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by Councillor Mark Davis
As many of you know, the Councillors in each ward got the chance to direct the spending of £150,000 in the last financial year. Tom, Denver and I made a concerted effort to find good causes and important improvements to spend the money on, and I think when you look at the list below you’ll agree that we didn’t go too far wrong. Some of the work has already been done, some of it will be done over the next couple of months, but hopefully all of it will make a difference to the people of Longton North.
Amongst the things we’ve funded are:
Fencing in Heathcote Street, Havergal Walk, Speedwell Street, Clewlow Place, Ashwood.
Gating works in Neath Close, Short Bambury Street, Sutherland Road, Anchor terrace.
Donations to the Chad Centre and Longton Community Church towards their building improvements.
More litter and dog bins.
Funding for the Longton Events Board’s Christmas and Summer events.
Additional lighting columns in Bright Green Street.
Youth work project to fight anti-social behaviour.
Money for extra police patrols.
A mural to decorate the site of the former Burgess’ Bakers shop.
Donation to Longton Boys Brigade website fund.
Money for extra work to trees in the area.
Speed reduction signs.
Sports taster sessions.
Demolition of derelict garages at Barclay Street.
Increased street cleaning in the neighbourhood.
We’d really welcome other ideas and projects that we could consider funding from the coming year’s allocation.
I attended the Park Hall Academy consultation event tonight at Longton Town Hall led by Ian Kendrick from the Children and Young People Directorate along with representatives from the academy sponsor (Stoke-on-Trent College) and the predecessor schools’ senior management teams (Edensor and Mitchell). The event was also attended by a good number of parents and interested residents from the communities which the new academy will serve.
The Building Schools for the Future Programme has been fraught with controversy here in Stoke. However, from this meeting I sensed a measured enthusiasm for the principles of the reorganisation and for the proposal on the table.
A few parents were angry about a shortcoming in the admissions process this year. They were understandably not satisfied with their school allocations which bore no resemblance to their applications, hopefully however this will be rectified through appeal. This issue, partly affecting families that live the Meir Hay area of my ward is something that I had already raised with the Director of Children’s Services.
With that exception it appeared to me that peoples’ main worry with the Park Hall Academy was the timescale – were their children going to be in the generation that benefited. Given the history and tumult surrounding of the process you can truly appreciate that worry and the desire to just get on and build the thing!
Other than that there was a good deal of information disseminated which addressed attendee’s other concerns – some outline details of what the new academy will be like were set out.Two of my principle apprehensions were laid to rest.
The first was safe routes to and from the academy – I really worry that Anchor Rd in its current form is neither safe enough nor fit to cope with additional transport associated with an academy. I was reassured that measures will be put in place, in the first instance a detailed study commissioned by the council to be conducted by Mott McDonald. This is a company with good and well renowned pedigree and expertise in this area. This anxiety was shared by many parents and I think we will all await the results of Mott McDonald’s work with interest.
The second, interestingly for me, was not raised by one single parent as one of their concerns. I’m talking about the governance arrangements for the new academy. This is cited as the principle bug bear by the anti-academies lobby, but it doesn’t seem to greatly worry most people. I was very encouraged that the sponsor wished to emphasise that the academy would be led by the community – including via governorships.
This was especially pleasing for me, as I had had reservations that the statutory requirement of one parent governor would be insufficient as the sole extent of community representation on the new governing body. Happily, the sponsor was keen to indicate that such under representation would not occur. Working with the community I am now certain that the Stoke-on-Trent College as sponsor will get the balance of representation right on the governing body when the academy’s constitution is drafted.
Like many parents, I want to see bricks a mortar as soon as possible, but only if the plans are right. The devil is in the detail and parents need to be fully informed of that detail. I eagerly await the publications of draft building, transition, and transport plans & the proposed constitution.
