Two pieces of disused land in Stoke-on-Trent could be used as sites for temporary office space, a new report suggests.
Plans are currently in under scrutiny for a state of the art business district in Hanley, but consultants URS-Scott Wilson believe that sites at Festival Park and Etruria Valley could be utilised in the interim.
Bryan Carnes, chief executive of North Staffordshire Chamber of Commerce, told the Stoke Sentinel: “There needs to be a determination to develop the Central Business District. It’s important to create office space in the centre because that will produce a virtuous circle between the retail offer, the leisure offer and the people in place to use them.
“In the shorter term, if there is a need for office space than Etruria would seem to be as good a place as any.”
Plans for the new centre in Hanley were drawn up in late 2008 and submitted to local authorities late last year.
The project is expected to cost around £180 million and will include two hotels and a range of shops as well as modern office space.
