Town ‘vision’ gets the go-ahead

Stafford’s long-awaited Tipping Street development finally got the go-ahead today – more than a year after it was first unveiled.

County councillors gave the huge £23 million scheme the green light this morning after months of credit crunch-fuelled doubt over its viability.

The announcement was made after a county council cabinet meeting at Stafford’s County Buildings.

Council bosses hailed it as a massive investment in the future of Stafford as a regional centre of growth and prosperity.

Cabinet members said they had considered an interim business case and “overwhelmingly” agreed that the financial viability of the development stacked up.

It will see a mix of ground-floor shops and cafes, with an administrative hub for the county council above. Two six-storey buildings will provide 150,000 sq ft of office space for 2,000 county council staff at a cost of £600,000 a year in rent.

There will be between 15,000 and 20,000 sq ft of retail and restaurant space on the ground level, with a pedestrian walkway and piazza in between. The council says it will serve as a new “nerve centre”, focusing its operations more effectively.

Earlier this month, engineers started drilling exploratory bore holes below Tipping Street car park to test what foundations would be needed to underpin building work on the site. 

However, as recently as November 5, Staffordshire County Council deputy leader Councillor Robert Simpson said the council was still looking into the feasibility of the proposed scheme.

Discussions on the finances behind the project had previously been put on hold due to the ongoing economic crisis.

But today Councillor Simpson said it was an “important decision day” for the county council and for Staffordshire as a whole.

He said: “This is a big decision on a big investment for Stafford and for Staffordshire.

“In the current economic climate the public sector needs to do all it can to kick-start the economy and create new jobs, so the importance of this project is amplified.”

Developers Modus and Storford Developments are now expected to submit a detailed planning application to Stafford Borough Council this winter. Building work should take betweeen 12 and 18 months.

Councillor Simpson has previously described the Tipping Street “vision” as a way of creating “a new wave of economic activity, job creation and prosperity, redefining the town centre’s sense of self.”

However, there will be no car parking within the development. The council says that in the short term, space will be available on the former Riverside Recreation Centre site and in the long term, a new multi-storey car park is to be developed on the Kingsmead car park site.