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Post by maninasuitcase on Oct 14, 2021 0:07:15 GMT
An total eye opener for me.
Lots of investment going on, with new buildings going up, and a lot of inner city accommodation.
The city centre was absolutely rammed as well.
People everywhere enjoying a night out.
Pubs, bars and eateries all busy at 11pm.
By total contrast i got back to stoke at midnight and it was deader than a mortuary, with the A500 closed and half of longton being held up by scaffolding.
Saddens me that the city i was born in and love has fallen into such a state.
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Post by heworksardtho on Oct 14, 2021 4:42:54 GMT
An total eye opener for me. Lots of investment going on, with new buildings going up, and a lot of inner city accommodation. The city centre was absolutely rammed as well. People everywhere enjoying a night out. Pubs, bars and eateries all busy at 11pm. By total contrast i got back to stoke at midnight and it was deader than a mortuary, with the A500 closed and half of longton being held up by scaffolding. Saddens me that the city i was born in and love has fallen into such a state. Totally true , I drive all over the U.K. and Stoke on Trent looks like the land that time forgot |
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Post by werrington on Oct 14, 2021 5:38:40 GMT
That’s because the people from other cities embrace change and investment
Stoke-on-Trent people just moan their bollocks off and ask “ what the fuck do we need that for”
Every time something gets mentioned about Hanley it gets slaughtered on here and in the local rags comments columns
As we sit there are rumours about an arena being built on the old bus station site and again it gets questioned and “who the fuck wants to come to Hanley” comments by those people from this city ….it’s no wonder it’s getting left behind
Those moaning about it and lack of investment in shops and nightlife in Hanley need to look in the mirror
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Post by westlandstokie on Oct 14, 2021 6:34:06 GMT
An total eye opener for me. Lots of investment going on, with new buildings going up, and a lot of inner city accommodation. The city centre was absolutely rammed as well. People everywhere enjoying a night out. Pubs, bars and eateries all busy at 11pm. By total contrast i got back to stoke at midnight and it was deader than a mortuary, with the A500 closed and half of longton being held up by scaffolding. Saddens me that the city i was born in and love has fallen into such a state. We have friends who live in Nottingham and we have nights out there quite often…yes it’s a great night out…loads of restaurants and even more pubs and bars. Stoke…I don’t know what to say…my daughter has moved to London for her further education and already she is saying she doesn’t think she will move back to Stoke because there’s nothing to do. My son and his girlfriend are looking at moving to Canada and who can blame them ? I don’t know what the answer is in Stoke. |
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Post by maninasuitcase on Oct 14, 2021 6:42:32 GMT
An total eye opener for me. Lots of investment going on, with new buildings going up, and a lot of inner city accommodation. The city centre was absolutely rammed as well. People everywhere enjoying a night out. Pubs, bars and eateries all busy at 11pm. By total contrast i got back to stoke at midnight and it was deader than a mortuary, with the A500 closed and half of longton being held up by scaffolding. Saddens me that the city i was born in and love has fallen into such a state. We have friends who live in Nottingham and we have nights out there quite often…yes it’s a great night out…loads of restaurants and even more pubs and bars. Stoke…I don’t know what to say…my daughter has moved to London for her further education and already she is saying she doesn’t think she will move back to Stoke because there’s nothing to do. My son and his girlfriend are looking at moving to Canada and who can blame them ? I don’t know what the answer is in Stoke. It a hard one to fathom. It felt like another world with the hustle and bustle. The other thing i noticed was the amount of public transport still running as well. Lots of buses and trams. If theres one thing thats probably killed Stoke on trent its the lack of decent transport options. People won't ever go out if they cant get home. |
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Post by zerps on Oct 14, 2021 7:23:13 GMT
