The United Kingdom Historic Building Preservation Trust and Burgess Dorling & Leigh have acquired the Middleport Pottery site in Stoke-on-Trent.
Some £7.5m will be spent on regenerating the site, which will see the majority of the remaining buildings developed, modernised and let to craft businesses.
Pottery company Burgess Dorling & Leigh, which is based at Middleport, produces the world-renowned Burleigh brand of blue and white floral pottery and has entered into an operating lease with the trust for part of the premises.
Middleport Pottery has been at risk of closure, resulting in the loss of jobs and the further degeneration of historically significant buildings. The Prince’s Regeneration Trust will renovate the Grade II listed buildings, which are more than 150 years old, and will lease approximately half the site back to Burgess Dorling & Leigh for pottery production.
The project has been made possible through funding from English Heritage, the Regional Growth Fund, the Heritage Lottery Fund, the European Regional Development Fund and several substantial private donations, with significant support from Pinsent Mason and others.
Ros Kerslake, chief executive of The Prince’s Regeneration Trust, said: “We are delighted to be acquiring the last working Victorian pottery in the UK and to be able to both regenerate the buildings and help preserve world-respected production processes and skills. We are very excited about the prospects for employees, suppliers and the local community as a result of this.”
james.a.kenny@estatesgazette.com
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