Developer Capital&Centric has submitted a planning application to Stoke‑on‑Trent City Council proposing a mixed-use redevelopment of the Grade II‑listed Spode Works on Elenora Street. The scheme would conserve, repair and repurpose important historic buildings on the former pottery site while removing other structures to create space for cultural, leisure and commercial uses.
What the application proposes
The application describes a "landscape‑led regeneration" that combines selective demolition with sensitive refurbishment and limited new interventions to reanimate the site as a destination for creative, cultural, commercial and leisure activity. Key elements set out in the documents include:
- China Halls — the largest building on the site — to be restored and reimagined as a flexible venue for exhibitions, events and community activity and designated as the main entrance to the wider development;
- Demolition of some adjacent buildings to make way for covered padel courts, with the Bisque Store repurposed to provide player facilities and a café;
- Removal of Gordon House (a 1960s commercial block) to open up the front of China Halls and create a potters' garden;
- Conversion of the neighbouring Carriage Arch into a bar and refurbishment of other buildings to provide studios for creative businesses.
"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," the application states.
Heritage and reuse at the core
The plans stress conservation of the site's most significant structures while allowing for new interventions to improve access and to reveal the industrial heritage. Stoke‑on‑Trent City Council acquired the Spode site in 2010; the Spode factory itself closed in 2008 after the company went into administration. The application frames China Halls as a principal cultural and public destination within the scheme.
| Existing feature | Proposed use |
|---|---|
| China Halls | Flexible cultural venue, main entrance |
| Adjacent buildings | Demolition for covered padel courts |
| Bisque Store | Player facilities and café |
| Gordon House | Demolition to open frontage and create potters' garden |
| Carriage Arch | Bar |
Local impact and next steps
If implemented, the scheme would bring leisure and cultural facilities into a central heritage site and create studio space for creative businesses. The application will be considered by Stoke‑on‑Trent City Council through the statutory planning process; the council will assess the proposals against conservation policies for listed buildings and local planning rules for development in the city centre.
Details in the application emphasise improved public access and the exposure of industrial features as part of the visitor experience. The documents do not yet set out a timetable for commencement or completion, nor do they disclose construction phasing or funding arrangements. Interested parties and members of the public will be able to view the planning submission on the council's planning portal as it proceeds through consultation and determination.
The Spode Works redevelopment is likely to prompt close scrutiny from heritage groups, cultural organisations and local residents given the site's importance to Stoke‑on‑Trent's pottery legacy. The planning application marks a significant step in proposals to repurpose one of the city's best‑known industrial addresses.
