City of Preston | |
|---|---|
| Preston | |
 | |
 Coat of Arms of the City Council | |
| Motto: Prince of Peace (Princeps Pacis) | |
 Shown withinLancashire and England | |
  City of Preston Shown within England | |
| Coordinates:53°45′N2°42′W / 53.750°N 2.700°W /53.750; -2.700 | |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Country | England |
| Region | North West England |
| County | Lancashire |
| Guild Merchant charter | 1179 |
| City status | 2002 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Non-metropolitan district |
| • Local Authority | Preston City Council |
| • Leadership: | Leader & Cabinet |
| • MPs: | Mark Hendrick (Lab), Maya Ellis (Lab) |
| Area | |
| 55 sq mi (142 km2) | |
| Highest elevation | 873 ft (266 m) |
| Lowest elevation | 0 ft (0 m) |
| Population (2024) | |
| 162,864 (Ranked 131st) | |
| • Density | 2,970/sq mi (1,145/km2) |
| • Urban | 365,000 (Central Lancashire) |
| Ethnicity(2021) | |
| • Ethnic groups | |
| Religion(2021) | |
| • Religion | List
|
| Time zone | UTC+0 (Greenwich Mean Time) |
| Postcode | |
| Area codes | 01772, 01995 |
| ISO 3166-2 | GB-LAN |
| ONS code | 30UK (ONS) E07000123 (GSS) |
| OS grid reference | SD535295 |
| Demonym | Prestonian |
TheCity of Preston, or simplyPreston (/ˈprɛstən/ ⓘ),[2] is alocal government district withcity status inLancashire, England. It lies on the north bank of theRiver Ribble and has a population of 162,864 (2024).[3][4] The neighbouring districts areRibble Valley,South Ribble,Fylde andWyre.
The district is named after its largest settlement,Preston, which lies in the south of the district. The district also includes rural areas to the north of the main urban area, including part of theForest of Bowland, a designatedArea of Outstanding Natural Beauty. In 2002 the district was granted city status to mark theGolden Jubilee of Elizabeth II; prior to this it was known as theBorough of Preston, having heldborough status since its creation in 1974.[5][6]
The town of Preston was anancient borough, having been granted its first charter byHenry II in 1179.[7] The borough was reformed in 1836 to become amunicipal borough under theMunicipal Corporations Act 1835. When elected county councils were established in 1889 under theLocal Government Act 1888, Preston was considered large enough to run its own county-level services and so it became acounty borough, independent fromLancashire County Council.[8]
In 1970 theNew Town ofCentral Lancashire was designated, covering all of the county borough of Preston and parts of the districts ofChorley,Fulwood,Leyland,Walton-le-Dale,Chorley Rural District andPreston Rural District. The Central Lancashire Development Corporation was established to oversee the development of the new town, taking over town planning responsibilities from the local councils.[9]
The current district of Preston was formed on 1 April 1974 under theLocal Government Act 1972, covering the whole area of two former districts and a large part of a third, which were all abolished at the same time:[10][11][12]
The new district was anon-metropolitan district, forming a lower tier of local government with Lancashire County Council providing county-level services. The district was awarded borough status from its creation, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor, continuing Preston's sequence of mayors which dates back to at least the fourteenth century.[7][13] In other new towns across England the 1974 reforms brought the whole designated area for the new town within a single district, but the Central Lancashire New Town was allowed to straddle the new districts of Preston, South Ribble andChorley.[10] The Development Corporation was wound up in 1986 and planning powers transferred to the local councils.[14]
In 2002 the borough of Preston was awardedcity status to mark theGolden Jubilee of Elizabeth II. The council therefore changed its name from Preston Borough Council to Preston City Council.[15][16] Like numerous other places granted city status since 1889, Preston has no Anglicancathedral. Instead, following the granting of city status,Preston's parish church was elevated by the Church of England to the status ofMinster Church in June 2003.[17]
Preston City Council | |
|---|---|
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| Leadership | |
Adrian Phillips since April 2019[19] | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 48 councillors[21] |
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Political groups |
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| Elections | |
Last election | 2 May 2024 |
Next election | 7 May 2026 |
| Meeting place | |
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| Town Hall, Lancaster Road, Preston, PR1 2RL | |
| Website | |
| www | |
Preston City Council providesdistrict-level services.County-level services are provided byLancashire County Council.[22] Parts of the district are also covered bycivil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.[23]
The council has been underLabour majority control since 2011.
