A brownfield site in Stoke is set to be turned into a bamboo 'parklet'.

Over 400 bamboo plants are being moved onto a one-acre plot on the edge of Sainsbury's car park on land formerly occupied by the historic Minton factory, which became part of Royal Doulton in 1968.

The project has been developed by Brilliant Bamboo, which has signed a 10-year lease on the land. It was previously earmarked for a retail development but remained unused since Sainsbury's acquired it in the early 2000s.

The aim is to use the 'parklet' as a base to host a wide range of creative activities and sustainability projects.

Brilliant Bamboo director Gemma Thomas said: "It's just a brilliant place to be based for the longer term.

"We've been looking for land for nine months and I was so excited when I stood on this spot – we even found a Minton tile embedded in the ground. It's got real potential and history."

Work has now begun to transform the site, made up of mostly concrete and gravel, into the parklet. The young bamboo plants will be in moveable planters and have been growing at the Spode site.

Other plans for the prospective site include art, science, nature and physical activities for all ages, as well as developing environmentally positive projects that improve the land, remove carbon and support native biodiversity.

Gemma Thomas with the bamboo planters. (Supplied)

The team is now exploring off-grid power solutions, such as solar, as well as access to water and even composting toilets.

The site will feature artwork and planters created in community workshops – from tiles and bamboo-fabric banners designed by young people in the YMCA's Go project to contributions from local artists and makers.

A volunteering day is taking place on Wednesday, 16 July, where people can help to clean up the land and gather the loose shards for future creative projects.

Other community events are planned for Saturday, 9 August – which will be Brilliant Bamboo's second birthday – and Thursday, August 28.

Gemma said: "We'd love people to come down, help us tidy the space and be part of the story from the very start. There's a real sense of care and creativity in this project, from reuse and recycling through to exploring how bamboo could work in post-industrial places like Stoke."

There are community events planned to help bring the site back into use as a parklet. (Supplied)

The parklet will be developed as part of the Stoke High Street Accelerator Green Space Project through Stoke-on-Trent City Council, with funding from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Cllr Finlay Gordon-McCusker, cabinet member for transport, regeneration and infrastructure at Stoke-on-Trent City Council, said: "A lot of excellent work is going on in Stoke at the moment to regenerate and revitalise the town centre.

"We're making great progress with our plans for the Spode site and we've recently secured government funding to transform the public area outside the library and market to make it more pedestrian friendly.

"This latest scheme by Brilliant Bamboo will build on these wider efforts to improve the look and feel of the town, and I am particularly pleased to see another brownfield site is being brought back into use through this scheme."