Plans for 5,000 new homes in Stoke-on-Trent put forward to meet ‘urgent need’ for housing

Councillors are set to approve plans to deliver nearly 5,000 homes in the city in the next three years.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council has devised a housing development pipeline to help meet the government’s national target of delivering 1.5 million new homes a year.

The programme will see the authority work with Homes England, developers and landowners to deliver 4,857 houses across 23 sites in the city.

The sites include completed and near-completed developments such as Goods Yard and Chatterley Court in Chell Heath as well as sites under development such as Scotia Road and Bournes Bank in Burslem, Booth Street in Stoke, the former Doris Robinson Court site in Meir and the former Brookhouse Primary School site in Wellfield Road, Bentilee.

The number of applicants on the council’s housing register has been climbing over the last three years – it now stands at over 3,138 households, a 41 per cent increase in the last 12 months.

Over half of those households (57 per cent) are in urgent and high need for accommodation.

At the same time, the council’s housing stock has fallen by 2,550 homes (13 per cent) over the last 10 years.

Almost 1,800 homes (37 per cent) included in the council’s housing pipeline project are expected to be affordable homes for people on the housing register.

In addition to this, the council is proposing to deliver an Empty Homes programme of around 100 new homes per year.

Councillor Chris Robinson, cabinet member for housing, planning, improvement and governance, said: “We need to create a healthier standard of living for all of our residents, improve the quality of our homes and give residents more choice.

“We recognise that there is an urgent need to deliver new homes in the city to meet the increasing demand and, while it will be challenging, we are committed to working closely with our partners to increase the pace and scale of house-building across Stoke-on-Trent.

“We need to act quickly and take action to ensure all our residents can access decent homes in a city where they can stay, grow and thrive – and watch their children do the same.”

The housing pipeline programme will continue to develop over time with completed sites being replaced with new locations, however, planning status is not guaranteed for any of the pipeline sites and all will be considered through the usual planning processes.

The council's cabinet is being asked to approve the plans at their next meeting in July. To see the full report, visit: Agenda for Cabinet on Tuesday, 22 July 2025, 1.00 pm | Stoke on Trent City Council