Senior councillors in Stafford are to be asked to give the green light to buy more properties in town as part of ambitious transformation plans.

The money for two ‘key strategic’ sites in the centre of the county town has become available after contracts to purchase, and carry out work on, the former Co-op department store and Guildhall Shopping Centre came in under budget.

Stafford Borough Council secured more than £14 million from the government to help regenerate the town centre. The money has already funded the revamp of the Market Square and improvements to the entrance and approach to Stafford Railway Station which was completed this month.

Work is ongoing on the demolition of part of the former department store and shopping centre. The historic frontages of both buildings will be retained with the council talking with investors on proposals for commercial, retail, and residential developments.

The identity of the potential two new acquisitions is in a confidential section of a report - due to commercial sensitivities - which will be discussed by members of the council’s cabinet on Thursday (15 May).

Deputy Leader of the Council, Rob Kenney, who has responsibility for town centres, said: “We have an exciting vision to revitalise the centre of our county town and we have been very clear that if key strategic property becomes available then we are open to discussions with the owners.

“Already we are attracting interest from investors and if these proposed new acquisitions are approved we will be creating a footprint for development in the town that will further its appeal to the private sector.”

The report to the cabinet on Thursday states: “The deadline for securing contractual commitment for the two acquisitions supported by Future High Street Fund is September 2025, therefore informal initial conversations have already taken place with the current landowners. Both have indicated their willingness to progress the acquisitions in a suitable timescale, and Heads of Terms are in place, subject to Cabinet approvals.”

It continues: “Due to the demolition contracts coming in under the estimated amounts included in the programme there is reduced committed spend against the Future High Street Grant.

“Both of these sites are included within the boundaries of the Future High Street programme budget and there is funding available within the grant allocation to support the acquisition and demolition costs as set out in the business case reports.”

The shopping centre has been struggling for years with less than a handful of traders left inside and the former Co-op has been derelict for more than a decade. The council purchased the buildings to help speed up transformation of the town - and are preparing both sites to make them more attractive to investors and developers.

Leader of the Borough Council, Aidan Godfrey, said: “It is great to see how far work has progressed on the sites we have purchased - and that we have successfully negotiated prices for these works that have now allowed us to look at further acquisitions using the government funding. This would be great news for our ambitious vision of transforming Stafford town centre.

“We are meeting with a number of potential investors later this month and can easily demonstrate that ambition, and the progress we have already made, which I am sure will prove even more attractive to them.”

Significant investment has been made in the county town and includes other projects such as the Staffordshire History Centre and the £22.5m Institute of Technology for Stafford College which is due to open to students later this year. The government also confirmed earlier this year a fund of nearly £20 million to help regenerate the underutilised land behind the station with proposals that include a hotel, multi-storey car park and homes.

Press Release No 6213