After nearly a decade of protracted periods of no information interspersed with sporadic announcements and snippets it appears details about the next stage of the Tithebarn saga is more freely flowing. It appears these are the opening salvos in the life of Tithebarn as we shape up towards actual action on the ground. As Downtown Preston In Business revealed months ago we should expect a planning application for the development in the summer. And I am sure that over the next few months there will be an even greater number of column inches dedicated as events unfold.

In this month’s column I just want to reflect on a few of the issues that have received media coverage. In a recent Lancashire Evening Post survey 52%of respondents believe the £700 million project will never happen. One of the major causes for the concern is all this talk of the credit crunch. Combine this with reports Grosvenor having written off £188 million on the Liverpool One project; and people are rightly nervous about the future of the Preston scheme.

The mood music from the Preston Tithebarn Partnership and Preston City Council has been to allay those fears and be resolute in saying the scheme will go ahead. Grosvenor has publicly stated they have learnt lessons from the Liverpool project. The result is bringing in Lend Lease as a partner on the project. They are building the London 2012 Olympic Village.

The LEP survey highlighted 61% of people think information has been poorly communicated. For some time Downtown Preston In Business publicly and privately having been calling for a clearer timeframe. We have argued that having a timeframe will give Preston residents confidence and a sense of ownership over the project. What we know so far is that work will start on site in the next two years and should be completed by 2014. We hope this greater openness is a sign of things to come.

There are still a number of outstanding issues that need to be given attention in the coming months. In the press there has been an indication that local construction companies will be involved in the project. This has to be more than just an empty gesture. It is promise made on too many other projects before now. Encouraging rather than stifling development outside of the Tithebarn project area is a major issue that many in Preston want addressing quickly. Otherwise the city could lose out on further investment. Underpinning all of this is the fact that 66% of people believe the project will have a positive impact on the regeneration of the city centre.

That statistic is something that the city council and the developers can build on. With a permanent presence in Preston, there is no excuse for Grosvenor and their partners to continue to provide us with more information as their plans progress.