Stratford District Council outlines action plan on priority sites in town
DECISIVE action will be taken to finally rid Stratford of the BHS eyesore building at the bottom of Bridge Street, it was promised this week.
The abandoned building which has fallen into a state of ruin after standing empty for eight years is often cited as an embarrassment to the town. However, the rot could stop as Stratford District Council has confirmed plans are being put in place to move forward with the BHS building and other priority sites in the town, such as the Gateway Project, the old Green Dragon site on Greenhill Street, and the Picture House land on Windsor Street.
Cllr George Cowcher (Lib Dem, Wellesbourne South), deputy leader and portfolio holder for planning and development at the district council, told the Herald: “The BHS building is one of three key sites in Stratford that remain disused and detrimental to the town’s image.
“The district council is actively trying to get them redeveloped or converted to once again be a credit to the town. Dialogue is ongoing with the owners of the site, and it is hoped they will submit a new scheme that is viable and will contribute to the town, aesthetically commercially and as a place to live.
“If the BHS owners continue to drag their feet, I will be advising the council to use its powers to intervene directly.”
That intervention could mean compulsory purchase, but the process isn’t that straightforward and involves a lot of money.
Plans to transform the BHS site into a modern 170-bedroom hotel were first proposed in the autumn of 2022 but nothing has happened since with the exception of a few repairs to the listed building part, and that was brought about following SDC intervention.
The proposals of the owners – Beyond Retail – were hit, as were many projects,
by Covid but the council has decided to, as Cllr Cowcher puts it, “up the ante” regarding the decaying site.
“It’s been lying empty for too long and it’s an acknowledged eyesore which is a disgrace to the town,” Cllr Cowcher said. “The fact it’s been closed for eight years means it’s uneconomic to Stratford.
“The owner of the site does not live in Stratford but resides in Guernsey, so we’ve decided to up the ante and have a good dialogue between the owner and the district council’s design team.
“It’s time to redevelop a landmark site in the town which is why we’ve offered design guidance.
“Up to now, progress is far too slow so there is now the opportunity for the district council to purchase the site, but the difficulty is money and how much it would cost.
“On top of that, proposed changes to compulsory purchase laws designed to make the process easier, as laid out by the current government, are on hold so we’ll have to see what the next government decides. We are on the case but it’s complicated. If the district council did get the BHS building it would be converted into a mixture of residential and retail.”
In regards to the Gateway Project, SDC had been looking to the West Midlands Combined Authority to fund the majority of the scheme, which would redevelop an area between Arden Street, Birmingham Road and Windsor Street, creating a new Shakespeare centre, retail units and apartments.
The funding was always going to be a tricky issue, but SDC then moved into an unknown area when Conservative Andy Street lost the mayoral election to Labour’s Richard Parker and sparked a new regime.
Cllr Cowcher said: “Dialogue with the West Midlands Combined Authority is ongoing but there’s been a change to the mayor so we are uncertain at the moment.
“However, we believe the creation of a Shakespeare centre – which will be a national and international centre – will have a lot of things going for it and will be a credit to the West Midlands.
“In the meantime, we will have to wait until the new chairman of the investment board of the combined authority is appointed later this month, or early next month, to see what happens next.”
The Green Dragon pub and the Stratford Picture House sites are also on the district council’s radar but the barrier to progress in both cases appears to be the owners.
Once again, “dialogue is ongoing” Cllr Cowcher said.
The redevelopment of the former Debenhams site in Stratford High Street is moving forward with demolition work expected to begin in the summer. A new hotel and retail units are to be built.
The Herald contacted Colliers who represent Beyond Retail for comment but had not received a reply by the time of publication.
