Goods Yard Boosts Local Economy
Plus activities aplenty at the council's the kids' holiday programme, slashing carbon emissions in Newcastle and a new look for Longton Bus Station is on its way…
Good News 🎉 Want local business news? Visit Daily Focus
🚧 Around 400 Jobs to be Created by Goods Yard. The development has already added £63 million to the local economy and created job opportunities for 190 workers. More than 200 local jobs are later set to be created in leisure and hospitality, with an estimated annual employment impact of £5.4 million.
Since starting on site, contractors Bowmer + Kirkland have engaged with nearly 3,000 students from schools and colleges across Stoke-on-Trent. Ajmal Muhammed (pictured centre, below) from Stoke-on-Trent College completed a placement with B+K and has since been accepted onto a degree apprenticeship programme as a trainee quantity surveyor. Goods Yard will open in Spring 2025.
Not long now… work on Goods Yard is almost complete
🎄 Treecyle Your Christmas Tree. Got a real tree this year? Charities including Dougie Mac, Stafford’s Katharine House Hospice and Lichfield’s St Giles Hospice will all be collecting trees for a small donation. Real trees can also be taken to Staffordshire’s Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs): the trees need to be placed into garden waste containers, ready to be recycled. You can also put your tree in the brown bin. More details on all options here.
👦 Keep the Kids Busy Over the Hols. Staffordshire’s Holiday Activity and Food (HAF) programme is offering activities including sports, creative clubs, computer activities, laser tag, horse riding, forest schools plus meals and healthy snacks for children at holiday clubs until 04/01. Bookings are open to more than 25,000 children aged between five and 16 on free school meals. Parents and carers can book online for a funded or paid place, with up to four sessions available per kid.
☘️ Newcastle Slashes Carbon Emissions. Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council’s carbon emissions have fallen by 68.4 per cent since measurements began more than 15 years ago. A recent switch to biodegradable and fossil-free fuel for its HGV fleet, meanwhile, has cut emissions by 35 per cent year-on-year.
🏡 Heritage Flats Proposed for Stafford. A former shoe factory built for Thomas Mottram in the 1870s near Stafford town centre is set to be transformed into nine two-bedroom apartments. Councillors praised plans to retain the outside of building, which retains much of its original window arrangement, and was once at the heart of the shoemaking industry in Stafford.
🚍 New Look for Longton Bus Station. New lighting, seating and CCTV is being installed at Longton Bus Station, while information boards displaying real-time passenger information will be added in the new year. Part of the existing canopy, which covers all nine stands at the bus station, is also being removed to create more open space and improve visibility. Plans are additionally afoot to improve pedestrian links between the bus station and the neighbouring retail park, market and surrounding businesses.
Really Good News 🎉 Your favourite news from the last week
🥘 North Staffs Curry House Makes top 100 Indian Restaurants: Blanc NRI got mentioned in the British Indian Food Guide and you want to check it out. Menu here.
👨⚕️ Plastic Surgery Pioneer Honoured: There will be an official launch of the John Grocott exhibition at the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery on 23/01.
🎤 The Knot Life: did you know you can list your events for free at The Knot Life? More and more readers are doing it - get yours on too!
Unsung Heroes ⬇️
🏃♀️ Dave Juggins. The 75 year old gold medal duathlete can run a 5km in 21 minutes.
👗 Anya Parker James. Read about the designer that built a fashion career here.
👨🎨 Ian Parker: Mouth painter Ian has illustrated a kid’s book and is a full-time artist.
👩⚕️ Ruth Chambers: The retired GP won an OBE for improving health outcomes.
🥨 Good Vibes Only: A Word from Helen, Writer at The Knot
How’s your year been? With only two days left of 2024, we’ve gone into reflective mode at The Knot. The big news was that we got a new government in July – and three new Labour MP’s for Stoke. Staffordshire athletes, meanwhile, picked up several medals at the Paris Olympics – including Sophie Capewell’s gold in the women's Track Cycling Team Sprint, breaking the world record in the process – and Adam Peaty’s silver in the 100m breaststroke. While Stoke City and Port Vale have faltered – Stoke just sacked their manager Narcis Pelach and are currently 19th in the championship and Vale were relegated to League Two at the end of the season - we’re hoping brighter days are ahead in 2025. The year for Stokies ended on a positive note as just a couple of days ago, our Robbie Williams released surreal biopic Better Man to rave reviews. Showtimes for Stoke/Staffs here if you haven’t seen it yet.
Whether you’re staying in with Jools Holland or out and about, we hope you have an ace New Year’s Eve. After all the excitement of Christmas, we know January can be a bit of a come-down but we’ll be bringing you all the latest happenings in Stoke and Staffs to brighten the first month of 2025. Happy New Year, one and all!
Weekly Weather (Stoke-on-Trent):
Mon ☁️ 10°(8°) Tue ☁️ 10°(4°) Wed ☁️ 8° (1°) Thu 🌤️ 4° (-3°) Fri 🌤️ 4°(1°)
Sat ☁️ 2°(-2°) Sun ⛅️ 3°(-3°).
Sunrise 30/12 ☀️ 08:23 Sunset 30/12 🌅 16:00
