News

Winckley Square to make a splash in Landscape Institute competition

22nd February 2008

An amazing new fountain, which doubles up as a stage when dry, is proposed to be the centrepiece of a redeveloped city square in Preston.

The imaginative and eye-catching design at Winckley Square also includes granite walkways, fibre optic lights as well as the creative use of sculpture and metal art work.

The winning design by Bristol based design consultancy Cooper Partnership beat off stiff competition in a national bid to breathe new life into the city’s Victorian square.

Preston City Council commissioned the Landscape Institute to run the design competition. Five landscape design practices were chosen to taken part.

Landscape Institute President Nigel Thorne said: “The winning entry is an outstanding design that is extremely fitting for Winckley Square. A key objective for all landscape architects is the creation of a sense of place, and this design will create an outstanding location right at the heart of Preston city centre. We would like to congratulate Cooper Partnership and look forward to seeing this project come to fruition.”

Councillor Anthony Gornall, Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Chair of the judging panel that selected the winning design, said: “We’ve been blown away by the quality of the winning design. It is absolutely tremendous. It uses the trees and the wonderful oasis that is Winckley Square for inspiration and takes it to a whole new level. The proposed 64 jet fountain, beautifully lit by state of the art lighting will be a delightful attraction for Preston, especially as it can be used as a stage when the water is turned off.

“The attractive leaf lined, granite walk ways all combine superbly with new metal railings and sculptures proposed for the square. These are really exciting proposals and we can’t wait to turn them into reality. We will continue to work closely with the North West Development Agency and other partners to ensure that this winning design can indeed happen and we can breathe new life into Winckley Square.”

Peter White, Executive Director of Development at the North West Regional Development Agency added: “We were impressed by the standard and calibre of all the designs submitted. The winning entry is a distinct and fitting design for a key part of Preston City Centre in the heart of a conservation area.”

Catherine Mitchell from Cooper Partnership said: “We’re thrilled to have won this competition and delighted that our design has been so well received. We spent a lot of time researching the history of the square and the city of Preston and wanted to design something that was breathtaking but also in keeping with the tradition of this beautiful nineteenth century square. We think we have got a good balance of new and existing character in the scheme and the feedback we’ve received has been great. We are really excited to be working on this project and are looking forward to seeing the design develop on site.”