Making Stoke's Streets More Family-Friendly
Plus new plans for Hem Heath Woods, new family hub opens in Abbey Hulton, Bradwell Dingle set for big revamp, and film commemorates 100 years of social housing…
Good News 🎉
😁 Quest to Make Stoke’s Streets More Family-Friendly. The new action plan aims to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour by improving the design and management of public spaces and intensifying work to tackle rough sleeping, which includes sourcing extra accommodation. Hanley has already seen anti-social behaviour fall by 30 per cent and drug possession and supply down by 13 per cent in the past 12 months. The council is also overseeing major improvements aimed at supporting businesses and encouraging more visitors to town centres across Stoke-on-Trent. Last week, details were published of the Longton Improvement Scheme, which will deliver investment worth £1.9m.
🎯 THE KNOT’S PERSON OF THE WEEK – Phil ‘the power’ Taylor 🎯
Widely renowned as the greatest darts player of all time – he’s been crowned world darts champion 16 times – Burslem’s Phil Taylor has raised £10,000 for Chell-based special school, Watermill, so 10 pupils can go on a residential trip. The retired star isn’t finished with his good works yet: next February, he will host an auction at the school, along with a raffle and cake sale, to raise more cash.
🌳 New Plans for Hem Heath Woods. Staffordshire Wildlife Trust has secured £126,988 from the Veolia Environmental Trust through the Landfill Communities Fund to carry out improvements at Hem Heath Woods, including planting new broadleaf trees, repairing well-used paths and creating new waymarked trails and information points. With pathway resurfacing set to take place over the winter months, volunteers will help regenerate and expand the woodland’s display of British bluebells from spring 2026.
🛝 Bradwell Dingle Park set for Upgrade. There’s good news for Newcastle Borough residents, as £412,000 has been secured for a park revamp at Bradwell Dingle, which will include a new pump track to replace the old skate park, a larger, inclusive playground, an outdoor gym and community garden. The renovation also aims to improve accessibility, with work set to begin in the new year.
👩👩👦👦 New Family Hub for Abbey Hulton. Creating a welcoming space where local families can access support, advice and activities all under one roof, it will form part of the city’s growing network of Family Hubs. Alongside the new hub, the nearby Wallace Centre has provision for children and young people, with users of the new family hub able to use their new community garden and play area. In addition, the hub is set to put on Youth Takeover activities every Friday in partnership with 10 Count Boxing’s youth club and Stoke City Community FC Foundation. For more info, visit the website.
🏘️ Celebrating 100 Years of Social Housing. A new 20-minute film to mark a century of council houses in the city has been released. Filmed by Reels in Motion and created in partnership with Brighter Futures, EPIC Housing, Honeycomb Group and Stoke-on-Trent City Council, it blends archive footage, personal stories from residents and conversations about the future to offer a moving tribute to the progress and resilience of the city. You can watch the video here.
🥨 A word from Helen, editor/writer at The Knot
In a year that’s seen Stoke host several newsworthy events as we celebrated our centenary – from the unveiling of the Lemmy statue in May to the People’s Parade in June – the council is looking to build on this wave of positive momentum by creating more family-friendly streets. Longton’s £1.9 million Improvement Scheme will create a new public square in front of the old Town Hall and improve public spaces like Baths Passage and Strand Passage. The project forms the next phase of the government-funded Transforming Cities Fund, which has already upgraded areas around Stoke and Longton railway stations as well as College Road.
However, as Jonathan Bellamy, chair of Stoke BID points out, high streets will continue to decline unless the fundamentals are addressed. “High-quality cleanliness, speed of response to maintenance issues, and a zero tolerance to pervasive and unacceptable anti-social behaviour – actually meet the expectations of the people we want to see using our high streets.”
What’s your favourite street in our six towns? Share your standout cafes, shops, and other experiences in the comments below!
Really Good News 🎉 Your favourite news from the last week
🗳️ Reshaping Local Government: Knotters wanted to know about Stoke City Council’s North/South & Mid Staffs Plans- you can find out more here.
🚉 New Station Link From Goods Yard: Still apartments to rent and you’re keen…
🩺 Free NHS Health Checks: There’s more info on locations, dates, and times here
Weekly Weather (Stoke-on-Trent) Nice sunny day forecast for Tuesday 😎
Mon ⛅️ 8° (2°) Tue ☀️ 6° (-2°) Wed 🌧️ 13° (10°) Thu 🌧️ 13° (7°) Fri 🌦️ 10° (5°)
Sat 🌧️ 9° (3°) Sun 🌧️ 8° (6°).
Sunrise 24/11 ☀️07:48 Sunset 24/11 🌅 16:03