Kidsgrove Town Deal delivery is on right track

Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council is looking to enter into funding agreements with the Canal and River Trust, East Midlands Railway, the King’s CE Academy and Staffordshire County Council – as well as awarding its own contracts – to deliver further Kidsgrove Town Deal initiatives as soon as possible.

A council-led bid – drawn-up by a board representing all sectors – attracted a £16.9 million Government grant in March 2021 for a range of strategic improvements including the reopening of Kidsgrove sports centre, a state-of-the-art pump track at Newchapel recreation ground, new community sports facilities at the King’s CE Academy and the creation of a business park at Chatterley Valley West, providing new and safeguarded jobs.

Now, the council – the accountable body for the funding – is making good progress on facilitating delivery of the remaining schemes on behalf of Kidsgrove Town Deal Board, with the entire programme estimated to be completed by the end of 2027.

Council Leader Simon Tagg, who is also vice-chair of Kidsgrove Town Deal Board, said:

The Kidsgrove Town Deal is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to stimulate economic growth, create jobs and enhance residents’ quality of life.

We’ve already seen the benefits of the various completed projects and we’re continuing to work hard on bringing forward the remaining initiatives so that construction work can start on them as soon as physically possible.”

Last month, the Board agreed a revised plan for Kidsgrove Railway Station that works around land affected by historical mining issues which would be too costly to resolve. The new proposals include a full refurbishment of the existing building, in addition to external improvements and a new cycle store, to create a modern facility which encourages train travel.

A further report is set to be presented to Cabinet shortly.

Other initiatives now include: 

• A community learning facility at the King’s Academy providing adult opportunities which would link to a satellite facility providing targeted youth services.
• New, small-scale enterprise units on the Meadows.
• Highways upgrades at The Meadows/Station Road and Market Street, The Avenue and Heathcote Street including cycle and pedestrian routes from Mount Road, through to Tesco, to encourage more sustainable travel for short journeys.  
• Public realm improvements, including nearby public toilets, by Kings Street parade.
• Canal pathway and access improvements.

The community learning facility, enterprise units and public realm works are being put forward by the Board as an alternative to a shared services hub.

Cllr. Tagg added:

We have a proven record of delivering excellent Town Deal schemes, in Kidsgrove as well as Newcastle, and it’s important to keep that momentum going so that we reap the full rewards of our collective efforts.
 

It’s great to see that the Kidsgrove Railway Station project is back on track after complex problems with land threatened to derail it entirely. While not as ambitious as originally intended, the only other available alternative would be to do nothing at all, and lose the funding, which is simply not an option.”