£1.5 Million Pride in Place Impact Fund Set to Transform Local Communities
Plus sign up for free community courses, world's smallest bookshop at Trentham, £3m worth of funding for electric cars and Lonely Girls Club launches in Stoke…
Good News 🎉
🥨 Neighbourhood Boost. Stoke-on-Trent City Council has launched the Pride in Place Impact Fund, with £1.5 million set to be invested in community spaces, parks, high streets and public places across the city. Improvements could include upgrading parks and playgrounds, improving high streets, or enhancing public spaces with lighting, benches or public art. Decisions on which projects to fund will be made by a panel including community representatives along with MPs and councillors. Want to nominate a project? There are some rules and conditions that nominated schemes must meet. You can check them out here. Nominations should be submitted by midnight on 01/03/2026.
🎓 THE KNOT’S PERSON OF THE WEEK - Professor Kevin Shakesheff 🎓
Having relocated from Nottingham around six months ago, the new VC at Keele is on a mission to engage with as many local businesses as he can in 2026. “My first visit was to Piccoloco at our Keele in Town facility for lunch. I shared it on LinkedIn and lots of people made suggestions now on my list to try.” One that appeared many times was Anasma the Greek Bakery so he went there with his wife a few weekends ago. Kevin’s desire to shop and eat local has led to some great conversations and a sense of local pride, he says. “I asked people for recommendations and was inundated with tips. It’s been great to see others then trying these places and sharing their own discoveries. That kind of knock-on effect is powerful and it all starts with a simple decision to shop local.“
He adds that Keele has recently launched a series of public debates exploring societal issues affecting higher education, and how universities can be part of the solution. Everybody is welcome to join; more info here.
👧 Lonely Girls Club Opens in Stoke. With events including friendship speed dating, walks, book clubs, and craft sessions, the Lonely Girls Club has opened a branch in Stoke-on-Trent. The first event last month sold out and the next is planned for 21/02 at the Slamwich Club in Hanley and will cost £4.25.
🏺Sign up for New Community Courses. Staffordshire County Council has rolled out more than 70 new community learning courses, with classes running from January through to Easter. The updated programme includes everything from digital skills, English and maths to DIY, carpentry, floristry, and crafting for wellbeing. Popular wellbeing and lifestyle courses, such as Cooking with Numbers and Forest Bathing are also back. Courses still open for enrolment include Running a Voluntary Community Social Enterprise Organisation, Awesome Animals and Gardening in the Community. More info here.
⚡️Sparking the Move to Electric Cars. It’s estimated that 25 per cent of all cars on the city’s roads will be powered by electric by 2030. To meet demand, hundreds of new charging points are set to be installed with £2.4 million from The Office of Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV), which will increase the number of charging points from around 115 to 800. Additional funding of £480,000 has been allocated for delivery of cross-pavement charging solutions, which enable residents who don’t have off-street parking to charge EVs at home without trailing charging cables across the pavement. Want to recommend a charging location or install a cross-pavement gully outside your property? Email them.
📚 World’s Smallest Book Shop Now at Trentham! Situatted inside a converted horse trailer, What the Book? serves up a carefully curated mix of new and pre-loved books, from Booker and Pulitzer-winning novels to modern and future classics. But whatever your taste in books, owner Allie promises thoughtful recommendations and no judgement. We love how she’s championing local authors, too: here she is with Stoke sci-fi writer Brendan Nugent.
What the Book? owner Allie with local author Brendan Nugent and his novel
🥨 A word from Helen, editor/writer at The Knot
With an aim of boosting neighbourhoods and bringing communities together, residents, community groups, charities and businesses are being encouraged to nominate projects they believe are worthy of funding through the Pride in Place Impact Fund.
Government ministers announced last year that Stoke-on-Trent would be among 95 areas to receive the cash. The fund will run until March 2027, with projects chosen and delivered in phases.
The announcement comes ahead of a larger Pride in Place investment, which will see £40 million of government funding spent on projects in two neighbourhoods identified by ministers as needing targeted support: Meir North, and Bentilee and Ubberley.
A key difference is that money from the Impact Fund is available for projects across the city. These projects must, however, include physical improvements that make a lasting difference, with routine maintenance and running costs not covered.
So, which places in the city do you feel are deserving of cash from this fund? Let us know in the comments.
Really Good News 🎉 Your favourite news from the last week
More than Six Towns: Check out this great thought-provoking piece from our founder, James, who argues there are 10 places vying for our attention here in Stoke
Trentham Celebrates New Year: See dragons, lions, pandas and more…
Andie Dale Hosts Solo Exhibition: We can’t wait to see this at Urban Arts Stoke
Weekly Weather (Stoke-on-Trent)
Mon 🌧️ 5° (4°) Tue 🌧️ 7° (4°) Wed 🌧️ 8° (5°) Thu 🌧️ 6° (3°) Fri 🌧️ 6° (4°)
Sat 🌧️ 8° (5°) Sun 🌧️ 8° (4°).
Sunrise 02/02 ☀️07:53 Sunset 02/02 🌅 16:53