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Post by JoeinOz on Jul 29, 2018 17:09:57 GMT
So you believe people are put off because some people don't speak English? Really? Did you see these gangs of youths Joe? Can't say I've seen much evidence, surprising really since the place is 'full of them'. No I don't see them. I remember back in my adolescence it used to be normal for Saturday afternoons fountain square to be packed with groups of people and often fights would occur. And they were all English speaking.
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Post by JoeinOz on Jul 29, 2018 17:22:04 GMT
So you believe people are put off because some people don't speak English? Really? I know they are I used to work there five days a week Do those people ever go on holiday abroad?
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Post by crapslinger on Jul 29, 2018 17:26:03 GMT
I know they are I used to work there five days a week Do those people ever go on holiday abroad? Of course they do but not to Eastern Bloc countries, Somalia, Syria, Iraq
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Post by elystokie on Jul 29, 2018 18:55:44 GMT
So you believe people are put off because some people don't speak English? Really? I know they are I used to work there five days a week And they came back to tell you why they weren't erm, coming back? I see.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2018 6:39:02 GMT
Crapslinger’s frightened of his own shadow. He barely leaves the house these days for fear of bumping into a foreigner.......
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Post by Frogger Theft Auto on Jul 30, 2018 7:51:16 GMT
I’ve said before about all the double yellows in Hanley & the lack of singles, thus prohibiting the night time economy & Sunday trade. I was in ‘Castle yesterday for a wedding & this morning went into town to pick up some things(including 3doz ‘Castle Oatcakes)plenty of single lines to park on. Hanley needs to wise up... I’ve never really had a problem parking in Hanley. Free parking at the bottom end on Tesco, I think it’s about a quid for parking after 4pm for the night on the Potteries, free under 15 minutes (so best if you’re just nipping to one shop) and the street parking goes all the way down to 30p for a 15 minute pop into the shops. Newcastle annoys me more, the shortest rate anywhere seems to be up to an hour and is £1 odd, and the supermarkets are pay & display. I avoid Newcastle if I just need to nip to a shop.
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Post by elystokie on Jul 30, 2018 8:01:10 GMT
I’ve said before about all the double yellows in Hanley & the lack of singles, thus prohibiting the night time economy & Sunday trade. I was in ‘Castle yesterday for a wedding & this morning went into town to pick up some things(including 3doz ‘Castle Oatcakes)plenty of single lines to park on. Hanley needs to wise up... I’ve never really had a problem parking in Hanley. Free parking at the bottom end on Tesco, I think it’s about a quid for parking after 4pm for the night on the Potteries, free under 15 minutes (so best if you’re just nipping to one shop) and the street parking goes all the way down to 30p for a 15 minute pop into the shops. Newcastle annoys me more, the shortest rate anywhere seems to be up to an hour and is £1 odd, and the supermarkets are pay & display. I avoid Newcastle if I just need to nip to a shop. I always park in Tescos if I'm not in a hurry, good bit of exercise walking up the hill, cheap petrol and I usually need to pick summat up from the store anyway. Then again I'm quite partial to catching the bus, if I fancy a couple of beers I don't have to worry
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Post by bathstoke on Jul 30, 2018 8:24:08 GMT
I’ve said before about all the double yellows in Hanley & the lack of singles, thus prohibiting the night time economy & Sunday trade. I was in ‘Castle yesterday for a wedding & this morning went into town to pick up some things(including 3doz ‘Castle Oatcakes)plenty of single lines to park on. Hanley needs to wise up... I’ve never really had a problem parking in Hanley. Free parking at the bottom end on Tesco, I think it’s about a quid for parking after 4pm for the night on the Potteries, free under 15 minutes (so best if you’re just nipping to one shop) and the street parking goes all the way down to 30p for a 15 minute pop into the shops. Newcastle annoys me more, the shortest rate anywhere seems to be up to an hour and is £1 odd, and the supermarkets are pay & display. I avoid Newcastle if I just need to nip to a shop. I'm not walking from Tesco's, it's in Shelton! As for parking for 15-30mins in the Potteries, it takes me that long to remember why I came into town in the 1st place 😔
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Post by metalhead on Jul 30, 2018 12:48:49 GMT
Did you see these gangs of youths Joe? Can't say I've seen much evidence, surprising really since the place is 'full of them'. No I don't see them. I remember back in my adolescence it used to be normal for Saturday afternoons fountain square to be packed with groups of people and often fights would occur. And they were all English speaking. In the last few years, I've had nights out in most of the major cities in England and many around the world. The only place I've seen it consistently kick off is Hanley. I've come to the conclusion it's because it suffers from small town syndrome. Everybody knows each other, and everyone has something on someone else etc. Oh, and they were all white, perhaps put it in the Cultural Enrichment thread?
