Fire-hit former factory to be demolished

Permission has been granted for the demolition of two derelict former factory buildings on a site that was struck by a devastating fire more than 10 years ago.

The Old Twyford Buildings, on Garner Street in Etruria, Stoke-on-Trent, could soon be knocked down following a successful application by WS Storage Solutions Limited.

The site forms part of the Ceramic Valley Enterprise Zone along the A500, where authorities are working to invest in infrastructure and remediation of brownfield land to ensure it can be redeveloped.

Jo Gideon, former MP for Stoke-on-Trent Central described it as the "biggest environmental challenge" she faced during her time representing the area.

"It was kind of the perfect storm, if it had gone up," she said, due to its proximity to the A500 and the West Coast Mainline as well as the River Trent.

"The Environment Agency said it was one of the top three environmental risks in the country at the time."

Gideon was MP from 2019 until 2024.

Until 2022, the building was stuffed full of industrial material in huge bales, with holes cut into the concrete in order to pack them in, she said.

According to the Twyford Bathrooms History blog, production at the firm's Garner Street site finished in 1990, and all manufacturing and warehousing was moved to the company's Alsager factory.

Parts of the building continued in use until 2004, according to the blog.

The building could potentially have fallen down at any point, Gideon added, and said that at one point the fire service had used drones with temperature-checking equipment to regularly monitor the site.

"Nobody quite knew what was in these bales, so you can imagine if it caught fire the level of toxic gases and things that might have come out would've been horrendous."

Gideon said she had told the then prime minister Boris Johnson, "Stoke-on-Trent is going to be the next Beirut" unless he agreed to fund clearance of the site – the bill for which exceeded £10m, she added.

"I was given effectively a blank cheque," she said. "I think it was one of my proudest moments as an MP."

She told BBC Radio Stoke she was pleased that permission had now been given to knock the building down, and hoped the site could eventually be returned into active use as part of the enterprise zone.

Despite this, Gideon admitted "externally it looked like a beautiful building in its true industrial heritage," but said that it was "completely unsafe" and that "sadly" there was no way it could ever have been restored.

In a report where permission was granted for the demolition, council officer Dave Clarke said: "The buildings have been vacant for many years and are in a visibly poor state of repair, with deteriorating brickwork, boarded or broken windows, and general signs of long term neglect.

"Their condition and lack of active use contribute to a poor visual impact on the area."

He added: "The demolition will be carried out in a phased and carefully controlled manner, designed to minimise impacts on the surrounding area.

"The buildings will be dismantled progressively in sections, maintaining structural stability at all times."

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