'Neglected' Stafford town centre compared to Beirut after shop closures and M&S relocation

Labour’s Councillor Ralph Cooke made the comments about the north end of Stafford town centre, likening it to the much-maligned Lebanese city while highlighting the loss of some retail units and the M&S move out to Riverside.

Green Councillor Tony Pearce was less graphic in his critique of the area, arguing that there was a general air of neglect”.

He said: “The centre of Stafford, and especially the north end, is populated with empty shops and a general air of neglect which must act as a deterrent to those thinking of visiting and shopping here. Whilst the work on the Market Square will help, it comes after years of neglect with a complete failure to properly maintain and repair it.

“Moreover, there are many empty buildings belonging to the county council, largely as a result of the decision to move to Staffordshire Place. This is contributing to the lack of footfall in the town and, as many of them are listed, and/or in a conservation area, we are seeing many of them deteriorate, to the detriment of the town centre.

Councillor Pearce called on the borough council to have discussions “as a matter of urgency” with the county council to find out if buildings could be brought back into use and “properly maintained”. But his motion failed to gain enough support from fellow councillors to be passed.

Conservative Councillor Mark Winnington described the motion as “bizarre” and said that Shire Hall was not empty. And fellow Conservative Councillor Frances Beatty, cabinet member for economic development and planning, told the meeting that a number of buildings had been brought back into use, including Shire Hall which was previously home to the town’s main library and an art gallery.

But Councillor Pearce said: “The front of the building still remains shut. I understand the building was not open on Historic Buildings Day because the building itself wasn’t insured for public access.

“I think we have lost a real asset to the borough – in this town we don’t have an art gallery. When we had one run by the county council it was a visitor attraction.

“Any empty buildings are a loss in two ways; firstly a loss in footfall as people who worked in them or used them brought life and business to the town. There is a huge building which is empty and has been for a number of years – the Wedgwood Building.

“The second aspect of these buildings being empty is that the buildings themselves deteriorate. I think we as a council should be pressurising the county council to bring them back into good use.”

Councillor Beatty responded that footfall had been going up however. She added: “The county council has an obligation to keep the Listed Buildings in their ownership in good repair.

“The town centre transformation programme, at a total cost of over £20m, includes major improvements to Stafford’s Market Square which you can see taking place now. Then there is the transformation and re-purposing of Shire Hall which has created the enterprise hub.

“That is home to 13 small businesses, with a very popular hot-desking opportunity open to micro-businesses. That transformation was made possible by £1.6m from the Get Building Fund and £400,000 match funding put in by the authorities.

“There is a long-running programme of conservation and regeneration of our precious Listed Buildings and each has a wonderful story to tell. The Chetwynd Centre, once King Edward’s School, has been re-purposed for homes and the Martin Street buildings are now attractive homes.

“The Staffordshire History Centre has guaranteed the future of the important William Salt Library building on Eastgate Street. Furthermore, rather than leaving buildings empty, the county has had the foresight to seize the opportunity for a comprehensive redevelopment scheme for Eastgate, ready for when the St Chad’s buildings are vacated, and through the far-sighted acquisition of the former magistrate’s court and probation service building.

“The Eastgate regeneration programme builds on the masterplan developed in partnership with the borough council, Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner and Homes England. It will re-purpose the Wedgwood and St Chad’s buildings and 14 Martin Street, along with the site cleared of the magistrate’s court and probation service building and that is work ongoing.

“We as borough council leadership, along with the county council’s leaders, are fully committed to supporting the reinstatement of Stafford’s position as our county town. I can confirm that regular meetings take place between the leaders and portfolio holders of the county and borough council and senior officers.”