The Harris Institute is located in the city’s Avenham Lane and had found itself on English Heritage’s register of buildings in urgent need of repair work, but it was removed from this list after a thorough inspection was conducted.
What this means is that the Institute will not feature on the 2015 list, and Yousuf Bhailok, the millionaire businessman and owner of the building, commented:
“My educational charity, ‘Al Jameatul Islamiyah Darul Uloom’ which owns the Harris Art Building, has recently spent circa £300,000, working with renowned specialist architects MIMAR, over the last two years, to restore and refurbish the building.”
He added that when the charity bought it from Preston University, it was in a state of neglect and required considerable work to restore it to former glories. He further explained that his purchase of the building at auction was motivated by his passion for the history of the city, ensuring that restoration work was a pleasure.
The building is now set to be used as a school and it will be able to call on brochure printers in Preston to help in providing literature promoting its courses and services.
It is one of several local buildings owned by Mr Bhailok, including Preston Business Centre.