Live/work lifts Potteries

Leading UK economist Kate Barker last week returned to Stoke on Trent, where she was born and raised, to lavish praise on its newest live/work scheme for budding creative types.

‘This new complex will offer huge benefits to the community by helping support aspiring creative entrepreneurs, encouraging enterprise among local people and creating employment opportunities,’ said Barker, pictured with Midland Heart chief Tom Murtha.

 

An adviser to the Bank of England, Kate Barker led the influential 2006 review of land use planning for the Treasury and sits on the board of government agency the Housing Corporation.

The scheme is the second and final part of an ambitious and successful drive by Midland Heart Housing Association to regenerate the potteries town’s once rundown Burslem area, in large part by boosting its appeal to graduates from Burslem School of Art.

The art school is immediately next door to the new live/work hub.

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Midland Heart is now looking for creative entrepreneurs to rent its six new live/work properties at Queen Street and three ground level shops.

They’ll be joining an established community of creative businesses including ceramicist Camille Prada and graphic designer Jason Conway, who both featured in LiveWork Network’s 2007 report for the Royal Town Planning Institute, Tomorrow’s Property Today. Other residents include a photographer, a film-maker and a specialist software developer.

Stoke City councillor Hazel Lyth, whose brief covers enterprise and culture, added her praise, saying it was vital the ‘wealth of creative talent’ in Stoke on Trent was encouraged.

‘This development has turned a derelict building into a fantastic centre for live/work,’ Lyth added. ‘It’s a unique business opportunity but also a way of incorporating creative businesses into everyday life.’

The Queen Street units are being let on commercial tenancies and offer the cost benefits of combining a professional workspace with living accommodation. Business and networking support plus useful professional contacts are just minutes away, at the art school next door.

The building itself offers a blend of modern architecture and, on the street side, a sensitively restored Victorian building, which just five years ago was at risk of demolition.

For more about the units, click here to go to our property section. 

For a taste of some of the creative expertise already established here, try Jason Conway’s website at here or visit the website of ceramicist Camilla Prada.