Plans to turn pottery site into 'vibrant destination'

Padel courts, a cultural venue and space for businesses could be created as part of plans to transform a former pottery site into a "vibrant destination".

Developer Capital&Centric have lodged a planning application to redevelop part of the Grade II-listed Spode Works in Stoke-on-Trent, which closed in 2008.

Some buildings, including China Halls, would be restored and repurposed, while other structures at the Elenora Street site would be demolished.

The application lodged with Stoke-on-Trent City Council said: "The proposals deliver a landscape-led regeneration of the Spode Works site, focused on the conservation, repair and reuse of its most significant historic buildings and spaces."

They added: "Through sensitive refurbishment, selective demolition and carefully integrated new interventions, the scheme reanimates the site as a vibrant destination for creative, cultural, commercial and leisure activities, while improving access and revealing its industrial heritage."

China Halls, the largest building on the site, would be turned into what the application described as a flexible venue for exhibitions, events and community activity.

It would be "reimagined as one of the principal cultural and public destinations" at Spode, the document added, and would serve as the main entrance to the wider development.

The buildings next to China Halls would be demolished to make way for covered padel courts, with the Bisque Store being turned into facilities for players and a cafe.

Gordon House in Kingsway, a 1960s commercial development, will also be knocked down to open up the front of China Halls and provide space for a potters' garden.

Meanwhile, the neighbouring Carriage Arch will become a bar, while studios for creative businesses will be created in other restored buildings.

The application said the work would be carried out in two stages, allowing current users of the site to continue operating.

The submitted plans cover the first phase of the redevelopment, with later proposals expected to deliver more than 100 homes.

Residents have previously expressed frustration over the slow progress of plans for the Spode site.

It was acquired by the council in 2010, two years after the factory closed, when the firm went into administration, ending 230 years in business.

In 2022, the authority secured £10m of levelling up cash to invest in the site and bring it back into use.

Since August 2024, it has been working to remove asbestos in some heritage buildings, and two units were refurbished to provide more space for the Spode Museum.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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