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Post by neworleanstokie on Jul 30, 2018 20:34:45 GMT
Recently spent a long weekend in Nottingham. The city looked vibrant and much better than I remembered it from my Poly days back in the 80s. Stayed in the Lace Market, superb architecture. Sadly back in little S-o-T we have bulldozed our Victorian heritage and we are left with a pile of decaying 1960's/70's and 80's crap. Every year I go back more and more disappears.
The High St as we know it is not coming back - in order to survive you have to re-invent. I remember posting the same when smoking was banned in pubs. Yes a lot closed but the good ones survived by embracing the change. Councils and town planners need to do the same.
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Post by metalhead on Jul 30, 2018 20:55:34 GMT
Recently spent a long weekend in Nottingham. The city looked vibrant and much better than I remembered it from my Poly days back in the 80s. Stayed in the Lace Market, superb architecture. Sadly back in little S-o-T we have bulldozed our Victorian heritage and we are left with a pile of decaying 1960's/70's and 80's crap. Every year I go back more and more disappears. The High St as we know it is not coming back - in order to survive you have to re-invent. I remember posting the same when smoking was banned in pubs. Yes a lot closed but the good ones survived by embracing the change. Councils and town planners need to do the same. So how do we embrace the change? Keep the 70's grey monstrosities or knock them down with money we don't have? I totally agree with your point but I've just come the conclusion that Stoke is in a state of managed decline. Eventually, it will pick up, much like many other cities.... just not yet.
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Post by crapslinger on Jul 30, 2018 21:03:23 GMT
Recently spent a long weekend in Nottingham. The city looked vibrant and much better than I remembered it from my Poly days back in the 80s. Stayed in the Lace Market, superb architecture. Sadly back in little S-o-T we have bulldozed our Victorian heritage and we are left with a pile of decaying 1960's/70's and 80's crap. Every year I go back more and more disappears. The High St as we know it is not coming back - in order to survive you have to re-invent. I remember posting the same when smoking was banned in pubs. Yes a lot closed but the good ones survived by embracing the change. Councils and town planners need to do the same. So how do we embrace the change? Keep the 70's grey monstrosities or knock them down with money we don't have? I totally agree with your point but I've just come the conclusion that Stoke is in a state of managed decline. Eventually, it will pick up, much like many other cities.... just not yet. The towns with the highest vacancy rates: Burslem (Stoke-on-Trent) 29.4%Hanley (Stoke-on-Trent) 27.7%Hartlepool (North East) 27.3% West Bromwich (West Midlands) 27.1% Droylsden (North West) 26.8% Morecambe (North West) 26.8% Stoke-upon-Trent (Stoke-on-Trent) 26.6%Bootle (North West) 26.4% Walsall (West Midlands) 26.2%
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Post by metalhead on Jul 30, 2018 21:04:52 GMT
So how do we embrace the change? Keep the 70's grey monstrosities or knock them down with money we don't have? I totally agree with your point but I've just come the conclusion that Stoke is in a state of managed decline. Eventually, it will pick up, much like many other cities.... just not yet. The towns with the highest vacancy rates: Burslem (Stoke-on-Trent) 29.4%Hanley (Stoke-on-Trent) 27.7%Hartlepool (North East) 27.3% West Bromwich (West Midlands) 27.1% Droylsden (North West) 26.8% Morecambe (North West) 26.8% Stoke-upon-Trent (Stoke-on-Trent) 26.6%Bootle (North West) 26.4% Walsall (West Midlands) 26.2% Makes for fabulous reading doesn't it? Council should hang their heads in shame.
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Post by starkiller on Jul 30, 2018 21:19:31 GMT
Hanley should just be closed down. It was destroyed years ago when all the architecture of note was bulldozed. If someone told me I could never go to Hanley again, I'd thank them.