The first election to the enlarged Preston Borough Council created by the Local Government Act 1972 was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements came into effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:[24][25]
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 1974–1976 | |
| Conservative | 1976–1980 | |
| Labour | 1980–1999 | |
| No overall control | 1999–2011 | |
| Labour | 2011–present | |
The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Preston. Political leadership is instead provided by theleader of the council. The leaders since 1974 have been:
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ian Hall[26] | Labour | 1974 | 1976 | |
| Joe Hood[27][28] | Conservative | 1976 | 1980 | |
| Ian Hall[26] | Labour | 1980 | 1982 | |
| Harold Parker[29][30] | Labour | 1982 | May 1992 | |
| David Borrow[30][31] | Labour | May 1992 | May 1994 | |
| Valerie Wise[32][31] | Labour | May 1994 | Nov 1995 | |
| David Borrow[33] | Labour | Dec 1995 | 1997 | |
| Peter Rankin[34] | Labour | 1997 | 2000 | |
| Ian Hall[35] | Labour | 2000 | 2003 | |
| John Collins[36][37][38] | Labour | 15 May 2003 | 16 May 2007 | |
| Ken Hudson[37][27] | Conservative | 16 May 2007 | May 2011 | |
| Peter Rankin[39][40] | Labour | 18 May 2011 | May 2018 | |
| Matthew Brown[41] | Labour | 17 May 2018 | ||
Following the2024 election,[42] and subsequent changes of allegiance up to October 2025, the composition of the council was:[20][43]
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 28 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 13 | |
| Conservative | 6 | |
| Your | 1 | |
| Total | 48 | |
The next election is due in 2026.[44]
The council is based atPreston Town Hall on Lancaster Road, which was built in 1934 for the old county borough council.[45][46]
Since the last boundary changes in 2019 the council has comprised 48councillors representing 16wards, with each ward electing three councillors. Elections are held three years out of every four, with a third of the council (one councillor for each ward) being elected at a time for a four-year term.Lancashire County Council elections are held in the fourth year of the cycle when there are no city council elections.[47]
Followingboundary changes introduced for the 2024General Election, the City of Preston is divided between twoParliamentary constituencies. The electoral wards ofGreyfriars,Preston Rural East,Preston Rural North, andSharoe Green, form part of theRibble Valley constituency. The rest of the city forms thePreston constituency.
Between 2010 and 2024, the City of Preston was divided between threeWestminster constituencies, namelyPreston,Wyre and Preston North, andFylde.
Historically, Preston has been divided between such constituencies asPreston North,Preston South, andFylde South, although until 1885 it comprised one constituency called Preston, which actually included most of West Lancashire.
The City of Preston district is a transitional region betweencoastal plain, river valley andmoorland. The west of the district lies within the flat coastal plain ofthe Fylde. The southern border is theRiver Ribble which meanders through a flood plain in a wide, steep-sided valley. The northeast of the district lies within theForest of BowlandArea of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The highest point is the summit ofBeacon Fell at 266 m (873 ft) above sea level, an isolated fell two miles south of the main range of Bowland Fells just outside the district boundaries. The lowest point lies on the River Ribble in the southwest corner of the district. The Ribble here is tidal and therefore virtually at sea level. The course of the river west of Preston was artificially straightened in the 19th century, to ease passage of shipping to the docks.
The southern one-third of the district, most of which is covered byPreston and its suburbs, drains intoSavick Brook running east-to-west and then turning south into the Ribble. The lowest section of the brook has been widened into theRibble Link which connects theLancaster Canal to the Ribble. The central and northern parts of the district drain into south- and west-flowing tributaries of theRiver Brock, itself a tributary of theWyre whose estuary is atFleetwood. The Brock forms part of the district boundary on the west and north sides of Beacon Fell. A small part of the district along the eastern boundary drains into the east-flowingRiver Loud, a tributary of theHodder.
The lowland area in the north and east of the district, between Beacon Fell and the Fylde, is a dairy farming area, particularly noted for its cheesemaking dairies. Six of the tenLancashire Cheese dairies listed on the British Cheese Board's website in 2011 are located in the City of Preston district (and the other four are only a few miles outside).[48]Beacon Fell Traditional Lancashire Cheese is aProtected Designation of Origin cheese named after Beacon Fell.[49]
At53°45′N2°42′W / 53.750°N 2.700°W /53.750; -2.700, Preston city centre is approximately 27 miles north west ofManchester, 26 miles north east ofLiverpool, and 15 miles east of the coastal townBlackpool.
