A £250m redevelopment project in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, has been given the go-ahead.

Realis Estates will now embark on the project, involving the overhaul of its retail-led mixed-use East West Centre.

The work will take the scheme’s retail space to 685,000 sq ft (63,700 sq m) and bring a number of cafes and restaurants as well as a multiplex cinema, a hotel, new transport facilities and improved parking.

The developer will start preparations work in the next few months and go on site in 2010.