Demolition begins on high street after two false starts

Local businesses are raising concerns that the demolition of two buildings, that has been postponed twice, is impacting trade.

The commercial premises on Market Street, Longton, Stoke-on-Trent are being levelled after two fires broke out towards the end of 2025, requiring up to 30 firefighters to attend.

Plans to demolish the buildings in July were abandoned twice but road closures remained in place.

Councillor Chris Robinson told the BBC the first cancellation was due to a contractor not filing the correct paperwork, while the second postponement was because it coincided with regeneration work in the area.

Businesses said they had been frustrated over the situation that has plagued them for the past year.

Katie Kirkham runs The Sound of Coffee directly opposite to where the works are taking place.

The barista said she was "relieved" to see the work had started but had concerns over the speed at which the demolition was happening.

"The workers have assured us that it will be done but brick by brick it's a lot to take down in the days they have been given," she said.

The business itself is relatively new to the street, having only been open for the past 12 months and has been forced to deal with the situation.

"It's looked as though we aren't open, even now it doesn't look like we're open, but we are," Kirkham said.

Joanne Knowles runs Noshers, nearby and felt the choice of timing for the works could have been better as Fridays and Saturdays are the busiest time for trade along the street.

"We've had probably two customers today and we get phone orders, but because people can't drive, the traffic is horrendous we haven't had any of them," she said.

She felt that businesses like hers have been "kept in the dark" over the ongoing situation only finding out if demolition was going to take place days before it was about to start.

"It's an eyesore, it's not the only building in Longton that needs knocking down but it's a good thing that it's finally being taken down."

Robinson told BBC Radio Stoke's Stuart George that the current road closure would be in place from 24 to 27 September at 15:00 BST and all demolition would be taking place during the day time.

"I do feel sorry for the businesses, but we are in the hands of the demolition company and the building owner," he said.

The councillor for Longton and Meir Hay South said he was "very confident" and was "100%" satisfied the building would be coming down over the weekend despite previous set backs.

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