Council plans Civic Centre sale
THE Civic Centre and King's Hall in Stoke are set to be sold off as 2,000 council staff are moved into a £40 million office complex in Hanley.
Stoke-on-Trent City Council has unveiled plans to off-load its Stoke headquarters, neighbouring Swann House and up to 40 other buildings across the city.
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Stoke's Civic Centre is set to be sold off
Workers will move into two purpose-built office blocks in Hanley's Central Business District (CBD), which is being developed on the site of the council's former base at Unity House.
The council said the CBD, which is considered crucial to major city centre regeneration schemes like the £350 million City Sentral shopping centre, can only attract businesses if the authority takes the plunge by kick-starting its occupation.
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Over the next 10 years it is hoped 4,500 more jobs will be created at the CBD in four further office blocks, two hotels and scores of cafes and shops built around a central piazza – all constructed by the private sector.
The regeneration blueprint will see:
Two central office blocks constructed for the council in Hanley at a cost of £40 million to house its office staff from January 2015;
The Civic Centre marketed as a package with the neighbouring Spode site, Kingsway car park and Kings Hall to attract a major multi-million pound development like a science park which supersedes previous plans for a supermarket;
Public sections of Hanley's City Central Library incorporated into the ground floor of the CBD alongside a cafe with academic and research departments also relocated.
The authority plans to loan the cash needed to build the new HQ, while raising £25 million by selling off buildings.
It estimates it can save £2 million a year on reduced energy and maintenance bills by moving to a new complex – and avoid spending £20 million on a backlog of repairs at its outdated buildings.
Chief executive John van de Laarschot said: "There are risks but to move the city forward we have to make some bold moves. In the current market, the private sector is simply not prepared to go first."
Council leader Mohammed Pervez added: "This will stimulate other businesses and encourage them to come into the Central Business District and create much-needed jobs for the city."
Concerns were raised last night about the future of Stoke town centre with more than 900 workers based at the Civic Centre and 450 at Swann House being moved to Hanley.
Council meetings are likely be held at the new HQ or Hanley Town Hall.
Peter Knight, aged 43, managing director of the Computers Sense laptop repairs centre, in Campbell Place, Stoke, said: "This is just another example of Hanley getting all the benefits and Stoke being forgotten. Stoke has just been picking up, and then they take thousands of people away from the area and it's just going to die again."
Comments
by kris84
Monday, December 17 2012, 5:34PM
“We have created a petition to Stop the councils plans to relocate the civic centre, please visit our facebook page - Stoke City Civic Sense - https://http://tinyurl.com/bmn8uy4
Or a link directly to the petition http://tinyurl.com/c3dw4el
Debate and comments welcomed! But in resoponse to main concerns, if the current building was maintained properly it wouldnt need so much repair. The same happened to Unity house, the same will happen to any new building. Did the manage to sell Unity house? Is it likely that they will sell the current civic centre or leave it to rot and eventually demolish like so much of our city?
Regeneration efforts are extremly important and needed but there are many options which can be suggested. Myself as a architecture student with 7 years practice experience can suggest many educated ideas. But I've sat back watching the cities attemtpt and the renew pathfinder demolisions etc and so this petition is hopefully a start to a greater movement. Your help and support would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks
Kris”
by I_Norris
Saturday, June 09 2012, 12:12PM
“Ive been trying find the list of 40 buildings across the City being considered for closure, but no luck so far Cllr Rosenau had this to say "To assist the process of the move to the CBD, all Council buildings providing 'back-office' or administrative functions are being analysed with a view that these functions will eventually relocate to the CBD.
As we are currently reviewing these buildings, we have not come to a conclusion on the final number, and therefore we cannot provide you with exact details of costings and locations."
Has any real though gone into the CBD move?
