Stoke-on-Trent City Council is seeking an extra £1 million in funding for emergency works to the grade II listed Burslem Indoor Market building.

The building, on Queen Street, is in extremely poor condition and in need of emergency safeguarding works to ensure that it is safe, watertight and will not deteriorate any further.

The city council will apply for a grant of up to £1 million from Historic England, which if successful, will help fund emergency repairs to the roof to stop the building falling into further disrepair. The money will also fund other refurbishments to the building's exterior.

The council previously secured an emergency repair package made up of £318,000 from Historic England and £1.3 million from local Levelling Up Partnership funds to pay for safeguarding works at a number of historic buildings in Burslem.

Cllr Jane Ashworth, leader of Stoke-on-Trent City Council, said: "Our heritage buildings aren't just the symbol of our proud past - they are part of our rich cultural heritage and can drive tourism and economic growth.

"We are absolutely committed to doing everything we can to protect them. That means working in partnership with local organisations and businesses, Historic England - and the government, too.

"The Burslem Indoor Market building is deteriorating quickly and investment now could potentially save far greater expenditure in the future – and more importantly, prevent it from falling into further disrepair."

Stoke-on-Trent City Council's Cabinet has now agreed to procure contractors to undertake the works on the market building, which will be subject to the grant application being successful.

The indoor market opened in 1879 as a symbol of the city's wealth and pride during the Victorian era. At its height it boasted 90 stalls - but that had dropped to 14 by the time the market closed in 2003 after the ceiling collapsed.

Cllr Ashworth added: "Stoke-on-Trent is currently facing a heritage crisis. Many of our historic buildings are in a poor state of repair but we are spearheading efforts to identify funding streams, and potential new uses, to bring these buildings back to life.

"We want to protect our heritage assets and safeguard them for the benefit of our residents now and for future generations."

In addition to Burslem Indoor Market, Stoke-on-Trent City Council is continuing to explore a number of options for the Wedgwood Institute which has fallen into disuse, due partly to water leaking in and causing damage.

 This includes using potential funds from the Schools Capital Programme for the extensive refurbishment of each of the rooms on the ground floor of the building so it can be used for education purposes in the future.

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