A major regeneration project in the heart of Stoke-on-Trent has been pushed back in order to review all available options.

The council and a group of stakeholders have agreed that there are too many flats planned for the site which would damage the potential of the site.

The previous plans for the stalled project which was suddenly scrapped in March included plans for more than 100 new homes, along with offices and leisure facilities, had been submitted by 'preferred developer' Nimrod Holdings Group.

However Council leader Jane Ashworth has announced a change of direction. Speaking to the members of the council, she said: "They wanted to build too many residential accommodations and that risks weakening the power of Spode to become an urban village right in the middle of Stoke town centre. 

"Yes we want some housing but we need that centre to become a cultural venue, we need it to become a place where fantastically high tech, sophisticated, modern companies are driving the local agenda.".

£10m was allocated to the Spode Works site from the government's Levelling Up Fund (Nub News).

The city council was granted £56m from the government's Levelling Up Fund in October 2021, with £10m allocated for the Spode Works site. However, the 'preferred developer' Nimrod Holdings Group was recently dissolved .

However the leader of the council announced that in order to leverage the £56 million grant the council would have to take out a 'mortgage' of £21.8 million. Since May the costs have increased to closer to £40 million; this is money which the council leader said could be spent on older people's care or fixing the roads.

Councillor Ashworth continued: "There is so much potential at the Spode site and we want to see new plans brought forward that will have the most benefit for local people. We're adopting a pragmatic approach to both of these sites that sets out clear instruction to developers to give them confidence and impetus to commit to investing in the city, and that has the interests of residents and the community at heart.

"In some cases, this will mean pushing back start dates for work on site as we review options. However, through this process, we can be confident that the developments will be relevant to the needs of the city and financially viable."

A major regeneration project at Spode in Stoke has been pushed back to review all options (Nub News).

Opposition leader, Councillor Daniel Jellyman warned that the inaction of the administration could risk sending the money back to the government. He said "When in power, Conservative Councillors secured £56 million from the government.

"Now over £10 million of that money is at risk of going back to government. This is due to Labour's inaction since coming to power in May. Labour are making a deliberate decision to delay plans on the Spode site. 

"The £10 million has to be spent within the next twelve months, the clock is ticking and twelve months to redraw plans from scratch, secure planning and to construct, is almost an impossibility."

READ MORE: McDonalds launch appeal to keep busy Stoke-on-Trent site open until 2am

Free from clickbait, pop-up ads and unwanted surveys, Stoke Nub News is a quality online newspaper for our city.

Subscribe to our FREE weekly newsletter email HERE - just click the 'SIGN UP' button.

Please consider following Stoke Nub News on Facebook or Twitter.