City's regeneration held up by property talks deadlock

MAJOR regeneration projects have been delayed by up to a decade because of wrangling over the sale of homes and businesses, it has been revealed.

There are currently at least 15 clearance areas across Stoke-on-Trent, covering almost 1,300 properties in more than 70 streets.

But it has emerged that some of these schemes date back up to 10 years because of deadlocked negotiations over purchase prices.

The most recent figures, recorded in April, show that more than one in 10 properties earmarked for clearance has yet to be purchased.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council is increasingly using compulsory purchase orders (CPOs) to resolve disputes.

But the authority is facing growing calls from councillors and regeneration officers to speed up the process.

In recent months, the council has applied for CPOs to acquire the remaining properties in the Slater Street clearance area in Middleport, and business and residential properties on the Stoke-on-Trent Sixth Form College site off Leek Road, Stoke.

Orders have also been sought for homes and businesses around the proposed Tesco development site, in Clough Street, Hanley, as well as around Eastwood Road, in Hanley, and Pyenest Street, in Shelton.

Former economic development overview and scrutiny committee chairman, Councillor John Daniels, said he wants the council to get tougher with landowners who want unrealistic sums for their properties to prevent regeneration programmes suffering delays.

He said: "I have come across a really good example of this which has been going on in Weston Coyney, where the owners of two commercial properties are asking for silly money and it is holding things up.

"I think we need to move forward with compulsory purchase orders far more quickly in situations where the owners clearly cannot see commonsense.

"When it does go to a CPO we can then say that the owners have had plenty of time to put something sensible on the table, but they have refused."

Phil Brundrett, the Meir area regeneration framework project manager for Renew North Staffordshire, is also in favour of the speedier use of CPO powers.

But he said that the council would have to be very careful not to be seen as forcing people from their homes.

He said: "At the moment we get criticised for being too slow at using our CPO powers, but we also get criticised for trying to go too quickly and I think it's about finding the right balance."

Kevan Shaw, aged 65, of Melstone Avenue, Tunstall, pictured, was among the last to leave the Middleport clearance after battling moves to buy up his home.

He said: "It was a very worrying time for everyone in Middleport to go through because we were never told what was happening.

"I felt that the whole process could have been done much more sensibly and quickly."