The continuing demise of North Staffordshire's pottery industry could spell the end of the road for close-knit communities in the area. Traditionally those employed in the clay industry have stayed close to home working on the doorstep.

But now workers at Wade in Burslem have been told to switch from their current base in the Mother Town to Longton.

The Sentinel asked social historian Dr Owen Ashton if such moves could signal the end of working on the doorstep for the Potteries.

And Reporter Jane Shepherd boarded a bus bound for Longton to test out the journey the Wade workers will have to make across the city.

Wade workers have been left fuming after being told they must move to Longton — or lose their jobs.

The 15 women work for the Burslem pottery's Box Radiants business which is being sold to Ceramic Gas Products in Longton.

The sale, which takes effect next month, comes after a review of the Wade business by the management buy-out team which bought the company from Beauford in April.

The workers, who between them have almost 200 years' service with Wade, say they rely on public transport and will have difficulty commuting to Longton from the north of the city.

They have been told if they refuse to work in Longton it will be treated as a resignation. Pottery union CATU have been brought in to settle the dispute.

One worker, who did not wish to be named, said: ‘‘Between us we have worked here for 198 years yet we have been given no choice whatsoever. We have been sold like a piece of machinery. The majority of us are totally reliant on public transport and it is going to put two hours onto our working day.''

No-one from Wade was available for comment, but a letter from managing director Alan Cooper to the workers said the sale was necessary. He said: ‘‘Our reasons for entering into these negotiations are set against the background of an overall strategic review of our product portfolio.

‘‘That review has led us to believe that our overall business will be stronger for the concentration of resources and expertise into other product areas which are more aligned to our core business.

‘‘We believe the future interests of the Box Radiants business itself and those who work within it will be better served by our decision."

‘‘A refusal by you to be transferred to the new employer is the same as resignation and no entitlement to a redundancy payment will arise if this happens.''

Geoff Bagnall, CATU general secretary, said: ‘‘We are meeting with both employers with a view to resolving the dispute.''

The A50 has opened up a new world . . .

Boarding the steps of the number 20 PMT bus in Burslem my destination of Longton felt a million miles away. As a youngster living north of the city any trip in the Potteries south of Victoria Road was given the same treatment as holiday visits to Cornwall — oil and water levels all had to checked beforehand.

Yet just 35 minutes after taking my seat familiar landmarks — the iron railway bridge and Crown Hotel — signalled my arrival in the city's southernmost town.

The new A50 has opened up a new world of travel for people heading toward Longton — the days of miles and miles of traffic queues are now nothing more than a memory for motorists as they pass along King Street.

The service makes its first early stop on the Mother Town at 5.09am with the last bus leaving at 11.24pm.

Throughout the day buses run around every 20 minutes and the estimated journey time between Burslem and Longton is 30 minutes according to the timetable.

We live in moving times — social historian

The move for Wade workers across the city could represent a sign of the times.

Dr Owen Ashton, a social historian at Staffordshire University, believes people will be forced out of their individual communities — set up around the area's pottery industry — following its demise.

Dr Owen said: ‘‘There is a sense that in the 19th century in North Staffordshire there were communities of people who stayed put in their own area because they had the potteries, coal and iron mining."

‘‘There was enough for them and little reason to move away."

‘‘As a Welshman moving here I have noticed that people tend to stay put in their communities."

‘‘My impression after 28 years teaching here is that people do not tend to move out and there have been very few push factors until recently."

‘‘The pottery industry is now in crisis and there is a certain edge of uncertainty."

‘‘The pottery industry had worldwide pre-eminence and now that has gone the sense for men and woman to stay in this area and jobs for life has gone.''