Council's purchase power could help solve the 'troubles at mills'

'Last resort' identified in new study on development struggles

- Phil Corrigan

A COUNCIL could buy vacant mill buildings to bring them back into use, anew study has suggested.

The use of compulsory purchase orders is among potential actions listed in the report on the disused mills in Leek - but as a ‘last resort’.

Staffordshire Moorlands District Council commissioned Lambert Smith Hampton to update a 2022 study on the mills, which are now mosily empty and have a ‘negative impact’ on the town.

It looked at six mills in Leek - London Mill in Ashbourne Road; Cross Street Mill; Well Street Mill; York Mill; Big Mill; and London Mill in London Street - and three in Biddulph.