STUDLEY has received a double boost after district councillors agreed to back two schemes to improve the village.
At a cabinet meeting the green light was given to look at the development of the disused Co-op site at Priory Square and also to turn the old Studley Centre into a tech start up enterprise centre.
In both cases the decisions mean that business plans would be worked up so the sites are ‘shovel ready’ should cash, grants or a private company look to step in.
The Priory Square site has long been a village eyesore, revealed for all to see after high winds blew down hoardings earlier this year.
Negotiation
A consortium is currently in negotiation with the Co-op to buy the land, once the location of a needle factory and then a much larger Co-op store.
If the asking price is right, Stratford district believes the site has the potential to become ‘an innovative live/work scheme’.
In a report to Cabinet the lack of an ‘incubator’ for new businesses to grow in the village could be solved by the creation of a Studley Enterpise Centre of the site of the disused Studley Centre.
Studley and Mappleborough Green district councillor Justin Kerridge said: “I’m chuffed to bits about this. The creation of a hi tech centre, maybe with young people involved is really exciting.
“On Priory Square, the Co-op have simply been asking too much money for it but there are developers who are definitely interested in doing business there and I’m really hopeful we may have good news in the summer that the Co-op is willing to do a deal with someone.”
