Three fire-hit homes are set to be pulled down - with families calling on the land to be used to benefit the community.

Firefighters were called out to Travers Street in Middleport just before 3am on Monday morning after smoke was seen coming out of a window.

And the crews - who came from Hanley and Longton - were battling the the blaze for around four hours.

Yesterday an investigation remained ongoing over the cause of the fire as Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service confirmed a re-inspection was carried out during the evening.

Firefighters in Travers Street, Middleport.

The derelict terraced homes were left standing after dozens on the street were cleared. The future of homes on the road was first put in doubt back in 2009 as part of regeneration plans unveiled by Renew. Stoke-on-Trent City Council had looked to refurbish them and offer them to ex-servicemen and women but scrapped that scheme due to cost.

Work was carried out to demolish around 30 Victorian properties at the end of 2015 with cleared land on one side being used to extend the gardens of those on Port Street. The houses on the side where the three fire-damaged ones stand were knocked down with car parks put in their place.

Travers Street over the years

■ WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2012: The Sentinel reports that 19 homes in Travers Street are to be demolished, but remain standing for the time being because two are not owned by Stoke-on-Trent City Council. The houses were condemned because of subsidence and the condition of the properties;

■ MONDAY, MARCH 12, 2012: The owners of the two homes fail to respond to a public notice outlining the council’s plans;

■ FRIDAY, JANUARY 17, 2014: It was revealed The Prince’s Regeneration Trust (PRT) – one of Prince Charles’s charities – wants to refurbish 29 condemned properties in Middleport after plans to demolish them stalled. The charity said the homes could be transformed for returning soldiers in a £1.5 million scheme;

■ FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014: The Sentinel reports how motherof-three Susan Chetwynd, aged 46, hits out after her boardedup former home in Travers Street is offered to ex-soldiers – four years after she was forced to make way for the bulldozers;

■ FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2015: Work gets underway on the demolition of the properties.

Now the city council is hoping to complete the clearance with the trio of boarded up terraced homes also pencilled in to be cleared.

Councillor Randy Conteh, the local authority's cabinet member for communities and safer city, said: “These properties are proposed for demolition due to their structural condition. We have encountered some delays but we have now received planning permission and we are working through the process to demolish these properties.

Demolition underway at the end of 2015

“We are liaising with other departments at the city council to push this decision through so we can carry out the work.

“In the meantime we are working with our partners in the fire service to investigate the cause of the fire and to ensure the properties remain secure.”

Meanwhile Middleport Matters executive director Amelia Bilson is keen to see a long-term vision for Travers Street. She said: "We have spoken to the council about a plan for Travers Street and are keen to work with them on it.

"At the moment the car parks are separate and at night are just used as playgrounds by the children. What we'd like is a real shared space through this land instead and bringing it all together to have something that will benefit the community. It would be good to have something like an orchard and some green space for families to enjoy."

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