Plans have been submitted to turn Grade II Listed Portland House in Burslem into a children’s home for up to five young people, alongside the latest planning applications across North Staffordshire.
What’s new: Plans have been submitted to convert Portland House on Newcastle Street, Burslem, into a residential children’s home.
Worth knowing: The Grade II Listed building dates back to the 1830s and has previously been used as a County Technical School, Teachers’ Centre, School of Art and offices.
The big picture: The proposal is one of a number of recent planning applications across Stoke-on-Trent, Newcastle-under-Lyme and the Staffordshire Moorlands.
This article is based on reporting from the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), a BBC funded initiative set up to strengthen reporting on local democratic issues. The Staffordshire Signal has taken part in the scheme since September 2026, which means we're able to draw on a selection of LDRS stories alongside our own.
An historic building currently providing office space in Burslem could be converted into a children’s home.
Portland House dates back to the 1830s, when it was built as a merchant’s house, and is Grade II Listed.
A planning application has now been submitted to Stoke-on-Trent City Council to change the use of the three-storey building on Newcastle Street to a residential home providing care to up to five children. Listed Building Consent is also being sought for the change.
A planning statement submitted as part of the application said the site was intended to provide Ofsted-regulated care for children aged eight to 17, supported by continuous 24-hour staffing. It added:
“The area is well served by local schools and by public transport along Newcastle Street and the B5051, making the site a highly accessible and sustainable location for the proposed use.
“The building has a long history of institutional use. Following its residential origins it served as a County Technical School from 1948, later a Teachers’ Centre and home to the School of Art, and it is currently in use as offices. The site sits within its own grounds, set back from Newcastle Street behind mature boundary trees and enclosed by a stone and brick boundary wall, with private off-street parking for 10 cars together with private amenity/garden space of approximately 500 sq m.
“The home will operate in accordance with a management plan covering staffing and shift patterns, the type of care provided, behaviour and noise management (including quiet hours), security measures, strict visitor controls, a Good Neighbour Policy with a dedicated neighbour contact and complaints procedure and parking and transport management, all of which the applicant would be content to secure by condition.”
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