New flat proposals for Stafford’s former M&S store

The town centre shop has been empty since 2016, when M&S moved to a new unit in the Riverside Shopping Centre.

Stafford Borough Council refused permission for a previous proposal for the Gaolgate Street site in 2020. At that time Bloxwind Ltd applied for consent for a three storey building, containing 17 flats alongside shop and storage space, behind the existing two-storey façade as well as a new detached four-storey building with 67 apartments.

The council rejected the proposals for the 84 flats after concerns were raised about the lack of living space and limited natural light for some of the potential residents.

Now a new application has come forward from Bloxwind Ltd. It proposes partial demolition and redevelopment to provide a four-storey detached apartment building containing 45 flats, as well as a new vehicular access from Salter Street to a rear courtyard car park with 21 spaces and the retention of the retail store on the Gaolgate Street frontage.

If approved the new development would provide 32 one-bedroom, 10 two bedroom and three three-bedroom apartments.

A planning statement submitted as part of the application said: “The retained and modified frontage building on Gaolgate Street would include a retail unit on the ground floor, with a net tradable area measuring around 268sq m and a staff room on the first floor. The building’s existing main façade would not be materially altered.

“The comments made by planning officers on both the refused scheme and those subject of previous enquiries have been noted and taken into account when preparing the current revised proposal. The reduction in the overall scale of the proposed development and apartment numbers has also provided an opportunity to improve the housing mix.

“The proposed apartment block would be L-shaped with a built frontage extending along North Walls and Salter Street, enclosing a rear car park and courtyard that would be hidden from view. All residents of the proposed apartments would have access to a roof terrace.

“The proposed apartments meet and in many cases exceed the government’s technical housing standards nationally described space standard. When compared with the previous proposal, enhanced natural lighting has been achieved through the introduction of larger openings in the external façades; some of these to the living areas would also be accompanied by a Juliet balcony to increase natural ventilation.”