Shopping centre demolition plans put forward

Demolishing the shopping centre will allow the regeneration of the area, according to council plans

Plans to partially demolish a dilapidated shopping centre have been submitted.

The Maltings centre in Uttoxeter was bought by East Staffordshire District Council in January and it wants to regenerate the area.

It has applied to knock down 19 of the 24 units there, which it said had been unsuitable for letting for some time due to their condition.

The demolition of the buildings, originally created in the 1960s, would take place in phases, to allow the continued use of the area.

The council has planned the regeneration since it bought the neighbouring former Co-op building in 2023.

In its application for demolition, the authority said: "By being vacant for a long period of time, the units had become dilapidated with no activity in the units creating further concern for their condition which was declining.

"The state of the buildings and the interconnecting public realm has a detrimental effect on the High Street and the town centre as a whole," it added.

The council said once the units were cleared it would create temporary space for food vendors and market stalls until the regeneration work for the permanent project could take place.

The car park and bus stop would be unaffected by the works, the council added.

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