New road leads the way for Stafford Station Gateway Masterplan
Regeneration projects in Stafford will help unlock the town's potential and encourage people to live in the area, councillors have said.
The latest section of the Stafford Western Access Route, which crosses the railway, opened at the start of this month, providing a new link from Castlefields in the west to the town centre.
The aim of the new road is to relieve congestion in other parts of town, such as Newport Road and Station Road. But it is also unlocking access to land around the railway station area and opening the door to its regeneration in the years to come.
Stafford Borough Council and Staffordshire County Council are currently working on a number of major projects in the county town.
Around the same time the railway bridge reopened the county council welcomed the award of almost £4m from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to help develop the Staffordshire History Centre in Eastgate Street.
At the end of 2020 it was the borough council’s turn to celebrate as the Government revealed the authority had been successful in its bid for a share of Future High Streets funding to revamp Stafford town centre.
At this month’s cabinet meeting senior Stafford Borough Council members gave the green light for almost £20m to be spent on the Future High Streets scheme, which includes £14.3m Government funding, and for the next stage of the Stafford Station Gateway Masterplan to go ahead.
Michelle Smith, economic growth and strategic partnership manager at Stafford Borough Council, explained the link between the two major projects – and others in the town – following the meeting.
She said: “Stafford Station Gateway, Future High Streets, Staffordshire History Centre, the work the county council is doing in Eastgate Street and the Stafford Western Access Route all fit together in the story of Stafford when we’re doing funding bids. We’re not just talking about one bid, all the different projects are part of it.
