Council moves 1.6m of Levelling Up cash from Tunstall after library plans refused

Council leaders have agreed to move 1.6 million of Levelling Up funding away from a Tunstall regeneration project - after plans for the scheme were refused. The planning committee at Stoke-on-Trent City Council last month voted to block the proposals to turn Tunstall Library and Baths into 39 flats.

Cabinet members now rubberstamped the decision to reallocate 1.6 million of Levelling Up money from the Tunstall project to a scheme to refurbish 10 council properties in Queen Street, Burslem. But the council has also announced 1.5 million of new capital funding for town centre improvements in Tunstall, so that the town does not lose out.

Council leaders say reallocating the Levelling Up funding will ensure that it can be spent by the government deadline of March 2028. But concerns have been raised over the decision to effectively pull the plug on the Tunstall Library and Baths scheme after years of work.

Tunstall Library and Baths was originally allocated 3.5 million from the government's Levelling Up Fund in 2021, as one of three town centre heritage projects. The proposals from Tunstall Library Developments would have seen the Grade II listed buildings and the neighbouring drill hall converted into flats along with a restaurant, gym and other facilities.

But planning committee members voted to refuse the application due to concerns over heritage impact, residential amenity and highway safety.

Councillor Finlay Gordon-McCusker, cabinet member for regeneration at the Labour-run authority, said the new 1.5 million would bring the council's total investment in Tunstall this year to 10 million.

He said: "10 million going into Tunstall this year is investment on a scale the town hasn't seen in a long time - real money for a town centre that's improving, new affordable homes, and safer streets people can see and feel the difference from.

"We won't pretend the Library, Baths and Drill Hall decision isn't a disappointment. But we're not going to let good money sit idle because one scheme couldn't go ahead. We've moved it straight into another regeneration project in Burslem, so it stays working for Stoke-on-Trent instead of being handed back to Government. We are making sure Tunstall gets almost exactly the same amount of money under this new arrangement so it doesn't miss out.

"We still want to see a future for the Library and Baths building, and we'll keep working on that. In the meantime, Tunstall gets the investment it's been promised - and residents will have a direct say in how the new funding is spent."

Up to March this year, the council had spent 1.17 million of Tunstall's 3.5 million Levelling Up allocation on professional services and the commencement of a developer agreement.

With 1.6 million now being moved to Burslem, the remainder of Tunstall's allocation will go towards the construction of a new substation, the purchase of a car park in Greengate Street, and 'outstanding project claims'.

Other council investments in Tunstall include 4 million of Community Regeneration Partnership Funds for town centre public realm improvements, and 3 million for the redevelopment of the former Lily Gertrude Court site with 14 new council flats.

Tunstall councillor Tabrase Din, a member of the opposition Conservative group, believes the council has questions to answer over the Tunstall funding.

He said: "The council leader told us that the Levelling Up money would be staying in Tunstall, but now we've seen this U-turn. And we don't know anything about this new funding - we don't know the deadline for spending the money and what the timeframe will be. The city council will be abolished in 2028, and that will mean the funding will disappear.

"I think the planning committee should have deferred the plans for Tunstall Library and Baths to give the applicants more time."

Cllr Din said he would be submitting a formal question to the next full council meeting to demand that the money is spent in Tunstall within the next 12 months.

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