'Supercharger' call for threatened ceramics firm

'Supercharger' call for threatened ceramics firm5 hours agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleGeorge TorrandMatthew Barlow,DerbyBBCHayley Baddiley set up the petition for the ceramics industry to be included in the British Industrial Supercharger schemeMore than 40,000 people have signed a petition calling for an under-threat ceramics firm in Derbyshire to be included in a government financial support scheme.Denby Pottery - established in 1809 - appointed administrators on 31 March after it said it had struggled with rising energy and labour costs.Former worker Hayley Baddiley has called for the ceramics industry to be included in the British Industry Supercharger scheme - which provides relief from electricity costs for firms in sectors like steel and chemicals.Baddiley told the BBC: "This petition basically calls on the government for a level playing field - we have some of the most expensive industry costs in the world."Fran CutmoreDenby Pottery is a major employer in the Amber Valley region of DerbyshireThe petition reached 40,000 signatures within four days, with a further 60,000 required for a debate to be held in Parliament.Baddiley said the ceramics firms were "foundation industries" employing more than 20,000 people across the UK and are worth £2bn to the economy.She accepted it could be "too late" to save Denby Pottery but believes the move would protect other firms from going under."We were so taken by the amount of people showing their support, people wanted to get involved to be part of the process in trying to help," she said."The petition aims to create a wider debate about the ceramics industry and to create a means by which some of the challenges being faced could be heard. "We want the ceramics industry to be included in the scheme - at the moment it's excluded."SuppliedDozens of redundancies have already taken place while administrators try to secure the firm's futureBaddil...