Programme and Project Details
The Interactive Map facility requires Adobe Flash. Click here to get Flash
Project Details for City Centre South
Community centre and neighbourhood worker projects
Two community centres, supported by two neighbourhood workers, have been provided by RENEW in the Wellington Road area of City Waterside and the Parkhouse Street area of North Shelton.
North Shelton Masterplanning
Pyenest Scheme
Almost 80 properties are currently being cleared to provide opportunities for regeneration. RENEW is negotiating with owners of adjoining commercial sites in the Pyenest Street/Parkhouse Street/Snowhill areas.
Parkhouse Street
55 houses that are affected by poor ground conditions are being aquired by RENEW. It is working closely with delivery partners to help families involved in the process, including assisting them with rehousing.
Raymond Street
Initial inspections of 30 houses are now complete and the city council is currently assessing the results.
Improvements to sustainable areas
Significant RENEW funds have been invested in improvement works and the majority of the seven priority area refurbishment projects have now been completed.
Property reconfiguration
RENEW is working closely with the Building Research Establishment (BRE) to test new methods of renovating existing homes.
Belmont Road reconfiguration
Environmental and property improvements in the Belmont Road area offer a positive impression along the main access route through Etruria into North Shelton.
Parkhouse Street refurbishment
Refurbishment and alleygating projects have significantly improved the visual image and environment in the area.
Chatham Street refurbishment
Cleared land in Chamberlain Street has been transformed into a ‘pocket park’ that’s been named after a popular former resident.
Rectory Road 'pocket park'
A temporary community garden is being built in consultation with local residents.
RENEW North Staffordshire’s key aim within the City Centre South Area of Major Intervention (AMI) is to maintain and support existing communities and create new communities that are sustainable. We hope to achieve this by:
- providing around 2,500 quality new homes that will encourage existing residents to stay in the area and also attract new population
- improving and refurbishing substantial numbers of ‘heritage’ terraced housing in the area
AMIs are areas that need a concentration of resources to help create thriving communities where people will want to live and work.
Clearance and land assembly in City Centre South
There is a series of active compulsory purchase orders (CPOs) nearing completion within the AMI.
CPOs enable us to clear substandard or unpopular housing. Clearance is necessary when retention and improvement is not an option because of costs, insufficient demand, or the need for alternative housing types and sizes.
Individual CPO areas are at various stages of progress. Land and buildings can also be purchased voluntarily to create more appropriately sized/shaped redevelopment sites. Once cleared, basic site treatment takes place, ready for redevelopment.
Projects - City Centre South AMI
Community centre projects
Two community centres - in the Wellington Road area of City Waterside and the Parkhouse Street area of North Shelton - are also fully funded by RENEW and managed by the Sanctuary Housing Association. The centres are playing a vital role as venues for consultation with local people during the various masterplanning exercises that are currently taking place.
Neighbourhood worker projects
Two Neighbourhood Worker projects – in the Wellington Road area of City Waterside and North Shelton - are based at the community centres and are fully funded by RENEW and managed by the Sanctuary Housing Association. The main role of the workers is to act as a vital link between the residents of the City Centre South area and the agencies overseeing regeneration programmes, providing signposting services for specific enquiries.
The workers also co-ordinate a range of community initiatives, such as fun day events and activities over the Christmas period.
City Waterside
Rolling hillside locations, rows of terraced housing and distinctive bottle kilns - remnants of the area’s industrial heritage – are features that help give City Waterside its unique ‘sense of place’.
The revitalised Caldon Canal waterside is fast becoming the central artery that unites the various elements of City Waterside – offering fantastic potential for contemporary waterside living and proving great opportunities for leisure and recreation.
The first new homes are occupied, the new Waterside Primary School is open and thriving and developers are on site working to fulfil the City Waterside masterplan. Investment of more than £1 million has been poured into the construction of an amazing new bridge that links north and south of the Bridgewater Pottery site. And where it has a long-term future, £2.5 million has been spent on improving older terraced housing, while clearance is taking place in streets where the housing is beyond repair.
All these projects and more will promote a bustling waterside environment through the development of public realm improvements, a canalside café culture and water-based activities through boat moorings and a small marina.
To find out about all the exciting projects currently underway in City Waterside, click here.