An total eye opener for me. Lots of investment going on, with new buildings going up, and a lot of inner city accommodation. The city centre was absolutely rammed as well. People everywhere enjoying a night out. Pubs, bars and eateries all busy at 11pm. By total contrast i got back to stoke at midnight and it was deader than a mortuary, with the A500 closed and half of longton being held up by scaffolding. Saddens me that the city i was born in and love has fallen into such a state. We have friends who live in Nottingham and we have nights out there quite often…yes it’s a great night out…loads of restaurants and even more pubs and bars. Stoke…I don’t know what to say…my daughter has moved to London for her further education and already she is saying she doesn’t think she will move back to Stoke because there’s nothing to do. My son and his girlfriend are looking at moving to Canada and who can blame them ? I don’t know what the answer is in Stoke. Tactical nuke? |
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Post by zerps on Oct 14, 2021 7:24:53 GMT
We have friends who live in Nottingham and we have nights out there quite often…yes it’s a great night out…loads of restaurants and even more pubs and bars. Stoke…I don’t know what to say…my daughter has moved to London for her further education and already she is saying she doesn’t think she will move back to Stoke because there’s nothing to do. My son and his girlfriend are looking at moving to Canada and who can blame them ? I don’t know what the answer is in Stoke. It a hard one to fathom. It felt like another world with the hustle and bustle. The other thing i noticed was the amount of public transport still running as well. Lots of buses and trams. If theres one thing thats probably killed Stoke on trent its the lack of decent transport options. People won't ever go out if they cant get home. There’s nowhere to go anyway mate. Where the fuck would you go for a meal up hanley? It’s a pathetic city where the canals are ignored and the smackheads own the city centre. |
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Post by cheadlepotter on Oct 14, 2021 8:07:38 GMT
The Potteries Centre is in a sorry state at the moment. Quite a few empty units and the new ones are awful. The shop that’s replaced Peacocks having badly creased clothes in the display window, nice. The shopping area of Hanley is a dump on the whole, stuck in a time gone by like much of Stoke-On-Trent.
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Post by werrington on Oct 14, 2021 8:15:52 GMT
The Potteries Centre is in a sorry state at the moment. Quite a few empty units and the new ones are awful. The shop that’s replaced Peacocks having badly creased clothes in the display window, nice. The shopping area of Hanley is a dump on the whole, stuck in a time gone by like much of Stoke-On-Trent. Apart from the city centre it’s no different to any other city |
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Post by eddyclamp on Oct 14, 2021 9:12:01 GMT
The Potteries Centre is in a sorry state at the moment. Quite a few empty units and the new ones are awful. The shop that’s replaced Peacocks having badly creased clothes in the display window, nice. The shopping area of Hanley is a dump on the whole, stuck in a time gone by like much of Stoke-On-Trent. Apart from the city centre it’s no different to any other city if that`s the case why do so many folk go shopping in Manchester and Birmingham , my Mrs. will not go anywhere near Hanley due to feeling not safe. That`s in the middle of the day ffs. Until social issues can be addressed in places like Hanley there is no way forward. I have said it before, you can`t polish a turd. |
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Post by iancransonsknees on Oct 14, 2021 9:13:30 GMT
I've said this on here before, when I started working in and around the city involved in regeneration and maintenance a quite high up council officer gave us a presentation and openly said that everyone in the room would be dead by the time Stoke was regenerated.
That was 16 years ago. I thought he was a prick at the time for saying it, but the longer I've bounced around the area and had things to do now and again with that side of things he increasingly looks like he was absolutely spot on.
It's dead on its arse and you don't have the leadership to pull it out of its tailspin.
Please bear in mind when you slag the local authority off the the Councillors are adamant that it's a "councillor lead authority, not an officer lead authority." The officers are simply there to undertake the councillors bidding, no more & no less. The buck stops with the elected officials.
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Post by eddyclamp on Oct 14, 2021 9:19:04 GMT
I drive through Stoke centre everyday, the social issues are massive and get bigger every week, smackheads,beggars and fighting in the middle of the day is the norm.
This I see with my own eyes.
