IN Brief:
- Cultural estate upgrades are continuing to draw targeted capital funding and delivery programmes.
- The scheme combines front-of-house reconfiguration with back-of-house visibility through open storage.
- The museum will reopen in stages from late March 2026.
Stoke-on-Trent City Council has signed a £5 million design and build contract with Seddon to transform The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, with major construction work now underway.
The programme includes a new entrance, a new foyer café, improved public spaces, and increased open storage. The council said the open storage approach will allow artefacts to be seen by the public when they are not on display, widening access to the museum’s collections beyond traditional gallery layouts.
An artist-in-residence room will also be created, intended to provide a space where artists can work alongside the museum’s collections and develop new work. The council positioned the space as a link between the city’s history and its current culture and craft output.
Essential preparatory works have been completed, and the main construction phase begins this month. The council said the museum will reopen in stages from 28 March 2026. From that date, visitors will be able to access the Spitfire, the Forum Theatre, and Violet’s café, which will feature a new display, with managed entry while work continues elsewhere in the building.
Councillor Sarah Hill, cabinet member for finance, anti-poverty and corporate services at Stoke-on-Trent City Council, said: “This £5 million investment protects one of Stoke-on-Trent’s most important cultural assets.”
The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery houses what the council describes as the world’s largest collection of Staffordshire ceramics, alongside the Spitfire exhibit that remains a key visitor draw. The redevelopment scope is focused on improving arrival, circulation, and dwell space, while maintaining access to headline assets during the construction period.
Funding for the works is being delivered through a successful bid by Stoke-on-Trent City Council for £5 million from Arts Council England and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s Cultural Development Fund. The council said further details on a new exhibition, plus an expanded programme of film and documentary screenings in the museum theatre, will be announced in the coming weeks.