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Post by crapslinger on Jul 30, 2018 21:29:27 GMT
Hanley should just be closed down. It was destroyed years ago when all the architecture of note was bulldozed. If someone told me I could never go to Hanley again, I'd thank them. Based there for five years with work, finished working there five years ago been back three times out of necessity, absolute shit hole full of the dregs of life why would anyone wish to visit the place voluntarily ! expect of course Jo in Oz who despite of his username spends most of his life there
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Post by lagwafis on Jul 31, 2018 11:07:29 GMT
In terms of footfall it's a shame the university and train station isn't a little closer. Likewise there are some big companies on Festival Park such as Vodafone and bet365 that are 'a bit' too far away for people to wander into town during their working day / lunch breaks.
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Post by neworleanstokie on Jul 31, 2018 11:49:23 GMT
Recently spent a long weekend in Nottingham. The city looked vibrant and much better than I remembered it from my Poly days back in the 80s. Stayed in the Lace Market, superb architecture. Sadly back in little S-o-T we have bulldozed our Victorian heritage and we are left with a pile of decaying 1960's/70's and 80's crap. Every year I go back more and more disappears. The High St as we know it is not coming back - in order to survive you have to re-invent. I remember posting the same when smoking was banned in pubs. Yes a lot closed but the good ones survived by embracing the change. Councils and town planners need to do the same. So how do we embrace the change? Keep the 70's grey monstrosities or knock them down with money we don't have? I totally agree with your point but I've just come the conclusion that Stoke is in a state of managed decline. Eventually, it will pick up, much like many other cities.... just not yet. "Eventually, it will pick up"... was the problem I was referring too... keep doing the same and expecting a different result. Cities/Towns have to look 20-30 years ahead, retail will continue to move on-line or out of city centers. What opportunity there is will be service related. What S-o-T has going for it is people, a lot of people! The problem is it's not an affluent area due to the decline of local industries (thanks to my parent's generation lack of foresight). So yes you demolish and clear the nasty 60s,70s, and 80s non useable areas and green space it. Protect anything of architectural value and encourage renovation. Will places like Hanley have a much smaller footprint - yes. As for the decisions of the local councils I haven't seen much to be proud of - e.g. that new multicolored civic center, while there was an amazing Victorian building that was left behind that could have been renovated. S-o-T doesn't have much to offer but our heritage which has sadly not been protected.
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Post by Kenilworth_Stokies on Jul 31, 2018 11:54:43 GMT
So how do we embrace the change? Keep the 70's grey monstrosities or knock them down with money we don't have? I totally agree with your point but I've just come the conclusion that Stoke is in a state of managed decline. Eventually, it will pick up, much like many other cities.... just not yet. The towns with the highest vacancy rates: Burslem (Stoke-on-Trent) 29.4%Hanley (Stoke-on-Trent) 27.7%Hartlepool (North East) 27.3% West Bromwich (West Midlands) 27.1% Droylsden (North West) 26.8% Morecambe (North West) 26.8% Stoke-upon-Trent (Stoke-on-Trent) 26.6%Bootle (North West) 26.4% Walsall (West Midlands) 26.2% If you want to kick off a vibrant high street economy, the key is to encourage independents. The positive thing for the local authorities to do would be to offer half-price, or even zero, rates to non-chainstore businesses to open up in the town. In France, local authorities are obliged to have a certain percentage of non-chainstore businesses on the high street. The net result is, small, independent shops encourage business diversity, increase footfall, make the bigger premises more viable for chainstores and ultimately bring in more rates. By offering rates discounts to independent start-ups, you're offering a chance to local people to get a business off the ground, and thereby encouraging a new employer. Let's face it, if occupancy rates are as low as suggested above they're not going to lose any rates by encouraging a start-up business to occupy an already empty shop.
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Post by supersimonstainrod on Jul 31, 2018 12:55:26 GMT
The towns with the highest vacancy rates: Burslem (Stoke-on-Trent) 29.4%Hanley (Stoke-on-Trent) 27.7%Hartlepool (North East) 27.3% West Bromwich (West Midlands) 27.1% Droylsden (North West) 26.8% Morecambe (North West) 26.8% Stoke-upon-Trent (Stoke-on-Trent) 26.6%Bootle (North West) 26.4% Walsall (West Midlands) 26.2% If you want to kick off a vibrant high street economy, the key is to encourage independents. The positive thing for the local authorities to do would be to offer half-price, or even zero, rates to non-chainstore businesses to open up in the town. In France, local authorities are obliged to have a certain percentage of non-chainstore businesses on the high street. The net result is, small, independent shops encourage business diversity, increase footfall, make the bigger premises more viable for chainstores and ultimately bring in more rates. By offering rates discounts to independent start-ups, you're offering a chance to local people to get a business off the ground, and thereby encouraging a new employer. Let's face it, if occupancy rates are as low as suggested above they're not going to lose any rates by encouraging a start-up business to occupy an already empty shop. Seriously,you should be probably running our Council.
