Council backs updated £812m investment plan

Among the planned projects is a new look for the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery in Stoke-on-Trent

Stoke-on-Trent City Council has approved an updated £812m capital investment programme, setting out how taxpayers' money will be used over the next decade.

The plan includes regeneration projects like the Etruscan Square development in Hanley, the Potteries Museum extension and new housing, as well as improvements to roads and schools.

General fund schemes account for £309.8m of spending, while £502.6m will be spent by the housing revenue account.

Updates approved at Thursday's full council meeting include an extra £4.5m for a new software system, £300,000 for the Goods Yard housing development and £300,000 for remedial work on unsafe buildings.

The overall programme will require £356.4m of borrowing, with £217m coming from capital grants, reserves and contributions.

Councillor Sarah Hill, cabinet member for finance, said the changes would not lead to any rise in borrowing or capital financing costs.

Councillor Finlay Gordon-McCusker, cabinet member for transport, infrastructure and regeneration, said the schemes within the programme were "not luxuries but necessities".

"Every scheme, every pound that we spend, every decision must serve a clear purpose and that purpose is to make Stoke-on-Trent a city that works for all of its people," he said.

Conservative councillor Ross Irving questioned how the plans would be affected by proposed local government reorganisation, which could see the city council replaced by 2028.

He warned that the authority "might not be masters in our own house by then".

Potteries Party councillor David Mountford urged the council to ensure as much of the money as possible was spent locally.

He said: "Residents deserve to see how much of it actually circulates in the local economy. Every pound that leaks out to external contractors is a lost opportunity for local jobs, apprentices and co-ops."

Hill responded by saying the council would continue to plan for the future until any reorganisation was confirmed and that it remained committed to using local suppliers "as much as we can".

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