Creditors meet as doubts cast on Spode future

CREDITORS of stricken pottery firm Spode are meeting today as administrators continue their search for a buyer.

Firms owed money by the historic Stoke potter, and its sister company Royal Worcester, will convene at a meeting in Solihull.

Spode Works, Stoke

The company has already shed 35 jobs from its sites in Stoke and Newcastle and dozens more in Worcestershire after collapsing into administration in November.

The china-maker has failed to sell part of its Church Road factory for development.

Community leaders say the future of the site is the most important factor in the regeneration of Stoke's town centre.

Garry Oakes, assistant general secretary of ceramics union Unity, said: "We are dealing with the administrators and the company's senior managers and we are hoping jobs can be saved. We are doing everything we can to keep things going."

The creditors' meeting, organised by administrator PricewaterhouseCoopers, takes place at The National Motorcycle Museum, in Solihull.

The administrator initially made 18 workers redundant.

A further 17 workers from the region have since been laid off to cut costs.

Before the redundancies there were 62 people working at Lymedale and 90 at Stoke.

Stoke-on-Trent Central MP Mark Fisher said he hoped some Spode production could continue in Stoke.

Mr Fisher, who sits on the shadow Stoke regeneration board, said it was vital that the Church Street site was not sold to a supermarket.

He believes the vast area is too important to the regeneration of the town to be used for retail alone.

He said: "This affects the whole future of Stoke. Our ability to regenerate the town depends on what happens on the Spode site.

"The last thing we need to happen is for a huge supermarket to take it over.

"That might produce a few jobs but it will not regenerate the area.

"We need a whole range of different entities, including retail and leisure.

"It needs to be something that will give the town life, in the daytime and at night.