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Post by thevoid on Jul 31, 2018 12:59:55 GMT
So how do we embrace the change? Keep the 70's grey monstrosities or knock them down with money we don't have? I totally agree with your point but I've just come the conclusion that Stoke is in a state of managed decline. Eventually, it will pick up, much like many other cities.... just not yet. The towns with the highest vacancy rates: Burslem (Stoke-on-Trent) 29.4%Hanley (Stoke-on-Trent) 27.7%Hartlepool (North East) 27.3% West Bromwich (West Midlands) 27.1% Droylsden (North West) 26.8% Morecambe (North West) 26.8% Stoke-upon-Trent (Stoke-on-Trent) 26.6%Bootle (North West) 26.4% Walsall (West Midlands) 26.2% That's a disgrace.
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Post by JoeinOz on Aug 1, 2018 2:33:20 GMT
Hanley should just be closed down. It was destroyed years ago when all the architecture of note was bulldozed. If someone told me I could never go to Hanley again, I'd thank them. Based there for five years with work, finished working there five years ago been back three times out of necessity, absolute shit hole full of the dregs of life why would anyone wish to visit the place voluntarily ! expect of course Jo in Oz who despite of his username spends most of his life there I go there and see a rundown city centre. I've never felt unsafe there. I've never seen gangs hanging around foreign or otherwise. It isn't the Cotswolds but it isn't anything like the 'ghetto' some portray it to be. In comparison to many places it's tame and docile.
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Post by iancransonsknees on Aug 1, 2018 5:47:27 GMT
Based there for five years with work, finished working there five years ago been back three times out of necessity, absolute shit hole full of the dregs of life why would anyone wish to visit the place voluntarily ! expect of course Jo in Oz who despite of his username spends most of his life there I go there and see a rundown city centre. I've never felt unsafe there. I've never seen gangs hanging around foreign or otherwise. It isn't the Cotswolds but it isn't anything like the 'ghetto' some portray it to be. In comparison to many places it's tame and docile. The plan seems to be to make it the white dog turd standing out against a sea of brown fecal matter. I have the misfortune of having to spend some time in Cobridge. Seeing spice heads that clog that area staggering up towards the city centre like a zombie hoard explains a lot. As does having the enabling agency that calls itself Brighter Futures on the periphery of the CBD.
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Post by elystokie on Aug 1, 2018 5:57:33 GMT
Based there for five years with work, finished working there five years ago been back three times out of necessity, absolute shit hole full of the dregs of life why would anyone wish to visit the place voluntarily ! expect of course Jo in Oz who despite of his username spends most of his life there I go there and see a rundown city centre. I've never felt unsafe there. I've never seen gangs hanging around foreign or otherwise. It isn't the Cotswolds but it isn't anything like the 'ghetto' some portray it to be. In comparison to many places it's tame and docile. I was there yesterday, it was pretty busy especially for a Tuesday, usually the quietest day, probably down to the kids being off school. Didn't see any hordes of zombies or gangs of youths (non English speaking or otherwise). I did see an African bloke talking in a foreign language on his phone outside the Potteries centre but decided against reporting him. Think I'm either going at the wrong times or to a different part of Hanley it seems.
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Post by JoeinOz on Aug 1, 2018 7:14:36 GMT
I go there and see a rundown city centre. I've never felt unsafe there. I've never seen gangs hanging around foreign or otherwise. It isn't the Cotswolds but it isn't anything like the 'ghetto' some portray it to be. In comparison to many places it's tame and docile. The plan seems to be to make it the white dog turd standing out against a sea of brown fecal matter. I have the misfortune of having to spend some time in Cobridge. Seeing spice heads that clog that area staggering up towards the city centre like a zombie hoard explains a lot. As does having the enabling agency that calls itself Brighter Futures on the periphery of the CBD. There's a whole load of spice boys in Manchester. Which doesn't detract from my enjoyment of the place. The thing is Stoke isn't the only place these things happen. On the subject of spice has anyone here tried it? It doesn't seem pleasurable.
