Cauldwell joins Prince

The role of local entrepreneurs in regenerating their areas has been a key factor in many parts of the UK, not least in the North West through John Whittaker of Peel.

Now we have John Caudwell, who created a successful mobile phone business employing thousands in Stoke-on-Trent, with his involvement in the conservation and regeneration of the Middleport Pottery in his home town.

This has also become another project for the Prince of Wales’ charity, Tthe Prince’s Regeneration Trust. The objective is to create local jobs, attract new business to the area and ensure that production of the Middleport blue and white Burleighware remains in Stoke.

“In an era of invisible and largely electronic economy, it is sometimes forgotten that everything we know today was built on an industrial and manufacturing revolution, which bred incredible craftsmen and products and made Britain a manufacturing powerhouse.

Coming from an engineering background myself, I really appreciate the skills required in making and producing quality products,” Caudwell said.

He added that “nowhere on earth are the skills and craftsmanship of working with clay, water, heat and colour so deeply imbedded in the DNA of the population and it is crucial that this is preserved in Stoke.”

Stoke already benefits from the skilled development by St Modwen, which has now submitted a planning application for the latest phase of the Etruria Valley development, an area which is at the heart of the city’s pottery history.

This will see an increase of 16 acres in the Etruria Valley Business Park, which is part of the wider Festival Park area, once the home of the Shotton Iron and Steel Works. The joint venture of St Modwen and the city’s regeneration company aims to build a mixture of offices, manufacturing and storage space.

Since the regeneration plan for the area was launched in 1988, there has been development of 125,415 sq.metres (1.35 million sq.ft.) which has included a large contact centre for Vodafone and a new factory for Wade Ceramics.