A businessman has bought 127 acres of land to stop houses being built there.
Mechanical engineering magnate Jonathan James has bought the parcel of land known as Fenton Fields with his daughter and business partner for more than £1 million.
The land was purchased from Stoke-on-Trent Regeneration, a partnership between St Modwen Homes and Stoke-on-Trent City Council. It has previously been earmarked for housing, Stoke-on-Trent Live reports.
Now Jon has enlisted the help of around 30 volunteers to improve the land which is leased in part by horse owners and electronic masts. It is also home to ground nesting birds and 80 former mineshafts.
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He also has early plans for an eco-friendly project on a small part of the site which is south of Berryfield Fields.
The land - which is south of Berryhill Fields - was purchased from Stoke-on-Trent Regeneration, a partnership between St Modwen Homes and Stoke-on-Trent City Council. It has previously been earmarked for housing.
Now Jon has enlisted around 30 volunteers to improve the land which is leased in part by horse owners and electronic masts.
It is also home to ground nesting birds and 80 former mineshafts. He also has early plans for an eco-friendly project on a small part of the site.
Jon told the site: "It has become uneconomical to turn it into a housing estate so all I have done is purchased it from the regeneration company so we can keep it the same. It's as simple as that.
"We need to tidy it up to make it a little better. It has had nothing, no money spent on it in the last 20 years. So absolutely everything, the roads are in a right mess.
"Hopefully over time we'll improve that. It will cost in excess of £1 million.
"Most of the reaction from locals has been positive. But of course there are some people who are very dubious about what they see.
"Don't get me wrong but things have got to change a little bit. It does make some money and obviously the young ladies that have the horses, they pay some money and the masts, they pay some money.
"But we have got to do a few things along the way to add a little bit of value. We need to tidy it up and rent a little bit more out."
Local resident and activist Cheryl Owen has backed the deal.
She said: "We are delighted that we have been able to secure the land for the future and that we are not going to have a huge housing development that we haven't got any say on.
"We need to carry on protecting it and encourage more. We lost all ground nesting birds quite a few years ago and we want to try to encourage those back."
