'Machines for Living in'
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And so what of the future for Stoke-on-Trent’s ‘machines for living in’? As with many other former industrial areas, the terraced house is coming under great pressure.

In 2002 the Government announced the formation of nine housing market renewal pathfinders, which would seek to formulate innovative solutions to the decline of the housing market and poor housing conditions in such areas.

North Staffordshire was one of the nine areas, and RENEW North Staffordshire was formed with a view to driving the regeneration of the city. However, what has been achieved during this time? What will be the legacy of RENEW North Staffordshire? Statistically and aesthetically, the city has declined further…

The RENEW North Staffordshire legacy?

The pathfinders were formed to find “innovative” solutions to housing problems in former industrial areas and drive up the quality of new development, yet here in the Potteries, the programme and the huge Government funding that came with it were just viewed as a great opportunity for the city to expand its housing clearance programmes.

What was not recognised was that housing issues are merely symptoms of a greater underlying problem, that of a failing economy. I once had a ‘debate’ with an officer from the City Council about the demolition of the Slater Street area of Middleport. Having studied building surveying at university, I argued that the properties could quite easily be brought up to modern standards for a much lower cost than the huge price-tag that comes with a 200+ home clearance area. I was informed that the City Council had invested heavily in the properties during the 1980s and we were now sadly back to square one. I asked why they thought this was the case, and the reply was that people could not afford to maintain their properties.

And there is the case in point: a failing economy and a low-wage area means that people are less likely to invest in their property, because they simply cannot afford to; solve the economic issues the city faces and you may well solve the housing issues.

Instead, clearance rather then careful urban surgery has been the order of the day in the Potteries, with the hope of riding the wave of the property market boom to deliver brand new housing on cleared sites in areas that were marginal at best.

It was an obviously unsustainable model, and the Potteries is now paying the price for missing the boat: many areas are scarred by boarded-up properties and vacant clearance sites, with the human cost being much greater, and the city may well yet face a future affordable housing crisis. It has almost been a social cleansing programme.

empty, faceless houses in Middleport awaiting demolition

Ironically, the Credit Crunch and economic downturn may prove to be a blessing in disguise, and the drastic fall in house prices and the value of land may well see a more creative approach to dealing with housing issues.

However, what is infuriating is that the RENEW programme have approached things differently in places, and it has worked very well. Around 195 terraced properties in the John Street area of Knutton were renovated to high standards to highlight the heritage value of the area, and the works were executed superbly.

Lawson Street, Knutton: one of the terraces renovated

This demonstrates that where there is the will, there is a way of doing things differently. Many of the Potteries’ Machines for Living In have been with us for many years, and that must tell you something about their enduring popularity. Here’s to many more years.

David Proudlove     28 Feb 2009