I and my wife took 7 days holiday last week, and for one reason or another, rather than going away for a break we decided to stay at home and go out for days. Its only when you sit down to consider all the things you can do in and around Stoke it truly hits you the wealth and variety of leisure facilities and attractions we have in the city or nearby. Mitchell, New Vic, Regent, Victoria Hall Theatres; Odeon & Stoke Film Theatre; Festival Park bowling, skiing and snooker halls; Dimensions & Fenton Manor; a premiership football club; Potteries Museum & Gladstone Pottery; Queens, Hanley, Burslem & Central Forest Parks; Park Hall & the municipal golf course; world renowned ceramics attractions and a host of other stuff all within the city boundaries. And a tiny bit further a field it’s a similar story: Trentham Gardens & Monkey Forest, Apedale, Buxton & the Peak District, Uttoxeter races, the list goes on. There is a genuine wealth in variety to suit many interests and budgets.
It is often said that Stoke-on-Trent is talked down and talks itself down. It is fair to say we have had a raw deal in the past, but I can’t help but feel when talking about the assets we do have in and around the city we do sell ourselves short. Two things struck me, one regarding community safety and the other regarding regeneration.
The first relates to antisocial behaviour, particularly among young people. As a councillor this is one of my main ward priorities, and it is something that almost always comes up when I talk to residents. Often the message from residents and agencies alike (and I’ve uttered the words on more than once) is “that there is nothing for them to do”. This excuse for making people’s life a misery is simply not accurate, and it is not good enough. There are plenty of free/affordable facilities across the city for young people, publicity and access may be the problem. We need to fully utilise and (in my personal view) invest in our youth service to engage with young people who could otherwise be causing mischief. Transport can be improved so that all young people aren’t constrained by the geography of the city in trying to access the services that suit their tastes. For example a teen in Tunstall who is into dance music is precluded from using Studio Q in Longton because getting there is a problem, and a skateboarder in Meir can’t get to the plaza in Forest Park because they may be priced of the buses. There are simple solutions to these access problems.
The second thing that struck me concerned regeneration. Industrial decline has, and continues to hit the city hard. While I am a strong advocate of trying to boost the manufacturing sector in the city, I think there is a real opportunity to build up the tourist potential in city. Preferable exchange rates means overseas tourists are more inclined to part with cash when they are visiting the global home of fine ceramics, and the credit crunch inevitably means UK holiday makers looking to destinations closer to home in order to keep a tighter grip on the purse strings. We can capitalise on this by marketing the city better and by carrying out essential facelifts in some areas. We have a lot of attractions to offer holiday-makers, we just need to package things better.
Stoke-on-Trent is a proud city with a lot to be proud about, but more than that, it has a lot to be optimistic about if politicians and council officers have the right mindset.
Hi and welcome to my new blog. This is not the first blog that I have done; in my student days I kept a livejournal on which I published my ramblings about pratically anything, and more recently I have contributed from time to time to the pits'n'pots city blog, which has gone from strength to strength reporting on all goings on, political and otherwise in Stoke-on-Trent. Nevertheless getting the ball rolling on my own blog is still a bit of a daunting task, and I just hope that I can keep the content fresh, interesting, and useful.The content on this blog will mainly be my views on issues affecting my ward, Longton North, and the wider city of Stoke-on-Trent. I will also occasionally dable in giving you my views on national issues. From time to time I'll also try and plug upcoming local events and I also hope to host contributions from some of my collegues. Posts will be a mix of vidblogs, though I'm still getting to grips with the technology, and traditional written ramblings. I hope that you enjoy the blog, and will want to check it out from time to time.
As many of you know, the Councillors in each ward got the chance to direct the spending of £150,000 in the last financial year. Tom, Denver and I made a concerted effort to find good causes and important improvements to spend the money on, and I think when you look at the list below you’ll agree that we didn’t go too far wrong. Some of the work has already been done, some of it will be done over the next couple of months, but hopefully all of it will make a difference to the people of Longton North.