 2022 for this to become 128 flats.

Last week, a variation/removal of condition was registered for the Unicorn by David Cox Architects on behalf of HVM North Limited. It asks for consent to part demolish, and to internally and externally alerate the Unicorn, as part of the above plans.

The application form for this variation/removal of condition states that “As a result of design development and ensuring viability for the scheme there has been design changes made to the approved drawings.”

There are amendments internally to the previously approved drawings and an access previously shown through the building on lower ground floor has been removed. However, this application only relates to the listed building consent, with any design changes to the new build set to be considered under a separate planning application.

Before closing in 2017, the Unicorn pub had been running for 200 years. It had previously been called the Cattle Market Tavern, due to the livestock mart which operated next door, but later changed its name to the Unicorn after the market was replaced by a school and terraced streets.

When the planning application was first submitted in April 2019, the plan was to turn the site into 123 student homes, with Unicorn being right next door to the £15m Canterbury Halls student complex which has 191 bedrooms. This was later changed in November 2019 to 126 one-bedroom flats for short-term rental.

On February 10 2023, an application was also registered for a discharge of condition no.4 (Materials) attached to the planning permission, and the aforementioned December 2022 application comprises unit changes and design changes, including the reduction of footprint meaning the building would be further away from the neighbouring Moorbrook pub.