But I did find cost Maintenance in 2007, Backlog maintenance for Council buildings in 2007 http://tinyurl.com/cem6ypu was £3,950,325 with Cost for the Civic Centre just £12,600.. hows that get to £20million?”
by MelvBoslem
Saturday, June 02 2012, 3:31PM
“Lets just that this new council building is a lot better than the new one in Stafford that is its self a shambles.Only been open a short while but yet major repair work needs to be carried out.This new one in Stafford was based on a similar idea.Save money on running costs,maintenance,travel costs,moving staff closer together and selling off other buildings.
Melv.”
by Alberus
Thursday, May 31 2012, 5:01PM
“This council will never make its mind up where the administrative centre of the city ought to be. This week it's Hanley, last week it was Stoke. Maybe next time it will be the turn of Tunstall or Longton. Spoilt for choice really, aren't they? It's as plain as the nose on your face that Stoke has always been the best choice with its great road access and rail station. Where's the sense in a cobbled-together plan lumping the main shopping area and cultural quarter together with the seat of local government? There may be six towns, but this council sees only Hanley for some reason. There seems no logic in this.”
by RegenMan1
Wednesday, May 30 2012, 6:29PM
“I_Norris,
Thanks for that,
I had forgotten that council meetings are now merely a stage-managed charade, all the decisions actually being taken at a parallel set of secret meetings a few days before the real thing, to which the public are not invited and know nothing about.”
by RegenMan1
Tuesday, May 29 2012, 12:11PM
“Spudders 1980
The devil is in the detail.
Little detail is given in the cabinet report. The costs in the article must be from elsewhere.
The '£25m from selling off buildings' is, I would have thought, from the sale of the entire asset portfolio, not just the existing civic centre / Swann House. Bear in mind that these properties have costs / debts associated with them – is the £25m figure net or gross? Perhaps the council would be willing to publish the full list of sites, their estimated value and their associated debts.
For example, the Spode site was purchased for several million pounds only a couple of years ago so that needs knocking off the sum (potentially) to be received from sales.
Similarly, as has been said by others, there are also other recently incurred costs which, if not realised in the sale price, represent a poor investment and poor management decisions, for example the solar panels recently installed on the civic centre, the car park on the former job centre,
The '£20m on a backlog of repairs at its outdated buildings' does not specify whether this relates purely to those buildings to be consolidated into the central business district or its entire property portfolio. Such costs would, in any event, be reflected in the £25m asset value.”
by rubythursday
Monday, May 28 2012, 10:08PM
“when we have nothing left to sell mr.vanguard de laarschot will move on.
all that money spent on solar panels, money from a government grant intended for insulating council housing.
the shops in stoke cater for the civic centre staff. that is why there are more sandwhich shops and card shops than anything else. I guess they will close down. I would like to know what is planned to replace them
it would be interesting to know what the elected councillors in stoke are doing about this.”
by drew03
Monday, May 28 2012, 4:57PM
“Spudders,
Given that the contract for the central business district was awarded to Genr8 in 2009,
I'd say you're wrong.
http://tinyurl.com/7f9cayx”
by Spudders1980
Monday, May 28 2012, 3:42PM
“I'm not saying at all that everything the council has spent money on has been worth it, I'm just saying that that doesn't mean they should stop trying to help regeneration in the city by spending nothing just because past spending didn't work out as intended, and that it seems clear from some of the comments on here that people just want to moan at everything the council do and never be happy or see the positive side to anything.
In the same way i'm not saying all those officers deserve those wages, but just because they are overpaid that doesn't make every scheme they come up with a bad one. Given that the report on this suggests its at a very early stage of consideration I'd probably say they were unlikely to know when spending that money on a car park about this potential move.”
by Redpitlad
Monday, May 28 2012, 1:40PM
“Spudder
So what your saying is that the tax payer should carry on rewarding failure... by this incompetent council. who pay 25 of its top dogs over a £100,000 pound salary's and the head Honcho Vanderlaugh £250,000...
A prime example of this inept regeneration farce is that.! they have just spent £250,000 pounds on a 20 space free car parking for its staff across from swan house knowing full well they were moving out.
but hey its only money..! just that its our money they squandering.”