A MULTI-million pound town centre re-development plan which could spell thousands of new jobs for Preston has been given the go-ahead.

Preston Borough Council chiefs claim the Department of Culture, Media and Sport has decided not to list the town's bus station following a government tip-off to the authority on Wednesday.

The official listing decision will be made by Culture Secretary Chris Smith MP early next week.

This means that the future of Europe's biggest bus station will lie in the hands of a public consultation ahead of the plans to redevelop the Tithebarn area.

Councillor Ian Hall, leader of Preston council, welcomed the announcement.

"Chris Smith, minister for the DCMS, has now accepted our view that the building is not of special architectural or historical interest.

"It's a very important decision as we can now move forward with the redevelopment of Preston bringing thousands of new jobs to the town.

"Listing the seven-acre bus station building would have tied our hands and made it much more difficult to proceed."

Councillor Ken Hudson, leader of Preston's Conservative group, added: "This is a great day for Preston. We can now get on with working up the redevelopment proposals to secure major investment in the town.

"I always thought it was ridiculous to list this concrete bus station and car park."

Preston MP Mark Hendrick added: "The attempt to list the bus station as a building of architectural merit, if it had been successful, would have handcuffed the council and the developers, Grosvenor, who have promised £300 million worth of investment over the coming years.

"The Duke of Westminster, and his company Grosvenor, have indicated that they wish to turn Preston into the third major shopping venue in the North West after Manchester and Liverpool.

"The money will create a new, stylish and vibrant town centre and create thousands of jobs for the people of Preston.

"This does not mean the end of Preston having a bus station, but the beginning of a sensible debate about the whole town centre, and not just one building."