Project update: Road closure planned for Preston Market car park demolition

Work to demolish Preston’s Market car park is on target for an October finish - despite hitting a snag over the ramp from Ringway.

The building is being taken down piece-by-piece, but complications have arisen over how work to remove the ramp would impact one of the city’s busiest routes.

Now decisions are being made on how to minimise the disruption of a lane closure, with traffic light re-programming and advanced signage considered.

What’s the background?

The car park was closed in January and demolition began - paving the way for a new cinema and leisure complex including a modern multi storey car park.

What do they say? Preston Cabinet member for environment councillor Robert Boswell said: “The demolition of the market car park ramp is the next crucial phase and we hope to share more information soon.

“We are working with our partners to keep the demolition project on schedule. We thank the public and surrounding businesses for their continued patience and understanding whilst these works take place.”

County Councillor Keith Iddon, cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “On any major road, such as Ringway, we have to carefully consider permission for work on the highway, taking into account the impact on people’s journeys and the length of time needed.

“Our aim is to minimise the inconvenience that the closure of a lane would cause on such a key road.

“We’ve asked for advanced signage to be put in place to alert drivers on key routes into the city, and we’ll temporarily re-programme the traffic signals around this area of the city centre while this work is carried out, to help the traffic flow.

“We have reached agreement with the city council and their contractor about the duration of the lane closure for this work, and we are in the process of agreeing a date for this to happen.”