The rare muffle kiln at Hanley’s fire-hit Falcon Pottery should never have been demolished, according to a city council response under the Freedom of Information Act.
In a response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request made in March this year, Stoke-on-Trent City Council confirmed that its Section 78 dangerous structures notice – which ordered urgent works at the derelict Grade II-listed site – specifically excluded the bottle oven and kiln.
In its official response to the FOI request – seen by Daily Focus – the council stated: “No works have been granted to carry out alterations to the bottle oven and kiln. The Section 78 dangerous structures notice specifically excludes any works to this area.”
But earlier this week Daily Focus reported that the muffle kiln, once used to fire decorated pottery, had been razed to the ground during clearance work at the former JH Weatherby works, off Old Town Road.
The FOI response also revealed that the wider demolition was ordered after repeated trespassing, fires and collapses had left the site unsafe, with injuries to at least two children reported and emergency services raising concerns for the safety of first responders entering the buildings.
The council’s response stated: “The decision was taken that action was needed to ensure the health and safety of all persons in or around the building. The notice issued set out the minimum amount of work needed to achieve that objective.
“The building has been surveyed several times by consulting structural engineers and a full external drone survey carried out. The buildings were considered too dangerous to enter therefore no internal surveys were recorded.”
The FOI response also stated that Historic England had been made ‘aware of the situation and the actions taken’, and that all works at the site were being funded by the landowner.
Daily Focus has approached Historic England for comment.
The city council confirmed on Tuesday that it is investigating works being carried out on the site but has not issued any further comment.
Daily Focus has not been able to contact the site owner.
