A major deal is on the verge of being struck to redevelop a city centre library building.
Stoke-on-Trent City Council confirmed it is in “advanced negotiations” with an established local developer over the Hanley Library building on Bethesda Street and an announcement is imminent.
The authority also says it has prospective purchasers lined up for several other key sites around the city.
The extensive five-storey library property was built over 50 years ago and has been branded “outdated and expensive to run”.
As a result, the City Central library service is moving to nearby Two Smithfield – and the archives section being rehoused in the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery – creating doubt over the future of the building.
The council has not confirmed the exact details of the redevelopment, but it is expected residential conversion will be part of the plans. Recently, the nearby former Hanley Police Station building has been sold off to be converted into more than 160 student flats, with a gym and other facilities.
The potential sale is a part of the council’s latest asset maximisation strategy. It is looking to dispose of a number of council-owned buildings which are currently sitting empty, or are due to be empty soon, and are costly in terms of ongoing maintenance.
They include Queen’s Theatre in Burslem, Burslem Market, Hanley Town Hall and a number of former local centres and other venues.
A spokesperson for Stoke-on-Trent City Council said: “The city council is currently in an exciting phase of progressing both its asset maximisation strategy alongside its Levelling Up programme. The asset maximisation strategy has been devised to capitalise on council-owned assets by offering them to the market as investment, redevelopment or growth opportunities.
“The sites have generated a lot of interest with private investors and developers and we are already in advanced negotiations with prospective purchasers on a number of the sites, who aim to bring forward vital, vibrant and modern redevelopment to Stoke-on-Trent.
“Due to commercial sensitivity, we cannot provide details around specific sites but we can confirm that we are in advanced negotiations with an established local developer for the redevelopment of Hanley Library and we will be making an exciting announcement in respect of the library imminently.”
Last month, the council confirmed it had selected a developer to carry out a multi-million pound transformation of the Grade II Listed former Tunstall Library and Baths building. Up to 120 local tradespeople and 20 professional services companies are expected to be offered work opportunities through the project.
It would be nice if the best elements of the building could be preserved and redeveloped rather than knocked down. And what of any underground space? I heard this was where the city’s nuclear bunker was?