Local MP Gareth Snell with the £80,000 cheque for Fountain Square

🥨 A word from Helen, editor/writer at The Knot

Hi, and welcome to The Knot's weekly round-up of feel-good news from across Stoke and Staffs to cheer you up this Monday!

Aimed to deliver visible improvements that strengthen local pride, enhance neighbourhoods, the Pride in Place Impact Fund is being invested directly in the spaces that matter most to residents and community organisations across Stoke-on-Trent, with all projects chosen nominated by them rather than the council, or MPs.

The cash is being spent to deliver improvements to community spaces, parks, high streets and public places across the city, with Hanley’s Fountain Square receiving £80,000 towards public space and infrastructure improvements.

The Pride in Place Impact Fund has also recently awarded £10,000 for improved disability access at Uddallsfield allotments in Northwood, £5,800 for interpretation boards at Stoke Minster, and £40,800 to carry out improvements at Hambro Park in Fegg Hayes. Operating until 31 March 2027, successful projects will be scheduled for delivery across 2025/26 and 2026/27.

There’s more details on the Pride in Place Impact Fund and its objectives here.

Good News 🎉

🥰 Brightening up Hanley. Fountain Square is one of the latest to benefit from the £1.5 million Pride in Place Impact Fund, with £80,000 given to fund public space and infrastructure improvements. With little shelter and seating at present, it is hoped that the revamp would encourage residents to spend more time in the square rather than simply passing through. Work on this project is set to commence later this year. And no, there won’t be a new fountain, alas.

🏃‍♂️THE KNOT’S PEOPLE OF THE WEEK – our Commonwealth Games Athletes

The 2026 Commonwealth Games are officially underway in Glasgow, with more than 70 countries competing across 10 sports and six para sports. Among the competitors are four Stokies: Jazmin Sawyers (long jump), Harry Ledingham-Horn (track cycling), Seamus Derbyshire (400m hurdles) and Oliver Carter (para swimming). Good luck to them all, we’re sure they’ll do fab. Tune in to watch it on TNT Sports (subscription required) or catch nightly live coverage and highlights on BBC Alba.

👩‍⚕️Cancer Treatment Available at Audley Health Centre University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust has teamed up with Pharmaxo Healthcare to launch the first community-based clinic that provides cancer treatment closer to home. Developed with West Midlands Cancer Alliance, the clinic provides systemic anti-cancer therapy (SACT) and other specialist infusion services in a community setting, helping to ease pressure on hospital services and improve the patient experience. The clinic is available for eligible patients at Audley Health Centre.

Cancer patient Carol Myatt receives treatment at Audley Health Centre

🚮 Tunstall Gets A Clean Up. After customers raised concerns about litter, fly-tipping and overgrown communal spaces, colleagues from housing and support provider Honeycomb Group came together for a Community Day to clear waste, refresh communal gardens and cut back overgrown trees. Local residents Sam and June, who have lived in the community for 19 years and recently celebrated 50 years of marriage, said: “It’s lovely to see people out here supporting the community and looking after us as tenants. It really shows that people care.”

Honeycomb group staff cut back overgrown trees and refreshed gardens

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📖 Exploring Stoke’s Global Ceramics Influence. A new publication exploring our global ceramics heritage and its connections with China is now available to download for free. Legacy and Continuity: Willow Pattern Ceramics and Stories of ‘Other’ brings together international research and contemporary artistic perspectives examining the cultural exchange that helped shape the ceramics industry. Produced by Stoke-on-Trent City Council, it explores the global history of one of our most recognisable ceramic designs and the centuries of cultural exchange that shaped it. The publication accompanies the exhibition Willow Pattern Ceramics and Stories of ‘Other’, at the Spode Museum until 30/08.

A broken willow pattern plate reassembled using the kintsugi technique

😃 Our Top Five Don’t-Miss Events this Week. We know that you Knotters are buzzing about Stoke-on-Trent trying to get bee-friendly city status, so don’t miss this free event at Burslem Park (01/08, 11am-2pm), where you can go on a bumblebee safari, see a working beehive, and join bee-themed arts and crafts.

There’s Live Music at Spode coming (07/08, 21/08, 04/09 & 18/09, 6pm-8pm), licensed events with local musicians in support of The Spode Museum Charitable Trust; tickets £6 and includes a welcome drink and nibbles (over 18’s only). Middleport’s theatre nights always seem to sell out, so book now for Titanic Tales (08/09, arrival from 6pm, performance 7pm), a stage show that explores the myths and legends of the doomed ocean liner; tickets £16.

Heritage Open Days are back! One of the first to be announced is over at Gladstone (18/09, 10am-5pm); admission free. Sober festival Recoverfest, which celebrates recovery in all its forms and is open to all, is being held at Uttoxeter Racecourse (06/09, 12pm-6pm), with Lucy Spraggan headlining. There’s also a Healing Field with yoga, plus food and kids entertainment; admission free, get your ticket here.

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