ST MODWEN GREEN LIGHT FOR REGENERATION OF FORMER ROYAL DOULTON SITE
Stoke-on-Trent City Council has given the green light to St Modwen for the regeneration of the historic former Royal Doulton site in Nile Street, Burslem, Stoke.
Planning approval was granted by the council’s Development Control Committee for the creation of a Business Enterprise Centre and for residential development.
The proposals for the St Modwen-owned site, which have been the subject of extensive discussions with the City Council, include the retention of Royal Doulton¹s principal historic building at the Nile Street main entrance and the redevelopment of the remainder of the site.
The original building will be restored and the courtyard at the main entrance recreated with new buildings in a compatible style as a major Business Enterprise Centre aimed specifically at providing workspace for small and medium sized companies.
The existing building, together with the new Enterprise Centre buildings will provide a total of about 70,000 sq ft in three-storey buildings and it is anticipated that this will provide the home for more than 50 businesses.
The courtyard will be recreated with high quality landscaping, and visitor and employee car parking.
The remainder of the 11.5 acre site will be developed for housing in support of the regeneration of the Burslem Town Centre area. About 140 homes, very much aimed at family accommodation, are to be built.
One of the key elements of the scheme is a new public walkway and cycleway through the centre of the site from Nile Street to the Burslem Greenway at the rear and thereby connecting to Burslem Park. This will provide a much needed link between the green space and the town centre.
Birmingham-based RPS Group acted as planning consultants and master planning/architects for St Modwen.
Tim Partridge, technical director at the company’s Birmingham office, described it as a challenging planning application. He added: “In particular, we had to produce a masterplan for St Modwen which intregrated the retained historic buildings in the conservation area with sympathetic replacement buildings and new build on the balance of the site.
“Royal Doulton has strong associations with Burslem and Stoke, and while we sought to respect this historic association, the development was an opportunity to create a viable regeneration of this in the heart of the urban area providing jobs and housing.”
Mike Herbert, Regional Director of St. Modwen , said: “Now that we have planning approval we can commence demolition of the main part of the site in the near future. It will take the remainder of this year to clear the site and make it ready for development. We anticipate commencing development of the Enterprise Centre during 2009 and for the first homes to appear during the year.
“This will be a major boost to the continuing regeneration of Burslem town centre and we expect the Enterprise Centre will create around 400 jobs which together with people living on the site will give a genuine lift to the town centre economy.”
For further information contact Mike Herbert (01782 281844). Issued by Paul Raymer of Howle Chapman Raymer (0121 313 1000).
Ref: MOD/68/08
