Stafford Borough Council has acquired two more town centre buildings as part of its ambitious regeneration plans.
The authority’s latest purchases – the former Wilko store, next to Stafford College, and units attached to the former Co-op – are expected to attract interest from major investors, according to the senior councillor overseeing town centre regeneration.
The news comes as a raft of new independent shops have opened in the town centre, as reported by Daily Focus.
National developers have already expressed interest in working with the council, prompted by ongoing work on the former Co-op department store and the struggling Guildhall Shopping Centre. The sites are being prepared for potential commercial, retail, leisure and residential development.
Stafford Borough Council agreed to buy the former Wilko store and 10-12 Gaolgate Street earlier this year, but details were kept under wraps due to commercial sensitivities. Funding for the ‘key strategic’ sites includes government money secured by the council to support town centre regeneration.
That funding has already been used to revamp Market Square and improve the approach to Stafford Railway Station, completed earlier this year.
Demolition work is ongoing at part of the former department store, derelict for more than a decade, and at the Guildhall Shopping Centre, where few stores remain. The historic frontages of both buildings will be retained and the car park at the former Wilko store site will remain open.
Council Deputy Leader Rob Kenney, responsible for town centres, said: “I’m really pleased to be able to announce the acquisition of both these new sites. This has created a larger footprint for the transformation of the town centre which will prove to be another draw for major investors.
“Unfortunately, these buildings would have likely remained empty without council intervention and investors have praised us for taking the initiative by acquiring these sites and undertaking the appropriate groundwork that will attract developers to invest in Stafford.
“This work has not only generated interest in these sites but in Stafford town centre generally. We are creating a place where people want to visit, to live in, to shop in, to work in, and relax in. A town centre fit for a county town and a county town to be proud of.”
Borough council leader Aidan Godfrey added: “This is great news for our ambitious vision of transforming Stafford town centre. We have met with a number of potential investors this year who have been impressed with our ambition, and the progress we have already made.”
Daily Focus reported in July that Staffordshire County Council’s cabinet had confirmed its commitment to the ambitious Eastgate redevelopment, which will repurpose surplus county council buildings and land in a bid to attract new residents, businesses and visitors. It’s hoped the scheme could attract around £30 million of private investment.
The plans, led by the county council in partnership with regeneration specialists ION, focus on buildings in Tipping Street and Martin Street, as well as land formerly occupied by the town’s magistrates court.
Other significant investment in the town includes the Staffordshire History Centre and the £22.5m Institute of Technology (IoT) at Stafford College, opening soon. Earlier this year, the government confirmed nearly £20 million to regenerate land behind the station, with plans for a hotel, multi-storey car park and homes.
- Read a guest article from the IoT’s Vice Principal Georgina Barnard about the facility and the benefits it will bring to local businesses here.
