Plans for the next stage of a scheme to regenerate the City Waterside area in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, have moved forward after a funding package worth nearly £6m was secured.

On 9 December, Stoke-on-Trent City Council's (STCC) cabinet agreed to match funding worth £2.9m from housing market renewal pathfinder, RENEW North Staffordshire. The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) has also contributed £2.9m towards the scheme. The £6m funding package will be used for land assembly and remediation and highway and infrastructure works in preparation for a new mixed-use development, a new factory for Bridgewater Pottery and 250 new homes.

Canalside cafés, restaurants and shops, as well as the potential development of an art gallery, have been included in proposals drawn up by Nord architects. Nearly 5,600sq m (60,000sq ft) of commercial space and a sustainable drainage system also feature in the plans. STCC is currently considering an outline planning application for the scheme, and it is hoped that the preparatory work will get underway in early 2010. Construction work on the main development of the site is scheduled to start in spring 2011.

Brian Ward, STCC cabinet member for regeneration, said: "The new housing and replacement Bridgewater factory will show how we can design top quality new housing alongside modern industry to help create a vibrant and thriving community. "Development has slowed during the recession, but we are determined to prepare the way for the upturn by putting in place the infrastructure for new housing and insisting on the highest quality designs."