Stoke Station Masterplan

About

Stoke-on-Trent is undergoing a huge transformation , and Stoke town is pivotal to that – within easy walking distance of the station is Staffordshire University’s main campus, Stoke-on-Trent City Council’s Civic Centre, and the iconic Spode Site, a former factory reimagined as a Creative Village that has come to life in the last few years. The vision and masterplan for the station and wider Stoke ‘square mile’ pave the way to maximising the opportunities for residents, businesses, visitors and students to connect to the Core Cities of London, Birmingham and Manchester via the services that operate to and from Stoke directly. As part of the overall Station Masterplan schemes are planned to support and enhance the longer term growth of the city’s transport facilities and retail offering at the station and keeping the county connected given that passenger growth at the station has grown to 3.1 million passenger journeys and a continued growth rate of circa 4.5% per annum. Additional plans are also underway for the redevelopment of Swift House with a number of options up for consideration.

 

Stoke Station

Stoke-on-Trent is a major train station on the West Coast Main Line, served by four services per hour to London Euston and six services an hour to Manchester Piccadilly with additional services to and from Banbury, Bristol Temple Meads, Derby and Crewe each hour. The footfall figures increased between 2015/2016 to 2016/2017 from 2.84 million passengers to 3.09 million passengers per annum.

Stoke-on-Trent station building was opened in 1848 and is today a Grade II listed structure. The three-storey Victorian station building to Platform 1 contains a large ticket hall, two food and beverage facilities, an alcoholic beverage bar, an office for the British Transport Police, waiting facilities and customer toilets. The building to platform 2 contains a smaller ticket hall, waiting facilities and customer toilets. The station buildings on either side of the railway corridor has additional vacant spaces that could be converted into additional development opportunities, which would offer passengers more from a station of this size.

There are currently six units that are available for future development, five within the building located on the Northbound Platform 1 and another opportunity within the station building on the Southbound Platform 2 side. In order for the available units to be considered as possible opportunities, a series of improvements will need to be undertaken to make the units habitable. Surveys will have to be completed to fully determine the extent of all works required.With the addition of HS2 to the region this will bring additional footfall to the station and the improvements to the station will help for further growth.

There is demonstratable demand for the utilisation and expansion of space at Stoke Railway Station. As part of Stoke-on-Trent City Council’s plans to transform the station and the area immediately around it they’re working with partners including Virgin Trains to bid for government money through the Transforming Cities Fund. This investment would, amongst other things,  support further expansion and investment in the station with the creation of 150 new car parking spaces accessed off Stoke Road and plans to create a transport  Interchange Hub.  

The proposals for the station will future proof the it for continued growth whilst putting the station back at the heart of the community and enable unlocking of bigger and longer term initiatives for the station and the surrounding environment.

 

Swift House

The development opportunity at Swift House builds on concepts developed over the last 2-3 years and in advance of HS2 arriving in the city. Not just future proofing rail travel into Stoke-on-Trent, but working to support the continued dramatic increase in passenger numbers accessing Stoke Station, which tipped 3.2m in 2017 and anticipated to grow at circa 4.5% p.a.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council has commissioned architects Studio KMA to demonstrate the redevelopment potential of Swift House, one of the key development opportunities within the Station Masterplan area. In public ownership, the opportunity is located within the Trent and Mersey Canal Conservation Area, with the vaulted ceilings in the building’s two storey basement being locally listed and overlooking the canal. The site is a short walk to Stoke-on-Trent railway station, Staffordshire University and the Spode Creative Village in Stoke town, with the City Centre little more than a mile away. The A500, the key arterial route through the City is adjacent to the site, leading to the M6 and to the M1 via the A50.

The City Council is keen to consider a range of development options, with schemes that are led by residential, office, hotel and student accommodation. All of the options have considered access to the rear of the railway station from Glebe Street, providing key pedestrian linkages from Stoke town and Staffordshire University.

Each of the development options include common accommodation and design principles, introducing high quality public realm, multi-modal interchange facilities and a travel centre, with restaurants and bars to add vibrancy to the development. All of these options retain and transform the vaulted ceilings at basement level, with re-use for bar/restaurant or other leisure. With the addition of attractive spaces between the buildings, this development will be a landmark scheme for the City.