City wants £325m to tackle 'heritage emergency'

A city has declared a "heritage emergency" and called for £325m of funding to protect its most significant historical assets.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council warned "financial realities" meant some of its heritage sites could be "lost entirely" as it launched a plan proposing how to preserve them, including support from the government, national bodies and private investors.

Sixteen were deemed to be at risk, the authority said, including several listed buildings in Burslem town centre.

Referencing the area's pottery heritage, Jane Ashworth, leader of the council, said: "Saving our historic sites is not just a local issue - Stoke-on-Trent should be an international jewel."

She described the city as the "world capital of ceramics" with ambitions to become a UNESCO Creative City.

"But without urgent action, our nationally and internationally significant sites could be lost forever," she said.

The city is home to more than 275 listed buildings, 22 conservation areas, five scheduled monuments and five registered historic parks.

Ashworth, Labour, said the sites were an "important part" of Stoke-on-Trent's identity, providing "tangible links" to its history.

"They aren't just part of our past," she added, "they can and should be part of our future too."

She said revitalising them could be a "major economic driver" in the wake of the city marking its centenary year in 2025.

"We are getting on with playing our part," she said," but the task is enormous and we need others to step up too."

A new prospectus created by the council, titled The Potteries: A National Heritage Emergency, was due to be launched at the former Spode Works on Friday morning.

It called on the government, national bodies and private investors to "join a long-term effort to safeguard the city's heritage and unlock growth".

The document added: "We face an immediate choice. It is a choice for the nation, not just the city."

The city council recently committed more than £6.5m to help safeguard three heritage sites - Burslem Indoor Market, the Wedgwood Institute and Falcon Works.

In December, a memorandum of understanding was signed by the authority and IFK Legacy CIC in a bid to transform the vacant Queens Theatre in Burslem into a music venue, celebrating the legacy of Motorhead's Lemmy Kilmister.

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