Plans submitted to transform Newcastle-under-Lyme centre

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

Capital & Centric, the developers behind the project, aim to transform a vacant brownfield site at Ryecroft and the 1960s York Place Shopping Centre into community spaces with homes, business areas and public facilities.

York Place Shopping Centre will be reimagined as Astley Place, a new town centre hub featuring 52 apartments, upgraded retail spaces and a new music venue.

The name is a tribute to Philip Astley, the founder of the modern circus, born in the town in 1742.

Ryecroft will be redeveloped as Rye Park and will include 171 homes, a mix of family houses and apartments, along with a new urban park for community use.

The projects are part of a wider plan to revitalise key town centre spaces in Newcastle-under-Lyme, backed by £35m in funding from the Government’s Future High Street Fund and Town Deal Fund.

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. 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.”