MASTERPLAN LOOKS TO REVITALISE TOWN

Hospital and leisure centre would be demolished

A ‘WELLNESS and leisure hub’ and more than 100 new homes would help rejuvenate a North Staffordshire town.

Cheadle’s community hospital and South Moorlands Leisure Centre could be demolished with services relocated to a new, central community hub, according to a new masterplan for the town.

Homes could then be built on the hospital and leisure centre sites, as well as at other locations in the town.

The report says that increased town centre living, and a central hub for public services, would drive up town centre footfall, providing a lifeline to beleaguered high street businesses.

While various options are included in the report, the following proposals are considered the most viable:

Building the community hub on Tape Street car park, bringing ‘footfall and vibrancy’ into the town centre. There could also be a small development of five homes on the site, along with some parking;

Demolish the existing hospital and Newlands Care Home and build 42 homes on the site;

Turn Well Street car park into housing, either as part of the forthcoming Lightwood development or separately;

Demolish South Moorlands Leisure Centre and replace it with up to 46 homes;

Build 12 homes on the site of the depot off Leek Road, with one of the existing buildings being retained.

Staffordshire Moorlands District Council, working in partnership with Staffordshire County Council, commissioned consultants from Cushman and Wakefield to develop the options appraisal for Cheadle.

Cheadle mayor Ian Plant believes the proposals in the report could work, but does not know if they can be delivered anytime soon.

He said: “Anything that will regenerate the town has to be welcomed at the moment.

“Bringing everything onto one central location to draw people in could work. Towns are struggling when they have everything separate.

“Cheadle will probably be getting more houses, but we need the infrastructure as well. The roads are already too busy.

“I don’t know how soon these plans will go ahead. But we really need something to start happening in the next 12 months.”

Cheadle missed out in the first round of the government’s Future High Street Fund, although it is one of 14 pilot areas set to receive ‘bespoke expert advice’ from the High Streets Task Force.

The district council is setting up a Cheadle Town Centre Projects Delivery Board which will oversee both the masterplan and the task force pilot.