Plans to bulldoze Preston’s ageing St John’s Shopping Centre and replace it with three residential towers, shops and a new NHS health hub have been given the green light.

Members of Preston City Council’s planning committee have just backed the scheme with outline consent, clearing the way for a major reset of the city centre site after more than 60 years of retail use.

Developer Wansfell Ltd will now move forward with outline proposals to demolish the existing precinct and adjoining buildings at 77–97 Tithebarn Street.

In their place will rise three blocks ranging from 11 to 16 storeys, delivering up to 500 flats and 75,347 sq ft of commercial and community floorspace.

The scheme includes:

• up to 500 new flats
• ground-floor commercial units
• an NHS neighbourhood health facility
• a new community space

A tree-lined central boulevard linking Tithebarn Street to the markets quarter and the nearby Animate cinema, restaurant and leisure development off Lancaster Road.

The central boulevard is designed to stitch the site back into the wider city centre, improving pedestrian flow between transport links on Tithebarn Street and Preston’s evolving leisure and market quarter offer.

The approval marks one of the most significant city-centre regeneration moves in Preston in recent years, shifting the focus of the 1960s retail precinct toward high-density residential living supported by health and commercial uses.

With outline consent now secured, detailed design work and phasing plans are expected to follow as the long-standing shopping centre prepares for demolition and a new skyline takes shape.