A major town centre regeneration project will be completed in time for next Christmas, councillors have been told.

The £18.2 million Astley Place scheme in Newcastle-under-Lyme will see the former York Place shopping centre brought back into use as 42 flats and 10 ground floor commercial units.

Scrutiny committee members at Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council were given an update on the progress of Astley Place and other regeneration schemes in the town.

According to the report to the economy and place scrutiny committee, developer Capital&Centric and contractor AC1 started work on Astley Place in October, with the development due to be completed in November 2026.

Committee member Richard Gorton asked whether the project was still on schedule, having noticed a lack of progress on the site.

He said: "The reason I ask is that I'm round the town centre quite a bit and there were periods during the autumn when not much seemed to be happening."

But deputy chief executive Simon McEneny told the committee that the development is 'on track' and will be 'finished this time next year'.

The former Midway multi-storey car park is being turned into 111 flats in a £37.5 million scheme (image via LDRS)

Committee members were also told about the progress of a raft of other schemes in the town centre and elsewhere in Newcastle, which are being partly funded through £35 million from the Future High Street and Town Deal funds.

• Market improvements: Installation of the new digital screen, along with new benching and planters, was completed during the autumn. The screen has been used to show adverts and festive films in the run-up to Christmas.
• McCarthy and Stone over-55 residential development: The committee was told that the council is still 'working through things' with the developer. The scheme is expected to be completed in late 2026.
• Ryepark: The £34.4 million redevelopment of the Ryecroft site will include 132 apartments and a new urban park. Capital&Centric has appointed Henry Boot to carry out the construction works. Site clearance and ground works started in October, and the completion is expected in late 2026.
• Karparc: The former Midway multi-storey car park is being turned into 111 flats in a £37.5 million scheme. Work started in early November and the development is scheduled to be finished by the summer of 2027.
• Knutton and Chesterton: Aspire has started work on building 75 affordable homes in High Street and the former community centre site in Knutton. The extension to the enterprise centre is now 'substantially complete' with the new units due to be occupied in the new year. The plans for new village hall have been altered due to the council being unable to find a community group to run the facility. The project is now set to be made up of new enterprise units and a community facility available for hire.

Deputy council leader Stephen Sweeney, who is portfolio holder for finance, town centres and growth, welcomed the progress being made on the various schemes.

He said: "Now that we can actually see things happening, and we can see workmen on site and people going around in fluorescent jackets, it really shows that things are coming together now.

"Newcastle is a great place now, but it's going to be an even better place in a couple of years."