Stoke Town Masterplan Final Report 3rd3rd Draft October 2011 i Stoke-on-Trent City Council: Kevin Bell: 01782 234861 [email protected] URBED: Andrew Bradshaw or Grace Manning Marsh: 0161 200 5500 [email protected], [email protected] www.urbed.coop/stoketownmasterplan Contents Summary 2 Introduction 7 Part 1: Diagnosis 9 Stoke Town: Past 10 Stoke Town: Present 12 Diagnosis 14 Part 2. Vision and Options 17 Vision 18 Consultations 20 Options 22 Options: Spode and the Links 24 Part 3. Masterplan 27 The Masterplan: 28 Development Sites 30 Economy 32 Transport 34 Public Realm 36 Sustainability 40 Part 4: Spode and the Links 43 Spode and the Links: 44 Masterplan 46 Artists 48 Ceramics Retailing and Visitors 50 Retail Development 52 The Links Site 54 Part 5: Delivery and Phasing 57 Delivery: 58 Phase 1: Early work on Spode 60 Phase 2: The retail store 62 Phase 3: The Bridge and the Links 64 Phase 4: Ceramics retailing 66 Phase 5: Completing Spode 68 Phase 6: Further opportunities 70 Summary This report sets out a vision for Stoke Town as it might be in 20 years time. However, more important it sets out a step by step strategy to achieve this vision starting now, in a time of weak markets and public sector spending cuts. The aim is to grow the regeneration of the town by allowing it to use its assets and to seize future opportunities. This report has been prepared for Stoke-on-Trent City town. Our assessment however concludes that the Council by a team led by URBED and sets out a twenty- town is too close to Hanley for this, and suggest instead year strategy for the regeneration of the town. It has that it should become the recognised station/university been prepared after extensive consultation with local quarter of the city centre. As we point out, this would people and stakeholders including a workshop in Sep- be perfectly normal in a continental city and is an ap- tember 2010, consultation on options in December and propriate response to the unique polycentric structure a further consultation on the preferred option in March of Stoke-on-Trent. 2011. In total these consultations have involved around 350 people and elicited 145 written responses. Grow-your-own regeneration The role of Stoke (town) in Stoke The masterplan has grown out of a thorough analysis of the issues facing the town. However while we conclude The first issue addressed by the report is the role of that major change is necessary, we accept that there is Stoke Town. It was once at the heart of the ceramics likely to be little public money available to deliver large industry with a cluster of pottery works including two scale restructuring. While the masterplan described in of the most important, Minton and Spode. Portmeirion, this report is ambitious, we recognise that the com- which now owns the Spode brand, is the last ceramics pleted masterplan is the culmination of a journey. We works in Stoke and the town that once thrived its large have designed the plan and the delivery strategy so local workforces and the money invested by its ceram- that each of the steps on this journey is possible and ics ‘barrons’ needs to find a new role. builds on the step that proceeded it. If for any reason we can’t get to the end of the journey, or have to pause This change is all very recent. The former Spode works for breath at any time, the plan is designed so that it closed only two years ago and unlike other industrial still works even if some or even all of the big projects towns, that have had many years to recover from the don’t happen or are delayed. loss of their core industries, in Stoke the wound is very fresh. Further more this wound has been inflicted in the Stoke Town is not an isolated place. There are millions heart of a recession and at a time of public sector aus- of people in and around the town every day: students terity. While levels of deprivation and unemployment in in the University and College, people working in the Stoke Town may not be comparably to the worst parts Civic Centre, shoppers at the supermarket, patients of the conurbation, the town centre is struggling and in and workers at the hospital and travellers on the A500 2010 28% of its shops were vacant1. and railway. If we were able to encourage just a small proportion of these people to come into Stoke Town, to Stoke Town therefore needs a new role, one that spend a few hours and a little money, the fortunes of resolves the dilemma that while it contains many of the the town could be transformed. facilities that you would expect to find in a city cen- tre (the Mainline Railway Station, Town Hall, Minster, To do this we need to make it easier to access the Market and indeed the University and College), it is on town, particularly over the barrier of the A500. How- the bottom rung of the hierarchy of shopping centres ever, what we really need is an attraction that draws in the conurbation. It has previously been suggested people in. The former Spode works is an opportunity that Stoke Town should become a 21st century market to create this attraction and this strategy envisages 1 Goad Centre Report September 2010 2 Before After: The plan proposes that the former Spode works together with its courtyards and alleys be animated with artists and speciality shops. the site developing as a creative community (such as phased basis. This includes the following elements: Camden Lock in London). The former Spode works: The masterplan proposes However, this will take time, so this strategy also seeks to retain the historic buildings on the former Spode to kick start the process by looking at the potential for works site, (approximately 20,000m2). Much of this will a new retail store to the rear of the site. This is poten- initially be mothballed and then brought in use over tially important for two reasons, firstly it will attract time as demand grows. Uses include a museum and people and help animate the heart of the site. Secondly visitor attraction around China Bank Court including it will generate a capital receipt to help fund elements the possible reconstruction of the bottle kiln. A special- of the strategy such as the bridge over the A500 and ist ceramics retailing centre, bringing together factory environmental improvements in the heart of the town. shops from the wider area and a creative community of The overall strategy is therefore to concentrate activity artists studios, gallery space, speciality shops and, over in the heart of town and on the former Spode works time, creative office space are all included within the allowing sites to the south to be developed for housing proposals. The environment will be a maze of alleyways and the land between the railway and the A500 to be and courts, somewhere to be discovered and explored. developed for employment uses. The Retail Store: The plan also proposes a medium- Rediscovery, repair and renewal sized retail store on the open land to the rear of the site. The store would be built over its car park, which This strategy has been developed into a masterplan for would be accessed from Elenora Street. The double- the whole of Stoke Town. This masterplan shows how height entrance would face onto a new square linking it the Town will look when the strategy is complete and in with a ‘high street’ through the former Spode works (as the delivery section we show how this will develop on a illustrated above). 3 Stoke Links: The aim is to use the retail store to help Taming the car: The highways strategy is designed to fund a new footbridge over the A500 in order to open address the problem that 83% of traffic in Stoke Town up the Stoke Links site. This would be developed over (excluding the A500) is through traffic2. Much of this time, initially moving the surface car park northwards is currently directed onto a one-way gyratory system to allow the development of a new station square, retail through the centre of the town where traffic speeds units, a hotel and offices. There is also scope to reuse create a hostile environment. The strategy proposes to the base of Swift House for restaurant and bar uses make many of these streets two-way, slowing traffic facing the canal. Then as the scheme becomes estab- and allowing on-street parking. This will not neces- lished there is the opportunity to create a major arena/ sarily reduce the amount of traffic but it will reduce its convention centre over a decked car park. impact. Town Centre: This strategy will help to consolidate The public realm: As part of the masterplan a public activity into the heart of the town creating a strong realm strategy has been developed with Jan Gehl retail spine between the existing supermarket and the Architects from Denmark. This is based on a range of proposed new store. The plan proposes that existing public spaces from the alleyways and courts of the for- shops on London Road be relocated to vacant units in mer Spode works to a major new public square outside this area around Campbell Place and Church Street to the Kings Hall. The strategy also includes improvements concentrate activity linked to proposed environmental to Campbell Place and a hierarchy of streets and public works to Campbell Place.