Work to begin on multi-million-pound Burslem Market Hall regeneration project

Multi-million-pound transformation work is starting on Burslem Market Hall as part of the council’s commitment to help safeguard and bring back into use the city’s most treasured heritage buildings.

From April 7, Stoke-on-Trent-based contractors BSN Group will be stripping back the current roof (which has been deemed unsafe) and then replace it. Work will also be carried out on the brickwork, guttering and other external features. Meanwhile, inside the building, progress will be made on a creating a temporary events space that organisations will be able to use in the short to mid-term.

The approximately £4 million worth of work - being funded through the city council, the government and Historic England - is set to be completed by May 2027.

The historic Grade II listed market on Queen Street was built in 1879 and quickly became a popular centre of commerce for the Mother Town and surrounding area. But it closed its doors in 2003 after masonry dropped from the ceiling and it became unsafe.

In addition to work starting, the council has taken huge steps to securing a permanent future use for the market hall. It has appointed specialist company Next Phase Projects to look at the long-term role of the venue.

Next Phase Projects is behind the hugely successful transformation of the award-winning Altrincham Market and Market House, which is now home to a host of independent traders and food outlets and has led to a wider resurgence in the town centre.

Next Phase Projects has also been involved in similar market hall regeneration projects across the country, including in Wigan, Rotherham, Grimsby, County Durham, Burton and Wellington.

The transformative work at the market hall goes hand in hand with other work on historic buildings in Burslem. This includes a similar £3.5 million project to safeguard the nearby Grade II* Wedgwood Institute for future use, and improvement works at the iconic School of Art.

Later this year, a £1.5milion package of public realm improvements will be carried out on Queen Street as part of a wider project to improve town centres across the city, paid for by government funding.

It also comes just months after Stoke-on-Trent became the first city in the UK to declare a heritage emergency and has called for £325 million in public and private investment over the next decade. The Potteries: A National Heritage Emergency | The Potteries: A National Heritage Emergency | Stoke-on-Trent

Councillor Jane Ashworth, leader of Stoke-on-Trent City Council, said: “It is absolutely fantastic to see work get underway on this very popular building that has so many memories for so many people and has such potential.

“It demonstrates our determination to preserve, protect and safeguard our treasured heritage buildings and the work taking place at Burslem Market Hall and at nearby buildings, like the Wedgwood Institute, is a huge step forward.

“The aim is to start using the market hall as soon as possible after the work has been complete. In the short and mid-term that will be temporary uses - and we have already had a number of expressions of interest to use the venue for entertainment, leisure and hospitality.

“However, going forward we want to see it in permanent use, which is why we have brought in Next Phase Projects to help to make this happen. They have a real pedigree for coming up with exciting and transformative solutions – as can be seen in places like Altrincham.”