Concerns over ‘iconic’ chimney landmark at Chatterley Whitfield
It's Grade-II listed
Concerns are growing over the future of the ‘iconic’ chimney at an historic Stoke-on-Trent coal mine. The Grade II-listed chimney stack at Chatterley Whitfield has been cordoned off after a structural survey uncovered a number of issues.
Stoke-on-Trent City Council, which owns the site, says that the cap at the top of the 55-metre chimney needs replacing in order to prevent ‘water and detritus ingress’. The exclusion perimeter will remain in place until the repairs are carried out, or a scaffold is put in place to prevent materials falling from height.
It is not yet known when the repair work will take place, but the council says the process could take ‘some time’.
Dave Evans, ward councillor for Baddeley, Milton and Norton, submitted a formal question after noticing the cordon during a recent heritage open day. In a written response, council leader Jane Ashworth explained that the authority is liaising with Heritage England over the planned repairs, and that regular visual inspections of the chimney are being carried out.
She said: “In ensuring the long-term security and preservation of the Chatterley Whitfield site, the council has recently carried out a structural survey as part of its commitment to preserving and maintaining the site. As a result of the findings from that survey, it has been necessary to impose an exclusion perimeter around the base of the chimney stack as a precaution, pending the scheduling/ detailing of repair and renovation works.
“The survey work has highlighted a number of issues needing further work to detail the repairs. Once those works have been defined and agreed, a programme of work will need to be scheduled against available funding.
“It is apparent that a replacement of the cap is necessary to avoid further water and detritus ingress to protect the chimney. A robust design is required to prevent it lifting off. A suitable opening needs to be made at the base to allow clearance and future internal inspections.
“As the work progresses, further updates will be provided. Due to the complexity and sensitivity of the work, the process may take some time.”
Chatterley Whitfield, just outside Chell, was the biggest coal mine in North Staffordshire and the first in the UK to produce a million tons of coal in one year. The site includes 15 listed buildings, but it features prominently on Historic England’s ‘heritage at risk’ register, due to its deterioration since the colliery’s closure in 1977.
The wider colliery site is only accessible by the public during heritage open days, due to the poor condition of the buildings.
There are long-term plans to restore Chatterley Whitfield as an ‘eco park’, creating hi-tech renewable energy and digital jobs, but this would require many millions of pounds of funding. Cllr Evans believes that in the short-term it it vital that work is carried out to preserve the chimney.
He said: “Chatterley Whitfield is unique as it’s the only colliery of its type still in existence. A lot is made of Stoke-on-Trent’s potteries but there would have been no ceramic industry without the coal produced by collieries like Chatterley Whitfield.
“The chimney is iconic – it has a unique design and it can be seen from miles around. Personally speaking, it’s how I know I’m near home.
“There is a long-term plan for Chatterley Whitfield but it’s vital that the council doesn’t just sit on its hands and waits for the chimney to collapse. Depending on which way it falls, that could cause a huge amount of damage to the rest of the site.”
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