Major plans to revitalise two Newcastle-under-Lyme town centre spaces submitted

Plans to transform two town centre sites into new communities have been submitted to Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council.

Social impact developers Capital&Centric are looking to breathe new life into a vacant brownfield site at Ryecroft and the 1960s York Place Shopping centre, creating new neighbourhoods with much needed new homes, business spaces, and places for people to hang out in.

The team have revealed the new names for the two neighbourhoods. Dubbed “Astley Place”, the shopping centre will be re-booted as a new heart of the town centre, with over 50 new apartments, improved spaces to shop and a new music venue. Its name is a fitting tribute to Philip Astley, the founder of the modern circus who was born there way back in 1742.

The once forgotten Ryecroft site – now known as “Rye Park” – will be reimagined into a neighbourhood, featuring a mix of family homes and apartments, as well as a ew urban park creating a gateway into the town and a place for the community to dwell and enjoy the green space.

It follows the submission of “Carpark” earlier this year – a radical makeover of Midway Car Park into 114 new homes and is part of a joined up plan to reimagine key town centre spaces in Newcastle-under-Lyme. The plan has attracted £35 million of investment from the Government’s Future High Street Fund and Town Deal Fund thanks to authority-led bids.

The submitted plans include:

Rye Park

• 171 3-4 bed family homes and new build apartments
• A new urban park for community use

Astley Place

• 52 apartments (41 one-bed, 11 two-bed)
• 1,300 sq. ft retail space which will target independent businesses
• 34 cycle storage spaces

John Moffat, joint managing director at Capital&Centric, said:

“Our ambition is to take unloved spaces in key town centre locations and bring them back to life. In the same way that we’re revamping Midway car park, our plans for Astley Place will retain and repurpose the existing buildings, stripping them back to their bare bones and revealing their charm.

“With Rye Park, we’re completely starting from scratch but that gives us a great opportunity to deliver something creative; a new neighbourhood brimming with much needed family homes, apartments, workspaces and a hotel. The new urban park will be a real draw for the town centre, with tons of green space to hang out and perfect for pop up events.

All together these three sites show a real ambition by the Council to revitalise the town centre and create something that the town can be proud of.”

Newcastle Under Lyme Council Leader, Simon Tagg, said

“The way people use high streets has undoubtedly changed over the years for a number of reasons. I’m really pleased that we’ve been able to attract significant, once-in-a-lifetime funding from the Government to renew and reshape Newcastle town centre into a beating heart of economic, social and community life via three ambitious regeneration schemes, which will enable greater diversification, whilst still incorporating retail.

“It’s fantastic to see applications like these come forward for York Place and Ryecroft. This is a fantastic opportunity to secure the town centre’s long-term future and success, and I can’t wait to see Capital&Centric’s work unfold. They’re renowned for turning tired old land and buildings into brilliant new places.”

Capital&Centric has a national reputation for turning unloved buildings and derelict land into homes, workspaces, hotels, shops, bars and restaurants – often embracing eye-catching architecture with energy-efficiency built in. They have delivered award-winning neighbourhoods, including Kampus and Crusader in Manchester city centre.