Two enterprise centres will be handed over to a heritage charity to help it raise funds for restoring historic Stoke-on-Trent buildings.

Cabinet members at Stoke-on-Trent City Council have approved the plans to transfer CoRE and Roslyn Works in Longton to Re-Form Heritage, as part of a wider partnership.

Re-Form Heritage, which runs Middleport Pottery, has been designated Stoke-on-Trent's Heritage Development Trust, and has plans to bring a number of historic buildings back into use, including Hanley's Grade II* listed Bethesda Chapel. The council says that transferring the two enterprise centres will allow Re-Form to generate a 'base-line income stream' to support its longer term ambitions.

CoRe and Roslyn Works, which have offices and workshops for renting out to businesses, are both currently operating at a deficit, costing city taxpayers £53,700 and £29,000 a year respectively. But council leaders believe Re-Form will be able to turn a profit by running the centres in a more commercial way.

At their meeting on Tuesday cabinet members agreed to the two sites being considered 'surplus to operational requirements', and delegated authority to officers to finalise their transfer to Re-Form. This will likely be on a leasehold basis at a peppercorn rent.

Re-Form heritage runs Middleport Pottery in Stoke-on-Trent (Google).

Councillor Alastair Watson, cabinet member for financial sustainability, said: "The aspiration for the heritage trust is that they will be able to use these assets as leverage to develop heritage assets in the city. This has got great potential to be very exciting, and we definitely wish the trust all the best, and we look forward to seeing the impact they can make with the heritage buildings in the city.

"When it comes to the disposal of assets, we've always wanted to be clear about what that involves."

Councillor Chris Robinson, cabinet member for housing and planning, and a Longton councillor, said: "I welcome this. These two buildings are in my ward, and I think they need to be used to their full potential. This will bring these two buildings up and start making something of them."

Re-Form has secured £75,000 from the Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF) to support the transfer of the two enterprise centres, along with a further £15,000 for a viability study of Bethesda Chapel. It eventually hopes to secure significant Lottery funding for the Bethesda project and other schemes around the city.

According to a cabinet report, profit generated by the enterprise centres would give Re-Form 'critical support in establishing its long-term financial stability'.

Re-Form chief executive Dr Alasdair Brooks said: "The strong partnership we are building with Stoke-on-Trent City Council will form an important part of our longer-term planning in building our sustainability as Stoke-on-Trent's Heritage Development Trust. We warmly welcome the opportunity provided by the transfer of CoRE and Roslyn as an important early step in strengthening our capacity to work with a range of partners to regenerate Stoke-on-Trent's internationally significant built heritage.

"We will be appointing a project manager in the new year to help move the transfer forward, and to consult with existing tenants at both sites prior to completion of the process."

CoRE, in Normacot Road, opened in 2013 following a £12 million restoration of the Grade II listed Enson Works, and was originally intended to be a national centre of excellence for refurbishment. Roslyn Works, a former Victorian ceramics factory, was refurbished in 2008. The two buildings are currently valued at £450,000 and £145,000 respectively.

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READ MORE: Dozens of council houses in Stoke-on-Trent set to be improved

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