South Ribble Borough Council has appointed Capita’s landscape architecture team to develop masterplan proposals for Central Park, an area of green-space just outside Preston city centre.

The council is aiming to inspire a sense of heritage and identity throughout the park by introducing a design concept linked to the site’s rich industrial history. Each proposed ‘zone’ will include an independent strategy for development, sustainability, funding and usage but will fall under the overarching design philosophy provided by Capita’s masterplan.

Capita’s proposals will envision a range of transformations and improvements to the 60 hectare site, all of which will provide major benefits to residents and local neighbourhoods.

The overall objectives of the masterplan are:

• To unlock wider regeneration aspirations; 
• To  present the Central Park vision and themes;
• To gain support from funders and stakeholders;
• To communicate the council’s objectives to the community and developers;
• To provide the authority with guiding principles to achieve a long term strategy.

The masterplan will be developed in accordance with the National Planning Policy Framework guidelines to ensure that the proposals are sustainable in an economic, social and environmental sense.