Zanzibar development moves forward in creating 62 new homes

For years, the vacant Marsh Parade site has been an empty gateway into Newcastle town centre. Now, it is being transformed into a mixed-use development comprising 62 affordable homes alongside five enterprise units designed to support local businesses. The scheme is being delivered by Capital&Centric in partnership with Aspire Housing.

The project is just an example of the wider regeneration of Newcastle town centre, joining developments at Rye Park, Astley Place and Karparc as part of the borough's long-term ambition to bring new homes, businesses and investment into the heart of the town.

Speaking exclusively to The Staffordshire Signal, Capital&Centric confirmed construction is progressing well and remains on schedule.

A spokesperson said: 

"Things are moving well on site. The timber frame for the enterprise units is complete and cladding is now underway, while foundations across the wider development are around 50% complete with masonry already started. We're in good shape."

The first part of the scheme to be completed will be the enterprise units, which are expected to be finished on 13th November this year, with the residential development due to follow in October 2027.

Asked what they hope the completed development will bring to Newcastle-under-Lyme, the spokesperson said the ambition extends far beyond simply building new homes.

"For us, it's about raising the bar - genuinely high-quality homes that improve people's day-to-day lives, not just tick a box. Alongside that, the enterprise units are designed to give local businesses a proper base to start and grow from. Small in footprint, but architecturally led and built with ambition. Newcastle-under-Lyme deserves that."

The scheme will also bring improved pedestrian links, landscaping and public spaces intended to better connect the development with the surrounding streets. Every home will be affordable, helping to meet housing demand while bringing a long-vacant brownfield site back into productive use.

Alongside the new homes, one feature many residents have been keen to see preserved is the well-known historic ghost sign painted on the neighbouring building, which has become something of a local landmark since the nightclub was demolished.

Capital&Centric confirmed there are no plans for it to disappear.

"The plans are for the ghost sign to stay. There are no plans to remove it. For us, places are made richer by their history, not in spite of it - and that sign is exactly the kind of detail that gives a neighbourhood its soul."

For many people, the name Zanzibar will bring back memories of wild nights out, packed dancefloors and perhaps the odd painful hangover the following morning. But as the site begins its next chapter, its legacy is changing. If the development delivers on its ambitions, the place once known for late nights and loud music will instead become home to dozens of families, helping breathe new life into a long-vacant gateway to the town centre.