Land preparation work to regenerate former factory site near Stafford Railway Station starting in new year

The old Saint Gobain site in Doxey Road will be redeveloped under the Stafford Station Gateway project aimed to create new homes and business units next to the town’s railway station.

The partnership scheme is being developed by Stafford Borough Council and Staffordshire County Council and around £16.5 million is due to be spent on preparing the site. 

Demolition work is underway at a former garage on land close to the railway line.

The county council said around 15 acres needs to be remediated to make it suitable for future development and that trial works for this process will begin in January before the main remediation works across the site start towards the end of 2026.

Staffordshire County Council acting leader Martin Murray said: "As a key partner of the Stafford Station Gateway scheme we’re keen to ensure the land preparation begins as soon as possible to ready it for major development. This is a significant area of the regeneration site close to the western access route and the railway. Through remediating the site, it will enable it to be developed but this does take time.

"We will of course keep nearby communities and businesses up to date with plans and work progress. Seeing activity on site represents another milestone, instils investor confidence and helps us to build on our growth plans here at the beating heart of the UK economy.”

A new Institute of Technology for the Newcastle and Stafford Colleges Group next to the railway line, supported by £13m of government funding and backed by Stafford Borough Council, Keele University, Siemens, and Dell among others, is now open.

Stafford Borough Council leader, Aidan Godfrey, said: "Everyone visiting Stafford town centre will see the significant regeneration already taking place - including recent improvements to the entrance, and approach, to our railway station - the gateway to the centre of our town. 

"The Stafford Station Gateway project is another part of that overall vision to transform the county town, and the work underway on this key site will provide the catalyst for further progress of our ambitious plans.

"The money we have already attracted to support the regeneration of our town is testament to the confidence that investors and the government have in us, and our partners, being able to deliver significant growth in the area. We are perfectly placed by road, rail, and air for new businesses to flourish and the Stafford Gateway will be a thriving, vibrant new community within the town where people want to live, work and visit and all sustainably connected to the railway station.”

The old Saint Gobain manufacturing site was purchased by the county council in 2018 as part of the now completed Stafford western access route scheme.