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Post by cheadlepotter on Oct 14, 2021 9:23:31 GMT
The Potteries Centre is in a sorry state at the moment. Quite a few empty units and the new ones are awful. The shop that’s replaced Peacocks having badly creased clothes in the display window, nice. The shopping area of Hanley is a dump on the whole, stuck in a time gone by like much of Stoke-On-Trent. Apart from the city centre it’s no different to any other city I don’t know, it’s a bit rough between Bucknall and Cellarhead 😉 I should have perhaps been clearer in what I meant in regards to much of SOT. I meant that the attitudes of folk are stuck in a time gone by. Up until very recently I spent my whole life living in Cheadle, I’m only next door now though, and folk are so resistant to change there. As for the towns like Longton, Fenton etc, I agree they are very much like the outskirts of the bigger cities. |
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Post by iancransonsknees on Oct 14, 2021 9:26:54 GMT
I drive through Stoke centre everyday, the social issues are massive and get bigger every week, smackheads,beggars and fighting in the middle of the day is the norm. This I see with my own eyes. Just look at the Lily Gertrude Simister Court story in The Sentinel. www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/stoke-on-trent-news/life-inside-tunstall-homeless-shelter-6023129The officer running it for the housing group managing the project openly admits she's allowing drug taking on the premises! Is it any surprise that an area high on the indices of deprivation like Tunstall is gets turned into a dumping ground? What are the consequences for Concrete encouraging this behaviour? Local residents are calling for CCTV and alley gates, surely the 'charitable organisation' managing the project should fund this request, not the local taxpayer or an already under funded authority. Concrete have won a bid to manage and run the project, any consequential asbo issues which require physical measures to be taken should come from their budget. |
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Post by werrington on Oct 14, 2021 10:02:30 GMT
Apart from the city centre it’s no different to any other city if that`s the case why do so many folk go shopping in Manchester and Birmingham , my Mrs. will not go anywhere near Hanley due to feeling not safe. That`s in the middle of the day ffs. Until social issues can be addressed in places like Hanley there is no way forward. I have said it before, you can`t polish a turd. I’m not sure of your point l as I said apart from HANLEY it’s no different to anywhere else You’ve virtually backed up my post My original post above it spells out the problems of this great city and 90% of its negatives come from its people |
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Post by eddyclamp on Oct 14, 2021 10:12:45 GMT
if that`s the case why do so many folk go shopping in Manchester and Birmingham , my Mrs. will not go anywhere near Hanley due to feeling not safe. That`s in the middle of the day ffs. Until social issues can be addressed in places like Hanley there is no way forward. I have said it before, you can`t polish a turd. I’m not sure of your point l as I said apart from HANLEY it’s no different to anywhere else You’ve virtually backed up my post My original post above it spells out the problems of this great city and 90% of its negatives come from its people Sorry fella mis-read on my part |
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Post by cerebralstokie on Oct 14, 2021 11:06:02 GMT
I wonder how effective (or not) the Council has been in the past in coming up with creative and viable plans for renewal. I suspect that the campaign for being City of Culture 2020 was not as professionally done as some of the other cities. I notice that the Conservative controlled Council now seems to be more active in coming up with plans for renewal of parts of the city than was the case before but we are a long way behind some other cities. The geography of Stoke on Trent with six separate towns is not helpful. The North Staffordshire conurbation should have s unitary authority - some plans submitted seem to me to be made as though Newcastle does not exist. We are getting a lot of coverage on the BBC largely I suspect because it is a quick rail journey from London and Stoke is viewed as being a typical deprived northern city.
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Post by lordb on Oct 14, 2021 11:06:54 GMT
if that`s the case why do so many folk go shopping in Manchester and Birmingham , my Mrs. will not go anywhere near Hanley due to feeling not safe. That`s in the middle of the day ffs. Until social issues can be addressed in places like Hanley there is no way forward. I have said it before, you can`t polish a turd. I’m not sure of your point l as I said apart from HANLEY it’s no different to anywhere else You’ve virtually backed up my post My original post above it spells out the problems of this great city and 90% of its negatives come from its people anywhere else? come on that's simply not true there are plenty of other places which are in a a very similar state to us, some are worse, but there are also lots of others places that are clearly miles better than what we have |
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Post by iancransonsknees on Oct 14, 2021 11:36:58 GMT
I wonder how effective (or not) the Council has been in the past in coming up with creative and viable plans for renewal. I suspect that the campaign for being City of Culture 2000 was not as professionally done as some of the other cities. I notice that the Conservative controlled Council now seems to be more active in coming up with plans for renewal of parts of the city than was the case before but we are a long way behind some other cities. The geography of Stoke on Trent with six separate towns is not helpful. The North Staffordshire conurbation should have s unitary authority - some plans submitted seem to me to be made as though Newcastle does not exist. We are getting a lot of coverage on the BBC largely I suspect because it is a quick rail journey from London and Stoke is viewed as being a typical deprived northern city. Newcastle doesn't want to be involved. They've aligned themselves with the other boroughs. www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1704536/council-withdraws-joint-local-plan-potteries |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 14, 2021 12:01:43 GMT
The Potteries Centre is in a sorry state at the moment. Quite a few empty units and the new ones are awful. The shop that’s replaced Peacocks having badly creased clothes in the display window, nice. The shopping area of Hanley is a dump on the whole, stuck in a time gone by like much of Stoke-On-Trent. Apart from the city centre it’s no different to any other city Not so sure. Stoke and Liverpool take some beating. Some of those refugees who get out of lorries from Syria etc must want to get back in and go back home when they arrive. Gone from pretty bad to even worse last 10 years or so. |
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Post by neworleanstokie on Oct 14, 2021 12:02:16 GMT
I lived in Nottingham from 84-88. The city centre was a great night out even back then, especially if you were a student (Trent Poly). We held our 30 year reunion there a couple of years ago and stayed in a lovely hotel in the Lace Market. We were all impressed by how good the city looked and had a great time visiting our old haunts (Rock City, Yates' etc.)
