Economically the University is one of Preston city’s biggest assets. The University is one of the largest employers in Preston. It employs one in every three staff working in universities in Lancashire and one in every 14 HEI staff from across the region. Last year our students spent more than £220 million in the region. Despite being a university city and home to 135,000 people, over two- thirds of Preston is classed as rural. Situated in the heart of North West England, Preston forms a key part of Lancashire’s diverse offer. The city of Preston is a vibrant, cultural and friendly city with a very long history. It was given the status of a market town in 1179 and obtained city status in 2002, becoming England’s 50th city in the 50th year of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. The city centre boasts the Harris Museum & Art Gallery, which was announced as one of 16 additional visual arts organisations across the UK to join Plus Tate, the contemporary visual arts network. The city’s historic Winckley Square Gardens have been officially reopened to the public following a £1.2 million restoration backed by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). Campus life at UCLan is city-based but in less than an hour you can be on the Fylde Coast, walking in the stunning Lake District or the Forest of Bowland, sight-seeing in Lancaster, shopping The City of Preston and the Region
in Manchester or Liverpool, or enjoying the best local food at one of the many farmers markets in the county. Preston also has many parks, including Avenham Park, which is a fine example of traditional Victorian parkland in the heart of the city. Beacon Fell Country Park is located just 10 miles outside Preston and offers a variety of trails as well as spectacular views of the nearby Forest of Bowland and Morecambe Bay. The city is also home to Preston North End Football Club. Brockholes is an award-winning local nature reserve which is home to a range of woodland and lakeside walks and includes a variety of hides to suit all visitors; its Visitor Village scooped awards for Design and Innovation and Tourism and Leisure in 2011.
Located a short distance from the coastline, the Lake District and larger cities of Manchester and Liverpool, both of which have international airports, Preston is also one of the most networked cities in the country, easy to get to from across the UK - by road, rail and air. The city is well served by the M6 motorway both north (J32) and south (J31), and the University is half a mile from Preston railway station - a major hub on the West Coast Mainline and just under an hour away from Manchester Airport.
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