City Sentral – Who’s coming?

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With just 6 months to go until the new Bus Station in Hanley opens in Autumn 2012, its time to get excited about what is soon to come.

The opening of the Bus Station will finally allow the old Bus Station and surrounding buildings to be demolished making way for City Sentral.

Consultation has now started on the Bus re-routing  and highway changes required to allow speedy clear access for Buses to the new Station

The City can then move on to the next phase of the development “City Sentral” we know that Marks & Spencers will be the main anchor retialer and the Vue will operator the Cinema. Travelodge are likely to be the Hotel operator due to there past partnerships with Realis, but what of the 70 retailers?

Little has so far been revealed of who these maybe, only one way to find out if you can’t wait, E-mail some retailers.

So I sent this email

When will Stoke-on-Trent get a ****** store, we have two new development centres one an expansion of the existing Potteries Shopping Centre and a brand new £350million shopping precinct City Sentral. Have you yet expressed an interest in either development?

to

  • YO Sushi
  • H&M
  • Nandos
  • Krispy Kreme
  • CULT
  • FatFace
  • Zara
  • Giraffe
  • Wagamama
  • Cafe Rouge

I have only had few replies so far, some the to be expected noncommittal while others more direct and honest.

Many people in Stoke on Trent have been crying out for a Nando’s they have even set up a Facebook Page to the cause, sadly I feel this is unlikly as Nandos reply was

We don’t currently have any plans for a restaurant in Stoke-on-Trent.

Krispy Kreme, CULT, and Zara all said

At this moment in time we are not yet planning on opening a store in Stoke

I have yet to hear from any of the others but I will be providing updates as I do.

Has anyone heard any rumours? Does anyone have inside information or have suggestions on other retailers who I should contact?

Have Your Say

  • ashleylittler

    Ha! I presumed with Realis Estates and CSC having the gall to put the logos and representations of these company’s on their mock up photos that their would be some truth in them actually being tenants, it would seem as per Stoke On Trent is more than likely being lied to.

    I thought these were the companies that we had be schmoozing at conventions country wide when City Sentral launched the name. Im not convinced M&S will go to CS with them after the new store in Wolstanton they know how many delays and set backs it will have. And nor am I convinced Vue is cast iron guaranteed to go their either.

    I dare say that City Sentral will probably never get built, will be cut back due to budget cuts or be late by 4/5 years. I mean lets just look at the list of things that have either never started/have been cut/or have been delayed:

    - UniQ
    - City Centre Bus Station
    - University Boulevard
    - Stoke Train Station/Stoke Links Project
    - Stoke Town Centre Regeneration
    - Central business district
    - Middleport/Shelton/Hanley property regeneration
    - City Centre/Waterside Housing regeneration
    - Blue Planet
    - Glass Kilns Hanley regeneration
    - City Sentral
    - Spode Site regeneration
    - Blue Planet
    - Local Enterprise Zone
    - Trentham Lakes

    The money grabbing, city destroyers responsible for this, those who have either not delivered, under delivered or over promised should all be ashamed of themselves. As should the likes of the sentinel for still being stupid enough raise and destroy the hopes of people in this city and still don’t do the decent thing and hold those who have promised so much and delivered so little to account.

    All of these projects I have watched due to having an interest in not only my home city, but design and regeneration. And i can honestly say the majority of these have been an absolute disappointment from start (or non start) to finish. Have a few searches on google for them, see for yourself.

    When you see places like Sheffield, Salford etc all undergoing massive changes with all the money we had and wasted we are still left behind. I have very little faith in national politics and even less in local politics. Until the people in this city stop allowing this to happen, allowing others to talk us down and give us excuse after excuse it will carry on.

    This site has been a real haven for decent local news, articles and political stories. Sadly one of very few of its kind and stands alone in terms of quality. There is still light at the ends of the tunnel though, and through sites such as pnp and twitter great things and like minded individuals can be discovered such as mytunstall, 6 towns radio & whereinstoke.

    There are like minded people/groups out there, but there just isnt enough of them…

    The entire world is waking up to injustice at present. I just wonder, if ever, when it will come to stoke on trent…

    if anyone would like to discuss any of this or shares a similar interest find me on twitter @ashleylittler

  • Online shopper

    I reckon we’ll be seeing the following;

    Poundstretchers
    Poundland
    Discount Warehouse
    Cash Converters
    Oxfam
    Dougie Mac
    Scope
    and if we’re lucky, really lucky, Cat Shit Pat will expand with a new store in Hanley too!

  • Alan

    I here Wal Mart may be interested but then thay will not have heard of the unstable land on which the old Bus Station is located. Remember the old High School (Hi Grade as it was known) on the Birch Terrace frontage? The school sank 10 foot into the ground before it was demolished in the 1950s and replaced by the present Bus Station; not without reason.

  • Ian Norris

    Ashley spot on, you cant fault council for dreams and visions but why do they always out of reach, when others manage to succeed.

    It is a very sad list you have posted, but look at them (map them maybe) there are all scattered no focus. Skipping from one dream to the next without ever finishing one and allowing it to mature and spread. Middleport is for me where it could have all started, demolish rebuild link up to Eturia, new transport links, linking up to Burslem then upto Hanley you had Rail, Canal, Buses, park and ride. grrr

    Alan is that why it taken 1year to Stabilize the ground for the new bus station?

  • bernard

    Pointless, why build a new bus station when we’ve already got one? They should concentrate on sorting out the messes they’ve already caused, such as building decent houses in Middleport, doing something with that derelict land opposite Go Outdoors, and so on.

    They’d give me the sack at work if I left a job half-done because it was boring, then moved onto something I couldn’t do without my supervisor having told me to. Yet when I demand that Wilcox do some work in return for my council tax, he ignores me.

    I don’t hold with City Sentral because it’s another white elephant. It would be worse than useless if it got done, and even worse than that if it didn’t. And I’d veto these plans, even though I’m in favour of more pedestrianising in principle, in practice they’re just softening us up for forcing the new bus station on with us.

  • bernard

    Pointless, why build a new bus station when we’ve already got one? They should concentrate on sorting out the messes they’ve already caused, such as building decent houses in Middleport, doing something with that derelict land opposite Go Outdoors, and so on.

    They’d give me the sack at work if I left a job half-done because it was boring, then moved onto something I couldn’t do without my supervisor having told me to. Yet when I demand that Wilcox do some work in return for my council tax, he ignores me.

    I don’t hold with City Sentral because it’s another white elephant. It would be worse than useless if it got done, and even worse than that if it didn’t. And I’d veto these plans, even though I’m in favour of more pedestrianising in principle, in practice they’re just softening us up for forcing the new bus station on with us.

  • Alan

    But Ian, my point dosn’t end there. the new Bus Station (lets call it Windy Hill 2)is conveniently located as far away from the Residential Quarter to the east as possible and as close to the Cultural Quarter (theaters, cinemas etc)as they dare. Is that political or what? The poor elderly residents on the East side, and elswhere of Hanley will have to catch a bus to get to the new Bus Station. No laughing matter for when they get there the cold Eastery Winds will blow them off their feet.