£23m council buildings approved

The £23 million scheme to construct two new buildings in Stafford town centre to house 1,750 county council staff has been approved.

Members of Stafford Borough Council's development control committee voted 11-1 to approve the scheme to re-develop the Tipping Street car park site off South Walls.

But several councillors expressed concerns that the scheme did not include any provision for car parking.

There was also concern that vacated county council buildings around the town could lie empty for years.

The two buildings – one of four storeys and the other of five – will also see five retail units totalling 1,190 sq metres provided on the ground floor.

There will be 15,230 sq metres of office space in the buildings which will be separated by a pedestrianised area.

A condition of the planning approval is that Birmingham-based developers Stoford Developments sign a Section 106 agreement to provide replacement car parking within the town centre.

Tony Nash, for Stoford, said they had worked closely with the council and designers to come up with a revised scheme that addressed English Heritage concerns.

Forebridge ward councillor Chris Baron said she was still concerned about massing on the site and its impact on the town centre conservation area. She expressed concerns that county council staff would face difficulty getting in and out of the site and the junction of South Walls on to Queensway would not cope with increased traffic.

Ward colleague Councillor David Seary expressed concern that the development might not be viable in the current economic climate.

Councillor Charles Simpson said that the buildings had character and would fit in with the surroundings, but added he was concerned about county council buildings being left empty.

Councillor Barry Stamp said that the existing 129 parking spaces would be lost and 254 more spaces would also be needed for the staff moving into the new building.

"I am worried about the parking provision," he said.

"We seem to be driving car parking spaces out of the town centre.

"With the best will in the world it is pie in the sky to think all the people will travel in by bus or car share.

"The majority will want to drive in and park somewhere," he added.

Councillor Geoff Collier called for replacement car parking to be in place before any development was allowed to start at Tipping Street.

"The town will die unless cars can get in to the town centre.

"The council should think about a new multi-storey car park," he said.