A MULTI-million pound investment is set to kickstart the long-awaited regeneration of the Gateway site in Stratford.
The West Midlands Combined Authority has agreed to provide funding to deliver 118 new homes on the part of the site that fronts Birmingham Road and Arden Street.
The funding will support Stratford District Council to deliver the first element of its recently approved long-term masterplan for a cultural quarter at the northern entrance to the town.
SDC’s planning spokesperson Coun George Cowcher said: “This is fantastic news for Stratford as it helps unlock one of three major problem sites in the town centre. It will not only generate new housing on a currently derelict site but also opens up the opportunity to work closely with the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust to explore the potential for the development of a world-class museum.
“Bringing to life a new space in the public realm to celebrate the enduring legacy of William Shakespeare as well as the positive impact on the whole town of Stratford, is to be welcomed.”
The Gateway masterplan, which aims to rejuvenate the “underwhelming’ northwest gateway into the town to give visitors a sense of arrival, includes plans for a World Shakespeare Centre to boost tourism.
Other proposals include cafes, shops, and educational facilities, as well as residential properties.
The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust has worked closely with SDC to conceive this vision.
SBT CEO Tim Cooke said: “We have always been seized by the importance of this site for Stratford’s future and for the potential it offers to create a major new museum destination with Shakespeare’s own story and engagement with his work at its heart.
“On top of the unique Shakespearian heritage of the town and of course an exceptional performance tradition there is now a clearer pathway to how we can explore the idea of a truly world-class visitor and museum centre which can inspire people from across the globe to find a place for Shakespeare in their lives, communities and aspirations.”
The next phase of the Trust’s masterplanning will see the detailed scoping of the proposed new museum and how it can showcase the Trust’s Shakespeare-related collections but also those collections in the Trust’s care which speak to the wider story of Stratford and its communities.
