Stoke-on-Trent City Council is planning to buy Blackburn House, a vacant 11-storey office block in Hanley, following approval of plans to convert it into 130 flats.
The building has been empty since HM Revenue and Customs closed its Stoke-on-Trent office in 2019. A council planning committee granted prior approval to change the use of Blackburn House from office space to residential in March 2025, but conversion work has not yet started.
Strategic Location Next to Regeneration Site
Blackburn House occupies a strategically important location next to the Etruscan Square regeneration site, according to a council report. The authority has stated that the building's continued vacancy and associated anti-social behaviour would undermine the area's regeneration.
The council will make a final offer for Blackburn House based on an independent valuation. If the building's owner does not accept this offer, the authority will pursue a compulsory purchase.
Council cabinet member for regeneration Finlay Gordon-McCusker said: "We're working to support the development of Etruscan Square and prevent it from being blighted."
Etruscan Square Development Moving Forward
The council has not disclosed its plans for Blackburn House once the purchase is completed. However, it has given assurances that the first phase of the Etruscan Square development will not be contingent on acquiring the building.
New plans for affordable homes on the Etruscan Square site are being drawn up by the authority's development partners PfP Igloo and Genr8, with work on the project set to start next year. Development is understood to begin at the Charles Street end of the site, where the former Iceland supermarket is being demolished.
Etruscan Square was allocated £20m from the government's Levelling Up Fund in 2021, most of which has yet to be spent.