City leaders are praising the momentum being built to support heritage in Stoke-on-Trent, following a number of major announcements.
This week, Re-Form Heritage was named as one of 12 organisations to receive a share of £5 million as part of the Architectural Heritage Fund’s Heritage Development Trust programme to breathe new life into disused and at-risk historic buildings.
The funding will enable Re-Form Heritage, the charity which owns and operates Middleport Pottery, to work with stakeholders including Stoke-on-Trent City Council to preserve key heritage sites in the city.
The announcement comes just days after Stoke-on-Trent launched its bid for World Craft City status at an event at the Victoria & Albert (V&A) Museum in London. Success would see the city join a global network of more than 50 craft cities working to promote cultural, economic and social contribution around the world.
It also follows the announcement of Stoke-on-Trent being chosen as one of 20 other places in the UK to receive a share of £200 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund as part of its Heritage Places Initiative to help safeguard key heritage sites across the city.
Council leader Jane Ashworth said: “We were very happy to support Re-Form’s bid to become a Heritage Development Trust and are committed to working closely with them, and other heritage societies in the city, to fix some of our most valuable heritage buildings.
“This announcement, on top of Stoke-on-Trent’s recent bid to become a World Craft City and being named in the Heritage Places Initiative, shows just what can be achieved through joint-working with like-minded organisations.
“We have some exciting plans for our heritage in the coming years and are hopeful that, by bringing local groups and national bodies together, we can make some really positive progress. We want to breathe new life into our historic buildings to the benefit of local communities, and preserve them for generations to come.”
- More articles in the news archive
- Stoke-on-Trent news RSS feed