Projects - North Shelton and Etruria
Area assessments and land assembly
Pyenest Street
The area covers a mix of houses and business premises and was assessed at the beginning of the RENEW programme. Almost 80 properties are currently being cleared by RENEW as part of a housing compulsory purchase order (CPO), with only a few remaining to be acquired and with the focus currently on relocating businesses in the area. In addition, RENEW is negotiating with owners of adjoining commercial sites in the Pyenest Street/Parkhouse Street/Snowhill areas. Several have already been purchased, including the public house on Shelton New Road and the former Cash and Carry on Pyenest Street.
Once assembled, the future of this larger site will be determined by the North Shelton masterplan process.
Parkhouse Street
Following an assessment of the wider area covering more than 180 homes, RENEW is currently acquiring 55 houses that are affected by poor ground conditions. Working with delivery partners, families are being assisted with the rehousing process. New housing options are being identified through the refurbishment and sale of existing terraced houses, and the redevelopment of land at the former Salisbury Avenue compulsory purchase order (CPO) site and on a site adjacent to the canal in Norfolk Street. A similar approach will be taken in providing new homes on the small sites released in the Parkhouse Street area, following completion of the North Shelton masterplan.
Raymond Street
Initial inspections of 30 houses are now complete. The city council is currently assessing the results and will decide the most satisfactory course of action. A decision is likely to be made in the autumn this year.
Improvements in sustainable areas
Significant RENEW funding goes into improvement works to the environment, public realm and individual or groups of houses.
These projects are designed to raise the general perception of an area for those who live, work, visit or pass through. Works are also designed to encourage private investment by owners and encourage families to move into the area. By necessity, the limited resources available for such improvements must be prioritised for those more visible streets, however the neighbourhood as a whole also benefits by the area becoming more popular.
The majority of the seven priority area refurbishments projects have now been completed, and RENEW is looking at the potential for similar works in other parts of the AMI.
RENEW also buys housing available on the open market. These homes are then improved with public sector funding to provide rehousing options for people affected by clearance, or to provide wider housing choice.
Property reconfiguration
Of the 100+ houses purchased over the last three years, most notable has been the conversion of four large homes in Wellesley Street. They were part of the former Central Hotel, and are now new homes for larger extended families that have had to relocate due to the clearance process.
RENEW is also working closely with the Building Research Establishment (BRE) on its ‘Rethinking Refurbishment’ initiative, which is designed to test new methods of renovating existing homes. In Etruria, two terraced properties in Kimberley Road are being converted to create a larger family home. This will provide greater choice in areas that are predominately two bedroom properties.
Belmont Road refurbishment
Environmental and property related works in this area were completed in 2008, and centred on the frontages of Dundee Road opposite Etruria Park, and on Etruria Vale Road (B5046). Together these properties offer a positive impression along this main access route through Etruria into North Shelton.
Parkhouse Street refurbishment
Refurbishment works to retained areas have been completed over the past year and were targeted at enhancing the view along Howard Place towards St Mark’s Church, which is Grade 2 listed. In addition, alleygating has been installed to improve security to rear alleyways, featuring distinctive metalwork art features and planters. Overall, the aim is to significantly improve the visual image and environment in the area.
Chatham Street refurbishment
Environmental works and boundary treatments will be completed in the summer of 2009. The most notable improvement has been the provision of a new ‘pocket park’, which was formally opened in June 2009. Utilising cleared land in Chamberlain Street, the site has been transformed into a space that people can enjoy. Following consultation in 2008, residents picked their favourite design and work started in December.
Residents also chose to name the park in memory of Arthur Garside, a much-loved resident and former member of the Upper Shelton Residents’ Association before he died.
The garden has been created by RENEW North Staffordshire in partnership with Sanctuary Housing Association, Stoke-on-Trent City Council and local residents. Local artist Philip Hardacre was commissioned to design and build a mosaic tile bench for the garden, and children from St Mark’s Primary School joined with residents to design and paint tiles for the seat.
Around 90 residents have formed a group to help take care of ‘Arthur’s Garden’, following a bulb planting event in the spring of 2009.
Rectory Road ‘pocket park’
A similar approach is being taken forward following demolition of the former Rectory Road Nursery in February 2009, a redundant wooden building adjacent to the Community Centre. The site is to be used for a temporary community garden. Local residents have been asked for their ideas and a final concept design has recently been submitted for planning permission. Once permission is granted, work to develop the site will be put out to tender.
