Private developer sought for axed arena site

The original plan was for Etruscan Square to be home to an arena and leisure complex

A local authority is on the look-out for a private company to help it redevelop a major city centre site.

Leaders at Stoke-on-Trent City Council say the authority cannot afford to take on the Etruscan Square scheme in Hanley on its own.

The site, including the former Hanley Bus Station and Hanley Shopping Centre, already has planning permission for up to 292 homes along with ground-floor food outlets.

A wider masterplan, which included an indoor arena and hotel, was scrapped by the local authority after Labour took control last year, with a revised scheme now being drawn up.

Etruscan Square was allocated £20m of levelling-up funding by the government, but the council believes the overall cost of this scheme and other regeneration projects could rise to over £100m.

The council is now hoping to sign a development agreement, which would see the site sold to a private firm.

The private firm would then build the agreed scheme, as long as certain conditions are met.

According to a council report, this approach would save taxpayers the development costs while allowing the authority to retain some control over the scheme.

Along with the new housing, Etruscan Square could eventually include a 2,000-seat events venue, a multi-storey car park and other amenities.

The council previously had an agreement with developer Realis Estates for the site, but this deal expired without the proposed retail and leisure complex ever being built.

The proposed development had included nearly 300 new homes, an underground car park and a 138-room hotel

The council has to spend the £20m of levelling-up funding by March 2025, or by the following year on an exceptional basis, according to a report.

The council said this meant the developer needed to be signed up as soon as possible.

Conservative opposition group leader Dan Jellyman believes the council has already wasted too much time.

“It was always the intention to find a private sector developer for parts of the Etruscan Square development,” he said.

“But the key thing is ensuring that we don’t get a situation where the council has lost control over the land, which a company will just sit on for years.”

He added: “Labour inherited a site with full planning permission for new homes.

“They could have cracked on with that last year, but instead they chose to scrap it all and go back to the drawing board.”

Cabinet members will be asked to approve the launch of a tender process to find a development partner on Tuesday.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.