Westport Lake is one of the cities Natural Heritage Sites and was designated as a Local Nature Reserve in July 2004.
Westport Lake Nature Reserve is located in a residential area at Longport on the outskirts of Stoke-on-Trent alongside the Trent and Mersey Canal. Until the 1880's the area was farming land with mining from Brownhills Colliery running underneath.
The lake is a legacy of coal mining associated with the area's historic potteries and industrial trade. The lake was formed in 1884 when the workings of the old Brownhills Colliery hit the water table, flooding the tunnels and ground above.
In 1890 it was developed into a pleasure resort by a local farmer, it then descended into a wasteland.
The site was opened by Prime Minister Ted Heath in 1971, a prime example of turning an industrial wasteland into a pleasant centre for open-air recreation within an urban community, and has proven to be one of the city’s most popular and enduring regeneration projects.
A plaque located on a large boulder situated in the water at the edge of the lake is inscribed as follows;
'CITY OF STOKE-ON-TRENT
WESTPORT LAKE PARK, RECLAMATION SCHEME
Official Opening by
THE PRIME MINISTER
THE RT.HON.EDWARD HEATH, M.B.E., M.P.
Friday 1st October 1971
Councillor Arthur Cholerton, J.P., Lord Mayor
Alderman Sir Albert E.Bennett, J.P.
General Purposes (Site & Industries) Sub-Committee.
L.Keith Robinson.LL.B
Town Clerk
J.W.Plant,F.R.B.,F.R.T.P.I.
City Architect, Planning &
Reconstruction Officer
C.R.V. Tandy F.I.L.A., A.R.I.B.A.
Land Use Consultants.'
"Sir Edward Heath.
Sir Edward Heath, in full Sir Edward Richard George Heath, (born July 9, 1916, Broadstairs, Kent, England—died July 17, 2005, Salisbury, Wiltshire), Conservative prime minister of Great Britain from 1970 to 1974.
Although he was of modest origins, Heath was educated at Oxford, where he was elected president of the University Conservative Association in 1937. In 1938, as chairman of the Federation of University Conservative Associations and president of the Oxford Union, he actively opposed the policy of appeasement toward Nazi Germany pursued by the Conservative prime minister Neville Chamberlain. He served in the army during World War II, worked in the Ministry of Civil Aviation in 1946–47, was editor of the Church Times from January 1948 to October 1949, and then became a member of a merchant banking firm.
Heath was elected to Parliament as a Conservative in the election of February 1950. In February 1951 he became an assistant whip. After a succession of posts in the whip’s office, he was made parliamentary secretary to the Treasury and chief government whip under Prime Minister Anthony Eden in December 1955. He served as minister of labour in the government of Prime Minister Harold Macmillan from October 1959 to July 1960, when he became lord privy seal with Foreign Office responsibilities. In this capacity he represented Britain in negotiations for entry into the European Economic Community (EEC; later succeeded by the European Union). In October 1963 he became secretary of state for industry, trade, and regional development and president of the Board of Trade.
After the Conservative defeat in October 1964, Heath became a major opposition figure. Upon Sir Alec Douglas-Home’s resignation, Heath was elected leader of the opposition in July 1965. His party suffered a decisive defeat in the March 1966 general election but won a victory in the election of June 1970, defeating the Labour Party of Prime Minister Harold Wilson.
As prime minister, Heath had to face the crisis of violent conflict in Northern Ireland, over which he imposed direct British rule in 1972. Heath scored a major triumph by winning French acceptance of British entry into the EEC in 1972–73. However, he proved unable to cope with Britain’s mounting economic problems, chiefly rising inflation and unemployment and a series of crippling labour strikes. Hoping to win a new mandate, Heath called for a general election on February 28, 1974. The Conservatives lost seats in the Commons to Labour, and Heath failed to form a coalition government. On March 4 he was succeeded as prime minister by Harold Wilson. After the Conservatives were defeated in another general election in October, Heath was replaced as party leader by Margaret Thatcher in 1975. Subsequently he was highly critical of Thatcher and of the Conservative Party’s movement to the political right and its opposition to European integration. Heath remained in the House of Commons until 2001.
Heath was also an accomplished organist, and in 1971 he conducted the London Symphony Orchestra, the first of several orchestras he was to conduct. He wrote several books, including Music: A Joy for Life (1976); Sailing: A Course of My Life (1975), an account of his sailing adventures; and the autobiography The Course of My Life (1998). In 1992 Heath was knighted." SOURCE: (
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A view of Westport Lake in 1974 can be seen at the following link; (
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In 1986 the area became one of Stoke's first regeneration projects. It is now run in partnership between Staffordshire Wildlife Trust and Stoke City Council.
The visitor centre, leased from Stoke-on-Trent City Council from 2009, acts as the headquarters of the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust in the north of the county, with offices, a conference room, popular cafe and a regular programme of family events. (
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Westport Lake is well known for its water birds and the area is popular with bird spotters, walkers and anglers.
The site, one of the most visited sites in the city, features two lakes and a number of smaller pools, grassland, scrub, woodland, a nature conservation area and a children's play area. The Scotia Brook - begins at Turnhurst and runs through Tunstall until it meets the Fowlea Brook at Westport Lake.
The main lake at Westport Lake is the largest body of water in the city. It is the most important site in Stoke-on-Trent for wintering and migrating birds; ducks from North and Eastern Europe regularly visit and occasional rarities like Iceland and Mediterranean gulls are seen.
A variety of insects inhabit the lakes which, during the summer, attracts bats searching for food.
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Fishing.
The water at Westport Lake is owned by the City Council and run by the Middleport W.M.C. Day tickets are available on the bank or season tickets are available from local tackle shops the nearest being Pickerings of Burslem which is in the town of Burslem. (
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"Westport Lake is also home to one of the few architectural achievements of recent times in the new Westport Lake Visitor Centre. Delivered by a partnership led by British Waterways, the centre provides a guide and history of Westport Lake, and is to a sleek, modern design allowing stunning views across the park, and using materials sympathetic to its waterside setting." SOURCE: (
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