St Modwen secures planning for 216 new homes on former Royal Doulton site

St. Modwen Homes, the dedicated housebuilding arm of developer St Modwen, has secured planning permission from Stoke-on-Trent City Council to deliver 216 new family homes at the former Royal Doulton pottery factory in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent – a major milestone in the regeneration of the site.

The house builder will bring forward one, two and three-bedroom new homes across a mixture of houses and apartments, all designed to complement existing homes in Burslem and maintain its distinct red brick local character.

The 11-acre site, which will be named Kiln Gate, will see significant remediation works prior to development, including the demolition of all remaining buildings. The former Royal Doulton factory shop will be replaced with a new building that is sensitive to the original’s design while the ‘Royal Doulton’ lettering, that takes pride of place on the factory shopfront, will be reinstated on the new building. The iconic factory gates will also be incorporated into the development.

Dave Smith, Managing Director at St Modwen Homes, said: “Since the factory’s closure in 2005, this has been a challenging site to bring through to development. Working closely with Stoke-on-Trent City Council – and through the support of the Government’s Housing Infrastructure Fund – we have been able to unlock the site and can now move forward with its eagerly-anticipated regeneration. Royal Doulton has a strong connection with Burslem and Stoke-on-Trent and we’ve designed this development to respect that heritage while developing its own new character for families to enjoy for the future. We are excited to be bringing St. Modwen Homes to Burslem to deliver these new much-needed new homes.”

Cllr Joanne Powell-Beckett, Cabinet Member for Housing at Stoke-on-Trent City Council, said: “We are delighted to be working with St Modwen to bring forward residential-led regeneration on the site of the former Royal Doulton factory. This is one of seven sites in the area we successfully secured £9.5 million from the Government’s Housing Infrastructure Fund from in 2018, with the clear aim of boosting their development viability and bringing investment to Burslem. Many of the sites are derelict and vacant but this is a great example of what we wanted to achieve when we bid for the funding.  This development will deliver much-needed, quality housing to the area and bring more people into Burslem, giving the town a big boost. We’ve worked with St. Modwen on many successful regeneration schemes in the city over the years and it’s really pleasing to hear the iconic factory gates will be incorporated into the development, which will preserve a piece of the city’s identity and history.”