Former magistrates’ court to be bulldozed in plans to regenerate empty Stafford spaces
Plans to regenerate Stafford town centre have moved forward with applications submitted to demolish the town’s former magistrates’ court and create a business hub at the historic Shire Hall.
Staffordshire County Council, which owns the two sites, has put forward the proposals to Stafford Borough Council.
The former magistrates’ court in South Walls will be bulldozed to make way for a temporary car park if plans are approved.
And the eastern part of Shire Hall, which once served as Stafford’s main library, is set to be converted into business incubation units. Meeting rooms, break-out areas, kitchen areas and new toilets are also proposed across three floors.
Last year the Government awarded £1.6m from its Getting Building Fund towards the Shire Hall scheme.
A supporting statement submitted to the borough council said: “Shire Hall was constructed between 1795 and 1798 as the County Court for Staffordshire and remained as such for hundreds of years, until as recently as 1991. It is a Grade II* Listed Building and comprises of an assembly hall, former library area and obsolete courts.
“The building has had a number of uses over the years but was most recently used as an art gallery and library. When Staffordshire County Council moved the library into its new headquarters in Staffordshire Place, it meant the art gallery was not financially viable on its own, therefore Staffordshire County Council closed the building.
“Today the building is empty, obsolete as a court and without any tenants – this has been the case for a number of years. There is minimal public access to its historic interiors – events in its grand ‘assembly hall’ and/or court rooms still take place but infrequently and ad hoc pre-Covid-19.
“The county council remains the proud owner of the site, but the building operates at a substantial financial loss to the authority, with the building in a state of disrepair and in need of investment.
“There are ambitions for the older part of Stafford town to undergo a regeneration, with significant investment coming in, which will see it become more mixed in use, including the conversion of retail to residential land use. There is a need and opportunity for spaces to provide for work and leisure uses in the town centre to capitalise on this shift away from retail.
“Shire Hall’s location at the centre of the old town, on Market Square, means that it is well positioned to do this either as office and event space. The design ambition for the business hub at Shire Hall is to create flexible workspace to meet the needs and demands of modern business operations.”
The former Stafford Magistrates’ Court building in South Walls closed in 2017. Staffordshire County Council bought the site from Homes England for redevelopment as part of the Eastgate Regeneration Scheme.
As a temporary measure the site is set to be turned into a council staff and member parking area, with spaces for 60 cars as well as motorcycle parking and cycle stands.
A planning statement said: “There will be a period between demolition and the ultimate re-development of the resultant cleared site. This duration will be dependent upon market demand.
“The interim proposal is for the county council to use the space for its own use. Initially it will utilise the existing car parking spaces besides SP1 (Staffordshire Place) and also those spaces currently to the rear of the Magistrates’ Court.
“During the pandemic there has been increased use by the council of the existing car parking spaces for key workers, and the cleared space will allow the council more flexibility in the short/medium term around its evolving strategy for staff and member car parking coming out of the pandemic.”
