Council chiefs are still working to reopen mothballed buildings at two Stoke-on-Trent parks – just as a visitor centre at another city beauty spot is set to close.

Staffordshire Wildlist Trust (SWT) announced earlier this month that it would be pulling out of running the visitor centre and cafe at Westport Lake at the end of September, as it could not operate the site profitably.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council, which owns the Westport Lake centre, has said it will launch a tender to find a new operator for the building. But two other council-owned park buildings have yet to reopen after closing their doors last year.

The council says it is currently negotiating with a potential new tenant at Haney Park's pavilion, but legal issues are still holding up the marketing of the visitor centre at Park Hall Country Park. Hanley Park's pavilion cafe closed in February 2023, three years after it opened as part of a £4.5 million Lottery-funded restoration of the park, after operator Caterleisure pulled out of the venue.

Park Hall Country Park's visitor centre was rebuilt at a cost of £370,000 after the previous building was destroyed in an arson attack a decade earlier in 2011. While its intended operator, SWT, took on a temporary licence for the centre and hosted several events during 2022 and 2023, it eventually decided against pursuing a long-term lease, blaming the 'unreliable and intermittant' access to the building it had experienced.

Park Hall Country Park's visitor centre was rebuilt at a cost of £370,000 (LDRS).

Councillor Amjid Wazir, cabinet member for city pride, enforcement and sustainability, said: "We are committed to keeping cafés and facilities open for visitors who wish to enjoy the beautiful parks we have across the city. To ensure we get the appropriate trader for the locations, we have to ensure tenancy agreements and legalities are all drawn up correctly.

"At Park Hall we are working with a third party to sort the issues with the previous landowner. Once this is resolved, we will move forward with marketing the space. In relation to Hanley Park, the team is in negotiations with a prospective tenant for the Pavilion.

"We are also currently finalising the legalities connected to the tender process for the site at Westport Lake and we are aiming to have these live in the next few weeks. Stoke-on-Trent City Council is committed to keeping community facilities open and we are happy to work with any operator who is interested in being part of our amazing city."

Tom Pine, chair of the Friends of Hanley Park, believes the new operator of the pavilion will be more successful if they talk to local people. He said: "Friends of Hanley Park are keen to see a new operator move into the pavilion and for the park to get the cafe provision our community deserves.

"We would encourage any operator to take the time to properly understand and listen to the community in Shelton and the wider city, and to take account of the way the park is actually used – it's often much busier later in the day, and the visitor profile is very diverse. It makes sense to work with the way the park is used, not against it."

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