Two ‘surplus’ city council-owned heritage sites are set to be transferred to an independent charity in a bid to secure their future.
Stoke-on-Trent City Council has reached an agreement with Re-Form Heritage, which will see the Middleport Pottery owner take on two business enterprise centres based in former pottery works in Longton on a leasehold basis.
As part of the deal, CoRE and Roslyn Works, which provide homes for a range of small businesses, will continue to run as business enterprise centres. All operational costs will become the responsibility of Re-Form Heritage, who will be subject to conditions requiring them to manage and maintain the sites for the benefit of local businesses and communities.
The council’s cabinet will decide whether to go ahead with the proposals, which would see CoRE and Roslyn deemed ‘surplus to current operational requirements’, today, Tuesday, 10 December.
A report to cabinet stated: “It is a sign of the city’s heritage potential that Stoke-on-Trent is the only local authority in England to have two Historic England-designated Heritage Action Zones.
“However, Stoke-on-Trent is also a city that has often struggled with both leveraging long term external funding to preserve its heritage-built environment, set against ever decreasing direct local authority resources and entrenched economic/social deprivation.
“Against this backdrop, the council is seeking to enable a more coherent and joined-up partnership approach towards delivering sustainable heritage-led investment and redevelopment opportunities for Stoke-on-Trent.”
Councillor Jane Ashworth, leader of Stoke-on-Trent City Council, said: “We are delighted to be working with Re-Form Heritage to develop a long-term plan for some of our most important heritage buildings.
“Re-Form has a strong track record of regenerating key sites in the city and we are committed to working closely with them to bring even more sites back into use, and preserve them for generations to come.
“We want to create a clear plan for all our valued heritage assets and are prioritising a programme of restoration and re-use, this includes transferring assets to community organisations, at the heart of our city, who have proven success in heritage regeneration.”
Re-Form Heritage is the owner of the award-winning heritage attraction Middleport Pottery, the home of Burleigh and the last continuously operating Victorian ceramics factory. Regeneration began in 2011 and the site opened to the public in 2014.
Last year, the charity secured funding from the Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF) as part of its designation as the city’s Heritage Development Trust (HDT).
The funding enables the organisation to work with stakeholders including Stoke-on-Trent City Council to preserve key heritage sites in the city and breathe new life into disused and at-risk historic buildings.
Re-Form Heritage is looking to take on regeneration projects at other sites across the city, for which it will be seeking substantial external funding to bring them back into use. As part of this work, the charity is currently finalising a viability study for the Grade II*-listed Bethesda Methodist Chapel in Hanley.
Chief Executive Dr Alasdair Brooks said: “The strong partnership we are building with Stoke-on-Trent City Council will form an important part of our longer-term planning in building our sustainability as Stoke-on-Trent’s Heritage Development Trust.
“We warmly welcome the opportunity provided by the transfer of CoRE and Roslyn as an important early step in strengthening our capacity to work with a range of partners to regenerate Stoke-on-Trent’s internationally significant built heritage.
“We will be appointing a project manager in the new year to help move the transfer forward, and to consult with existing tenants at both sites prior to completion of the process.”
