Eric Wright Construction has installed the mezzanine deck at the former Amounderness House in Preston, marking a major milestone in the £10 million conservation and conversion project being delivered for Preston City Council in partnership with Maple Grove Developments, with completion targeted for spring 2027; the project is publicly funded through Preston's £20.9 million Towns Fund award as one of six Harris Quarter projects.

Eric Wright Construction is the building contracting subsidiary of Eric Wright Group, a Bamber Bridge, Lancashire-headquartered multi-division group founded in 1923, employing 501 to 1,000 people. For FY2024, Eric Wright Construction reported pre-tax profit of £2.5 million on turnover of £105.3 million, its third consecutive profit year; Eric Wright Group as a whole reported group turnover of £291.8 million (up 25%) and pre-tax profit of £13.6 million.

Maple Grove Developments is a Preston-based developer with a track record of Towns Fund-aligned projects in the North West, including the £45 million Animate leisure complex also in Preston's Harris Quarter. Wrkspace is the appointed flexible workspace operator.

The structural driver is the Towns Fund investment programme's £20.9 million allocation to Preston's Harris Quarter across six major projects, including the Harris Museum and Gallery renovation, Animate leisure complex, Vault Youth Zone and Amounderness House. The programme model — public capital grant unlocking private development and operation — converts government grant into ongoing economic activity, with Preston City Council retaining asset ownership but outsourcing risk and operation to established local partners.

The conservation complexity of the Amounderness House project is notably higher than its £10 million contract value implies. The building has been vacant for more than 30 years, generating significant unknown structural risks, while its Grade II-listed status constrains every intervention, retaining the former prison cells, cell doors and original brickwork while inserting a contemporary mezzanine and three-storey extension requires specialist joinery and heritage-compliant design solutions that add cost and programme risk disproportionate to project scale.

For the sector, the Amounderness House project demonstrates that North West regional regeneration is delivering at pace across multiple simultaneous sites, with Eric Wright maintaining its long-standing Preston City Council relationship as an anchor client.

Source: thebusinessdesk.com / constructionenquirer.com / insidermedia.com / find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk