Etruscan Square, which is backed by £20m of levelling up funding from the government, aims to transform the city centre with a 3,600-capacity arena, 82,000sq ft of commercial space, 285 homes, a 138-bedroom 3-star hotel, and a multi-storey car park to support existing demand and new amenities.

The announcement of the Etruscan Square development, which is already out for pre-planning consultation, was one of several levelling up initiatives announced by the leader of Stoke-on-Trent City Council at global real estate conference MIPIM.

Jonathan Parker, head of construction at Pagabo, said: “We’re incredibly pleased to be working with Stoke-on-Trent City Council on the procurement of such an exciting development, which will bring huge transformation and opportunity to the city.

“Our Levelling Up projects already have huge momentum behind them and significant, tangible progress is being made to deliver them. We’re confident that we have the right opportunities, and the right mix of developments that can make the biggest difference to our city and are attractive schemes for development,” said Councillor Abi Brown, leader of Stoke-on-Trent City Council.

“We’re backed by the biggest allocation in Levelling Up funding for a specific city in the country, we’ve tested out our proposals to major national investors in London, and now we’re telling global brands, major UK-based international companies and key national agencies what we are delivering in Stoke-on-Trent and how they can be a part of our success story.”

Planning approval for the development is expected to be granted in the summer, shortly followed by the tender process to appoint the key parties through Pagabo’s frameworks to deliver the transformative scheme.