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Post by felonious on Aug 1, 2018 7:53:06 GMT
The lad went up there for a night out in a gang group* of ten on Monday night. I 'll ask him for some feedback when he's sobered up
* See what I did there
Interestingly I was chatting to one of the party from Blackburn who was saying he prefers a night out in Darwin because it's not as lairy.
I get to Hanley about once every 3 to 4 weeks and I don't see any of this crap that people are talking about. The Potters Arf is an absolute credit to the city or any other city in the UK for that matter.
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Post by elystokie on Aug 1, 2018 7:59:53 GMT
The lad went up there for a night out in a gang group* of ten on Monday night. I 'll ask him for some feedback when he's sobered up
* See what I did there
Interestingly I was chatting to one of the party from Blackburn who was saying he prefers a night out in Darwin because it's not as lairy.
I get to Hanley about once every 3 to 4 weeks and I don't see any of this crap that people are talking about. The Potters Arf is an absolute credit to the city or any other city in the UK for that matter. I haven't been for a night out in Hanley for years apart from theatre visits, I sometimes wonder how much it'll have changed. Needed your wits about you back then, kicked off quite often around the town to be fair, funny thing was pretty much everyone could only speak English...
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Post by JoeinOz on Aug 1, 2018 8:14:01 GMT
The lad went up there for a night out in a gang group* of ten on Monday night. I 'll ask him for some feedback when he's sobered up
* See what I did there
Interestingly I was chatting to one of the party from Blackburn who was saying he prefers a night out in Darwin because it's not as lairy.
I get to Hanley about once every 3 to 4 weeks and I don't see any of this crap that people are talking about. The Potters Arf is an absolute credit to the city or any other city in the UK for that matter. I haven't been for a night out in Hanley for years apart from theatre visits, I sometimes wonder how much it'll have changed. Needed your wits about you back then, kicked off quite often around the town to be fair, funny thing was pretty much everyone could only speak English... Yeah it did used to be more troublesome than it is now. For a night out drinking there is a dearth of options. Although there's a few remaining. Trinity St is for the young uns. Middle aged geezers like us gather in the unicorn.😁😁
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Post by elystokie on Aug 1, 2018 9:05:14 GMT
I haven't been for a night out in Hanley for years apart from theatre visits, I sometimes wonder how much it'll have changed. Needed your wits about you back then, kicked off quite often around the town to be fair, funny thing was pretty much everyone could only speak English... Yeah it did used to be more troublesome than it is now. For a night out drinking there is a dearth of options. Although there's a few remaining. Trinity St is for the young uns. Middle aged geezers like us gather in the unicorn.😁😁 No good further down Piccadilly of a night time then? I do use the Unicorn when we go to the Regent funnily enough It'd be so nice to see an outside cafe culture down there but something/someone needs to drive it and help out those small business owners down there.
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Post by JoeinOz on Aug 1, 2018 13:42:57 GMT
Yeah it did used to be more troublesome than it is now. For a night out drinking there is a dearth of options. Although there's a few remaining. Trinity St is for the young uns. Middle aged geezers like us gather in the unicorn.😁😁 No good further down Piccadilly of a night time then? I do use the Unicorn when we go to the Regent funnily enough It'd be so nice to see an outside cafe culture down there but something/someone needs to drive it and help out those small business owners down there. There's a few craft beer bars further down. One of tbem is called Marts I think. Next doorto the theatre is Bottle Craft. Both quite nice. There'sa decent food place but I can't remember what it's called.
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Post by metalhead on Aug 1, 2018 14:28:55 GMT
The plan seems to be to make it the white dog turd standing out against a sea of brown fecal matter. I have the misfortune of having to spend some time in Cobridge. Seeing spice heads that clog that area staggering up towards the city centre like a zombie hoard explains a lot. As does having the enabling agency that calls itself Brighter Futures on the periphery of the CBD. There's a whole load of spice boys in Manchester. Which doesn't detract from my enjoyment of the place. The thing is Stoke isn't the only place these things happen. On the subject of spice has anyone here tried it? It doesn't seem pleasurable. I haven't met anyone who has ever tried it. It seems to be a drug for the homeless. Gives the feeling of being warm, fuzzy and just knocks you out for hours (days if you 'top yourself up') on end. From what I gather, it's basically a synthetic form of marijuana but it's about 100x stronger. A recovering spice addict on 5Live said "an entire year went by in what felt like 3 weeks".
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