Call to help shape the future of fire-damaged pub

People are being asked to share their thoughts on the future of a historic pub in Stoke-on-Trent which was seriously damaged in a fire in January 2022.

Bosses at Re-Form Heritage, the city's heritage development trust, said they were currently looking into options for The Leopard at Market Place in Burslem.

The Grade II-listed structure was the meeting place of Josiah Wedgwood and James Brindley where they discussed building the Trent and Mersey Canal in 1765.

It also sits on top of one of Josiah Wedgwood's early potbanks, known as Brick House Works or Bell Works, bosses at the trust added.

Initial plans to turn the pub into shops and 17 flats were withdrawn last month.

A viability study is due to be carried out to help the building's current owners – Daneets Developments – decide whether to restore the building in partnership with another organisation or transfer its ownership.

The work is being funded by Historic England and the Architectural Heritage Fund, and it will also help Re-Form Heritage make an informed decision about whether or not they want to take on regeneration of the pub.

The building remains unsafe to enter, but representatives from Re-Form Heritage and Daneets Developments have visited the site with structural engineers as part of the first phase of the study.

Re-Form Heritage chief executive Dr Alasdair Brooks said the building was well-loved and a prominent landmark.

"People feel very strongly about it," he said. "In addition, it is on the site of possibly one of the most historically significant potbanks in the entire city – and I don't make that claim lightly – so we will be looking into what that could involve."

A drop-in community engagement event will take place at Burslem School of Art on 24 April from 11:00 to 15:00 BST.

Follow BBC Stoke & Staffordshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.