Like most of inland Lancashire, Preston receives a higher than UK average total of rainfall, and is slightly colder. On 10 August 1893 Preston entered theUK Weather Records, with theHighest 5-min totalrainfall of 32 mm. As of November 2008 this remains a record.[50]
Preston is a diverse city, although the majority of the ethnic minorities areSouth Asians, in particularIndians. The ethnic makeup of Preston based on the 2011 census is as follows: 66.1%White British, 0.6%White Irish, 5.6%Other White, 3.0%Mixed Race, 12.9%Indian, 5.1%Pakistani, 0.5%Bangladeshi, 1.2%Other Asian, 0.6%Black Caribbean, 1.6%Black African, 0.6%Other Black, 0.5%Chinese, 0.8%Arab and 1.1% other.[51]
| Ethnic Group | 1981 estimations[52] | 1991[53] | 2001[54] | 2011[55] | 2021[51] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | |
| White: Total | 111,083 | 91% | 113,209 | 89.8% | 110,848 | 85.5% | 112,415 | 80.2% | 107,321 | 72.6% |
| White:British | – | – | – | – | 107,810 | 83.1% | 106,242 | 75.8% | 97,715 | 66.1% |
| White:Irish | – | – | – | – | 1,539 | 1,178 | 923 | 0.6% | ||
| White:Gypsy or Irish Traveller | – | – | – | – | – | – | 111 | 114 | 0.1% | |
| White: Roma | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 248 | 0.2% |
| White:Other | – | – | – | – | 1,499 | 4,884 | 8,321 | 5.6% | ||
| Asian or Asian British: Total | – | – | 10,703 | 8.5% | 15,613 | 12% | 21,732 | 15.5% | 29,815 | 20.2% |
| Asian or Asian British:Indian | – | – | 8,205 | 11,436 | 14,421 | 19,047 | 12.9% | |||
| Asian or Asian British:Pakistani | – | – | 1,722 | 2,746 | 4,425 | 7,554 | 5.1% | |||
| Asian or Asian British:Bangladeshi | – | – | 176 | 308 | 375 | 758 | 0.5% | |||
| Asian or Asian British:Chinese | – | – | 195 | 546 | 1,235 | 707 | 0.5% | |||
| Asian or Asian British: Other Asian | – | – | 405 | 577 | 1,276 | 1,749 | 1.2% | |||
| Black or Black British: Total | – | – | 1,529 | 1.2% | 1,182 | 0.9% | 1,676 | 1.2% | 3,489 | 2.4% |
| Black or Black British:Caribbean | – | – | 902 | 878 | 865 | 827 | 0.6% | |||
| Black or Black British:African | – | – | 122 | 216 | 661 | 2,355 | 1.6% | |||
| Black or Black British:Other Black | – | – | 505 | 88 | 150 | 827 | 0.6% | |||
| Mixed or British Mixed: Total | – | – | – | – | 1,737 | 1.3% | 3,326 | 2.4% | 4,367 | 3.0% |
| Mixed: White and Black Caribbean | – | – | – | – | 950 | 1,627 | 1,759 | 1.2% | ||
| Mixed: White and Black African | – | – | – | – | 97 | 300 | 506 | 0.3% | ||
| Mixed: White and Asian | – | – | – | – | 450 | 931 | 1,321 | 0.9% | ||
| Mixed: Other Mixed | – | – | – | – | 240 | 468 | 781 | 0.5% | ||
| Other: Total | – | – | 641 | 0.5% | 253 | 0.2% | 1,053 | 0.8% | 2,842 | 1.9% |
| Other: Arab | – | – | – | – | – | – | 626 | 1,157 | 0.8 | |
| Other: Any other ethnic group | – | – | 641 | 0.5% | 253 | 0.2% | 427 | 1,685 | 1.1 | |
| Ethnic minority: Total | 10,999 | 9% | 12,873 | 10.2% | 18,785 | 14.5% | 27,787 | 19.8% | 40,513 | 27.4% |
| Total | 122,082 | 100% | 126,082 | 100% | 129,633 | 100% | 140,202 | 100% | 147,834 | 100% |
In 2008 a survey revealed that 50% of all children living in the city were living in families suffering from financial depression. An estimated 15,380 youngsters were part of the families on the breadline. The Campaign to End Child Poverty report defined children in poverty as children living in homes where occupants work less than 16 hours a week, or not at all, or where the full amount of tax credit is being claimed. The city was one of the most severely affected areas of theNorth West outsideLiverpool andManchester, with 21% of children in the city living in households which were completely workless and a further 29% in families struggling to get by withworking tax credits. The two worst affected areas of the city were theDeepdale andSt George's wards, where 75% and 77% of children respectively were said to be living in poverty.[56][needs update]
The City of Preston lies in the Roman CatholicDiocese of Lancaster and the AnglicanDiocese of Blackburn.
In July 2016,St Ignatius Church in Preston, which had been gifted by the Catholic Diocese of Lancaster to theSyro-Malabar Catholic community, was raised to the status of a cathedral byPope Francis. It now serves as the seat of theSyro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Great Britain[57][58]
The 2001Census recorded 72% of the population as Christians, 10% as having no religion, and 8% as Muslim.[59] The Hindu and Sikh populations were smaller at 3% and 0.6% respectively, but in both cases this represented the highest percentage of any local authority area in the North West. 2% of the city's population were born in other EU countries.
The 2021 census showed the proportion of respondents describing themselves as Christian as 47.6%, Muslim 16.1%, Hindu 3.0%, Sikh 0.7%, Buddhist 0.3%, Jewish 0.1% and other religions 0.4%. Those choosing no religion comprised 26.3%. The question was not answered by 5.4%.[60]
The main urban area, broadly covering the combined area of the pre-1974 Preston County Borough and Fulwood Urban District, is anunparished area. The remainder of the district is divided into ninecivil parishes:
Freedom of the City has been granted to:[61]
TheLoyal Regiment (North Lancashire) was adopted on 7 August 1952. This was transferred to TheQueen's Lancashire Regiment on 9 September 1972, and subsequently transferred to theDuke of Lancaster's Regiment on 1 July 2006.
Preston travel guide from WikivoyageGeography of theCity of Preston district | |||||||
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