Plus Olympian set to open swim school in Stoke, more cash for the arts, new heritage co-working space opens in Newcastle, and JCB celebrates its 80th birthday…
Regarding the National Lottery Heritage fund honouring Stoke’s past, I’d like to see it spent on canal centred projects. Stoke is best known for its pottery industry but that industry was stifled by the ridiculously high breakage rate when finished goods had to be transported by pack horse. I read somewhere that it was typically over 50%. Canals changed all that and allowed the area’s main industry to flourish. Stoke owes a great debt to our canals and if they could be made more appealing, they could link many of our former towns, providing quiet, traffic free space in which to walk, fish, cycle, boat and relax. At the same time, they are full of industrial archeology, serve as longitudinal nature reserves and otherwise unused buildings could be turned into flats, workshops, exhibitions or performance spaces and retail purposes. Imagine a towpath with benches, cafes, picnic / play areas, a visiting floating market, an annual boat and music festival! This would honour Stoke’s past in ways that are still useful, lend a sense of identity, pride and belonging to us and be accessible given the flat nature of towpaths.
Regarding the National Lottery Heritage fund honouring Stoke’s past, I’d like to see it spent on canal centred projects. Stoke is best known for its pottery industry but that industry was stifled by the ridiculously high breakage rate when finished goods had to be transported by pack horse. I read somewhere that it was typically over 50%. Canals changed all that and allowed the area’s main industry to flourish. Stoke owes a great debt to our canals and if they could be made more appealing, they could link many of our former towns, providing quiet, traffic free space in which to walk, fish, cycle, boat and relax. At the same time, they are full of industrial archeology, serve as longitudinal nature reserves and otherwise unused buildings could be turned into flats, workshops, exhibitions or performance spaces and retail purposes. Imagine a towpath with benches, cafes, picnic / play areas, a visiting floating market, an annual boat and music festival! This would honour Stoke’s past in ways that are still useful, lend a sense of identity, pride and belonging to us and be accessible given the flat nature of towpaths.
I love the ideas you are proposing! A visiting floating market - how cool!
I wonder if you have read our piece on canals and how they make the city a better place to live? https://www.theknot.news/p/how-stokes-waterways-make-the-city
I went along to photograph the unveiling of ‘Capo’. The sculpture looks great again, and its placing is just right - out of reach of bulldozers this time! Photos here: https://open.substack.com/pub/thepictureposter/p/capo-v20?r=2m2i9y&utm_medium=ios