Work starts on 24 landmarks through £240,000 restoration fund

Work is set to start on revitalising 24 monuments and landmarks across Stoke-on-Trent thanks to a restoration fund worth more than £240,000.

The Centenary Restoration Fund – led by the city council and Re-Form Heritage – is supported by a £240,252 grant from National Lottery players through The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

The programme will protect small but important landmarks including war memorials, tombs, fountains and sculptures across all six towns and beyond.

Work is now starting on the first eight monuments:

• Cenotaph and Memorial Wall, Tunstall Memorial Gardens
• Sir Henry Doulton Statue, Burslem
• Swan Square War Memorial, Burslem
• Drinking Fountain, St John’s Square, Burslem
• Hanley Cemetery War Memorial
• Statue of James Brindley, Etruria
• Tomb of Josiah Wedgwood, Stoke
• Glebedale Park Memorial, Fenton

Conservation work will vary according to the condition of each monument and will include cleaning, vegetation and graffiti removal, repointing, repairs to stonework and paving, redecoration of metalwork and replacement of damaged components.

Councillor Jane Ashworth, leader of Stoke-on-Trent City Council, said: "The public support we’ve had for this scheme shows just how much these landmarks matter to people across Stoke-on-Trent.

“They celebrate famous figures from our past, remember our war heroes and commemorate the industries that helped build our city.

“This fund is about protecting the heritage people see every day in their own communities. We’re now getting that work underway and making sure these important landmarks are preserved for the future.”

Andrew Emery, Chief Executive of Re-Form Heritage, said: "It's fantastic to see work beginning on the first phase of the project.

"The Centenary Restoration Fund is about more than repairing monuments. It's about helping people reconnect with the heritage around them and creating opportunities to get involved in caring for it.

"Alongside the conservation works, we'll be working with communities, volunteers and young people to uncover, share and celebrate the stories behind these landmarks."

Sites have been prioritised based on their condition, input from local communities, accessibility and potential for local engagement programmes based around the heritage assets.

The programme will be delivered in four stages, including three phases of repairs and a further phase of specialist conservation works.

The first phase starts this week (week commencing Monday 10 August) and continues until the end of October, while preparations for phases two and three are already underway.