New Blueprint for Newcastle Town Centre
A new look for Newcastle is on its way, plus tackling poverty, supporting Stoke's heritage buildings and a bumper gift drive for JCB nets 1,700 gifts for the needy.
Good News 🎉 Want local business news? Visit Daily Focus
🏗️ New Lease of Life for Newcastle. Plans to transform two town centre sites into new communities have been submitted to Newcastle Borough Council. Capital&Centric intend to develop a brownfield site at Ryecroft and York Place shopping centre, with homes, business spaces and new hang outs proposed.
Under new name Rye Park, the Ryecroft site will feature homes, apartments and an urban park. York Place, meanwhile, will become Astley Place in tribute to former resident and founder of the modern circus Philip Astley. Re-booted as the town’s hub, it will feature more than 50 apartments and a new music venue.
Brownfield site Ryecroft is set to become Rye Park
🥘 Tackling Stoke’s Food Poverty. Children supported by the Youth Offending Service now have the option to volunteer work with groups including The Food Network as part of their rehabilitation. This group has a long-term programme to build a sustainable food network across the city, while closer work with schools aims to promote healthy eating in schools and signpost those struggling.
🌇 Supporting Stoke’s Heritage Buildings. To support the regeneration of its historic buildings, the council has struck a deal with Re-Form Heritage to safeguard key heritage sites. CoRE and Roslyn Works in Longton have been transferred to Re-Form Heritage on a leasehold basis. Watch this space…
👨⚕️ Primary Winter Care Hubs Launch in Staffs. In preparation for winter, around 3,000 additional appointments are being made available every week across the county via Primary Care Winter Hubs. Designed to provide access for patients who need a same-day appointment and can travel to a central hub location, all appointments can be accessed through your GP.
😊 £1 Million for Staffs Young People. Local community network Know Your Place has secured just under £1m for young people aged 13 to 19 to undertake community research, help change local policy and make Staffordshire a better place for young people. The money was awarded through the Community Research Networks programme, funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), and will be delivered by non-profit The Young Foundation.
🎁 Bumper Gift Drive for JCB. The company’s third annual Christmas Toy Appeal has delivered a record haul of gifts for distribution to children in Staffordshire and Wrexham. Kind-hearted employees donated more than 1,700 presents across all of JCB’s UK plants in Staffordshire, Derbyshire, and Wrexham. The Hubb Foundation will now wrapping the bulk of the gifts before the charity distributes them to families in Stoke-on-Trent with the help of the NSPCC. Merry Christmas!
Really Good News 🎉 Your favourite news from the last week
♻️ Reducing Waste, Promoting Sustainability: the Moorlands Repair Cafe in Leek has repaired and repurposed more than 300 unwanted household items
👦 Share Your Childhood Memories of Stoke: many reached out to The Living Heritage Project via email or Facebook ahead of the centenary in 2025
🎤 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
With a mission to take unloved spaces in key town centre locations and bring them back to life, social impact developers Capital & Centric are keen to leave a lasting impression in Stoke-on-Trent, as evidenced by its ambitious project near Stoke Station, Goods Yard.
In Newcastle, meanwhile, it plans to turn 1960s brutalist concrete car park Midway into 114 new homes. The developer is also preparing detailed plans for Rye Park, which will feature 171 three to four bed family homes and an urban park, and Astley Place, 52 one and two-bed apartments with a retail space for indie businesses.
Astley Place will repurpose and revitalise 1960s shopping centre York Place, while Rye Park will be a new neighbourhood featuring homes, apartments, workspaces and a hotel. As John Moffatt, joint managing director at Capital&Centric, says, “it will be a real draw for the town centre, with tons of green space to hang out and perfect for pop up events.”
Newcastle Under Lyme council leader Simon Tagg believes it’s, “a fantastic opportunity to secure the town centre’s long-term future and success,” and we’re inclined to agree with him. Let’s hope this transformative work starts soon…
Weekly Weather (Stoke-on-Trent):
Mon ☁️ 8°(4°) Tue ☁️ 7°(4°) Wed ☁️ 6° (3°) Thu ☁️ 5° (0°) Fri ☁️ 5°(1°)
Sat ☁️ 6°(1°) Sun 🌧️ 5°(2°).
Sunrise 09/12 ☀️ 08:11 Sunset 09/12 🌅 15:52
