Staffordshire County Council Deputy Leader Robert Simpson

Tipping Street investment catalyst gets planning permission

Another hurdle has been cleared in Staffordshire County Council's drive to bring a massive capital investment to Stafford and Staffordshire.

The 23 million pound Tipping Street Revitalisation Project has got the go ahead from Stafford Borough Council's planning committee.
Councillors voted last night to support the scheme which will see the Tipping Street site at the heart of the town transformed into a bustling business zone, with new offices for the county council the centre piece.

The application is being driven by private sector construction specialists Stoford Developments.

It's been masterminded by Staffordshire County Council as a key to the town's long term regeneration and job creation programme, providing the central link in a chain of future investment projects, including the redevelopment of the Riverside site.

The approval comes just weeks after the project was tipped as a model for UK town centre development.

The government's leading advisory body on architecture and urban design, the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) welcomed the plans as "a successful piece of architecture."
"We think that the proposed block with the diagonal street at its heart provides a successful route which will draw people through the site and potentially connect the town centre and the future development to the south."

Staffordshire County Council Deputy Leader Robert Simpson said consultations on the project saw the vast majority of respondents delighted to see investment being pumped into the town in this time of economic challenge.
"The scheme aims to act as an economic catalyst, setting off a chain reaction of investment and new jobs at a time when regeneration is most needed. This is a real opportunity for Stafford and Staffordshire to position itself as a primary growth point for the Midlands.
"And for Staffordshire County Council this offers a great opportunity to maximise the efficiency of our operations, bringing services together in a purpose built energy efficient building. This will provide real value for money for the Staffordshire tax payer," he said.

Ted Manders, Head of Regeneration for Stafford Borough Council said:
"These plans form a key part of the regeneration of Stafford Town Centre. With the backing of the public sector Tipping Street is seen as being one of the early developments which will bring jobs and generate investor confidence. This is very important in the current economic climate and will help move forward other schemes in close proximity.

"The proposal will bring more than 1,600 employees into the centre of Stafford and further support the Town Centre economy and increase footfall in that part of town.

"We receive enquiries from national and independent retail chains who are interested in locating here but are unable to find the right premises. The planned retail floor space in the Tipping Street development will enable those retailers to move to the town," he said.

Jon Andrews, director at Stoford, said: 'We are absolutely delighted with this result which will now allow us to proceed to site with this key regeneration project.
"Our team have worked hard to create the vision for the scheme and we very much look forward to delivery of this important project which will bring significant commercial and environmental benefits to the town centre."

Page Last Modified: 27/03/2009 14:21:31

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