Tower Block redevelopment proposals across the city to progress

The city council undertook a consultation with residents over the summer to consider three options around the future of ten of its high-rise council blocks.

Tower Block redevelopment proposals across the city to progress

Stoke-on-Trent City Council is progressing with plans to provide housing which reflects resident’s needs.

The city council undertook a consultation with residents over the summer to consider three options around the future of ten of its high-rise council blocks, comprising of 374 properties at:

• Pedley & Robinson Courts, Blurton
• Boundary, Brookfield and Forest Courts, Hanley
• Dibden, Penkhull and Southern Courts, Stoke
• Arthur Cotton and Port Vale Courts, Burslem

This redevelopment work comes as the tower blocks have reached the end of their design life and will start to experience more and more dilapidations, which is recognised through feedback from residents.

The consultation sought views on preferred options, which comprised of partial refurbishment and rebuild, to full redevelopment, with total redevelopment on the four sites being the preferred option.

At a meeting next week Cabinet is set to approve plans to progress the redevelopment of the sites, with a proposal to commence site feasibility and design work early in the new year, leading to consultation on the first proposed site in the spring.

This first sites will be Pedley Court and Robinson Court in Blurton. Alongside this the council will be considering proposals for the adjacent Bell House and Barker House to enable a response to the obsolete schemes, whilst also providing decant provision from the tower blocks. The indicative programme for the remaining three sites will then be Hanley, Stoke, and Burslem.

Councillor Carl Edwards, cabinet member for housing and environment said: “Residents came out in force to have their say on these proposals, this was all valuable feedback. We are a responsible landlord and any decisions made are for the benefit of residents. We want housing to be future-proofed and for any redevelopment to be a long-term solution and we will communicate with residents every step of the way.”

This redevelopment proposal is a long-term, transformational programme, spanning two decades.  In response to resident feedback, as the project progresses the council would consider shortening the programme length by potentially delivering two or three sites simultaneously, so as to provide new replacement homes as quickly as possible.

Subject to approval, community consultation will commence in spring 2023 on the initial plans for site one in Blurton, all residents will be able to access these plans through public meetings and through resident feedback questionnaires.