JUMP ON A TRAM TO THE NEW ARENA!
City vision includes transport hub, multi-storey car park and hotel
NEW plans for a city centre regeneration project could include a tram station – as part of a city-wide network.
Leaders at Stoke-on-trent City Council have unveiled their latest vision for the East-west development site in Hanley, which features a public transport hub in addition to an indoor arena, new homes and a hotel.
Council chiefs accept that their ambitious proposals for a metro system and arena could take a decade or more to come to fruition, but say that they need to start developing the plans now to ensure they are ready to go ahead once funding becomes available.
In the shorter term, the council is proposing to demolish the Meigh Street multi-storey car park and neighbouring Goodson Building, both owned by the authority, in order to create a wider City Centre Regeneration Area.
The council will also pay consultants to draw up a 15-year masterplan for the site, ahead of a planning application being submitted.
Councillor Dan Jellyman, cabinet member for regeneration and transport, said the redevelopment would take place in stages, with a new multi-storey car park set to be the first stage, possibly followed by a residential scheme, a hotel, and food and beverage units.
Mr Jellyman said: “This is going to be a 10 year-plus plan. It’s going to be a while before all of this happens, but you have to start somewhere.
“The arena/conference centre will be the final thing to get started. The Covid situation has clearly had a big impact in lots of areas, particularly in relation to large venues.
“When we unveiled our plans for the arena, one issue that came up a lot was how we would be able to get so many people to and from the site from other places, which is a good point. So that is why we’re looking at a tram or light rail system. This is something we need to be considering anyway – if we’re going to meet our climate change targets then we need to increase use of public transport.
“But this is also about spreading the benefits of the East-west redevelopment across the city. It’s not just about regenerating Hanley.”
The council originally proposed a tram network as part of its initial bid to the government’s Transforming Cities fund, although the scheme was dropped from the final submission.
Mr Jellyman envisages the tram system as running from Tunstall, through Burslem, and then along Waterloo Road to Hanley.
After passing the East-west site, it would split into two branches, with one heading towards Stoke station, and the other going to Longton.
While there is currently no obvious source of funding for such a costly project, Mr Jellyman believes it is important to have the plans ready.
He added: “People in Stoke-onTrent are probably not going to be catching a tram in this decade. But the idea is to have a shovel-ready scheme prepared that we can show
to the government. That is what civil servants look for.
“We’ve not really had that long-term ambition in Stoke-on-trent. Part of that is due to short-termism, both among politicians and officers.”
The city council has so far spent £5 million acquiring and clearing the East-west site, after previous developer Realis abandoned its retail-led plans, with the demolition work being completed around a year ago. The authority already owned the former bus station site next door, which is now Birch Terrace car park.
At their meeting next Tuesday cabinet members will be asked to authorise a further £1.5 million spend on the next steps in the City Centre Regeneration Area project.
This will pay for a range of activities, including the hiring of consultants to draw up a masterplan for the site. The funding will also pay for the creation of a temporary 95-space surface car park on the East Precinct site and weather-proofing to the exposed party wall of the B&M building, both of which should be completed by next April.
Further funds will be needed to pay for the development of a planning application for the site, and to cover the new demolition works, which could take place by March 2022.
Mr Jellyman said both Meigh Street multi-storey and the Goodson Building were coming to the end of their lifespan anyway, meaning it made sense to incorporate them into the wider redevelopment plans.
The council is currently in talks with businesses which will be affected by the proposed demolitions.
Jonathan Bellamy, chairman of the City Centre Business Improvement District, welcomed the council’s latest regeneration plans for Hanley.
He said: “The pictures look great, and the ideas, scale and scope of the development look ambitious, which is really important for taking our city centre forward, not only locally but regionally and nationally.
“It is also a huge chunk of our city centre space, much of which has been unproductive for at least 10 years already, so it is vital we see these wonderful plans come to fruition as soon as possible.”