Sir Keir Starmer has been invited to Stoke-on-Trent to see the 'untapped potential' of its historic buildings.

Stoke-on-Trent North MP David Williams raised the issue of the city's underused and often deteriorating heritage assets during Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday.

He asked what the government was doing to bring historic buildings back into use, and asked the Prime Minister to come to Stoke-on-Trent and see the local problems for himself. The Stoke-on-Trent North constituency contains a number of sites on Historic England's Heritage at Risk register, including the former Chatterley Whitfield Colliery, the Price and Kensington Teapot Works in Longport and Burslem's Wedgwood Institute, along with other important but derelict buildings like Burslem Indoor Market.

The Leopard Hotel in Bursem, where Josiah Wedgwood and James Brindley met in 1765 to discuss building the Trent and Mersey Canal, was devastated by a fire three years ago. But Stoke-on-Trent North also includes Middleport Pottery, one of the most successful heritage restoration projects in Staffordshire.

Mr Williams said: "In Stoke-on-Trent and Kidsgrove we are proud of our beautiful historic buildings. However, many lay dormant and blight our proud towns.

"Can the Prime Minister please outline what steps his government is taking to bring historic buildings back into use, and will he make time to visit my constituency to see for himself our untapped potential?"

Sir Keir said he would consider Mr Williams' 'kind invitation'. He added: "We will invest in heritage buildings, restoring pride and ensuring they serve the needs of local communities.

"The National Lottery Heritage Fund has awarded Stoke-on-Trent £250,000 to help preserve the city's heritage. Historic England is also funding emergency repairs at the iconic Wedgwood Institute, and supporting Re-Form Heritage to employ staff dedicated to delivering heritage projects."

Earlier this year, Stoke-on-Trent City Council was allocated £250,000 from the National Lottery's £200m heritage places initiative, to help it develop plans for preserving the city's historic sites. The Wedgwood Institute was allocated £300,000 from Historic England, with the money going towards making the Grade II* listed building watertight and safe to enter.

But it has been estimated that fully restoring Chatterley Whitfield will probably cost many millions of pounds.

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