Staffordshire land granted outline permission for JTP-designed mixed-use scheme in 2020

Outline plans approved in 2020 would include up to 2,300 homes

Aerial view of the western, higher-rise part of the scheme

The scheme's phasing plan

The outline masterplan for the site

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Vistry has acquired the 139-acre site of the former Rugeley Power Station in Staffordshire from French energy giant Engie with plans ready to go for up to 2,300 homes.

An application for a mixed-use redevelopment of the site designed by architect JTP was approved in January 2020 and it has since been undergoing remediation and enabling works.

The former power station operated from 1961 until its closure in 2016, providing energy to around half a million homes. Its buildings were demolished in the following years with its four 114m-tall cooling towers taken down in 2021.

Existing plans for the site, designed for former owner Engie, include up to five hectares of employment space, sports facilities, a school and a new riverside park. 

Residential buildings on the mostly low-rise development will range in height from two storeys on the eastern edge of the site to five storeys on its western “gateway” edge.

The new homes will be offered in a mix of tenures, including affordable homes, private rented sector homes and homes for sale on the open market. Construction would be split into three main phases, each with a number of sub-phases.

Rugeley 8

Plan of the site prior to the demolition of the former power station

Vistry said it wanted to transform the brownfield site into a “flourishing community of around 2000 much-needed family homes”.

Michael Moore, the housebuilder’s managing director for the North-west and Midlands, said Vistry aimed to deliver the scheme “at pace”, adding it was an “important development that will contribute to Rugeley’s economic growth, providing both new jobs and high-quality places to live”.

Engie UK chief executive Miya Paolucci added: “Rugeley Power Station played an important role in the UK’s energy history, and we have been proud to remediate the site and lead its transformation into a place focused on sustainability, community, and opportunity. 

“We are pleased to confirm the transfer of the site to Vistry, who will continue to deliver our vison of a beautiful and sustainable community asset.”

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