Going back to Stoke 30 years later I avoid going up Hanley or sadly even Newcastle.. which back in the 80s was a reasonably nice town for shopping etc.
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Post by harryburrows on Oct 14, 2021 12:05:41 GMT
The Potteries Centre is in a sorry state at the moment. Quite a few empty units and the new ones are awful. The shop that’s replaced Peacocks having badly creased clothes in the display window, nice. The shopping area of Hanley is a dump on the whole, stuck in a time gone by like much of Stoke-On-Trent. Apart from the city centre it’s no different to any other city I always thought the fragmentation of the 6 town centres + Newcastle has worked against the city in preventing a clear development of a city centre |
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Post by crouchpotato1 on Oct 14, 2021 12:05:49 GMT
As a regular visitor to Nottingham I concur that it’s a vibrant,lively city compared to a lot of cities(not just Stoke).Its way ahead of Derby where I live and I’d imagine a hell of a lot better than many more.
Derby is in the last 6 for the City of Culture 2025🤣(god knows how) and that’s not running it down either.
Also as mentioned the transport infrastructure around Nottingham City is excellent especially the tram system.Maybe council leaders around the Midlands need to make a visit to Nottingham and see what they’re doing well there.Christmas in the Market Square is excellent also and well worth a visit
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Post by werrington on Oct 14, 2021 12:08:51 GMT
Apart from the city centre it’s no different to any other city I always thought the fragmentation of the 6 town centres + Newcastle has worked against the city in preventing a clear development of a city centre That 5 towns bollocks holds it back |
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Post by werrington on Oct 14, 2021 12:10:41 GMT
Apart from the city centre it’s no different to any other city Not so sure. Stoke and Liverpool take some beating. Some of those refugees who get out of lorries from Syria etc must want to get back in and go back home when they arrive. Gone from pretty bad to even worse last 10 years or so. Liverpool? Fuck me it’s going from the bizarre to the ridiculous now |
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Post by mickeythemaestro on Oct 14, 2021 12:18:23 GMT
I've said this on here before, when I started working in and around the city involved in regeneration and maintenance a quite high up council officer gave us a presentation and openly said that everyone in the room would be dead by the time Stoke was regenerated. That was 16 years ago. I thought he was a prick at the time for saying it, but the longer I've bounced around the area and had things to do now and again with that side of things he increasingly looks like he was absolutely spot on. It's dead on its arse and you don't have the leadership to pull it out of its tailspin. Please bear in mind when you slag the local authority off the the Councillors are adamant that it's a "councillor lead authority, not an officer lead authority." The officers are simply there to undertake the councillors bidding, no more & no less. The buck stops with the elected officials.Correct. But they are a bunch of unqualified jobsworths. They have ZERO vision and look only at their local political interest. All a big game of one upmanship. Stoke needs a planning and regeneration Tsar to come in and kick the living shit out of the place and inject some vision. Howard Bernstein did it in Manchester and look at that place now compared to the absolute shit hole it was in the mid 80s. He may have been a bit dodgy but he revolutionised Manchester. Stoke is a regeneration authority, they should be pulling out every stop in the book to get development activity going. But they would rather spend hours in planning committees discussing what shade of brick a building should be in. I've been in development for the last 20 plus years. I gave up on Stoke a long time ago. The council is absolutely NOT fit for purpose. And what makes it worse is Stoke has many many things going for it. M6 (2 Junctions), 4 major airports inside an hours drive, on the London/Manchester mainline, slap bang in the middle of the 2nd and 3rd largest cities in the country (both less than an hours drive away), a cheap labour force, surrounded by incredible countryside and the list goes on. It's an absolute travesty what the powers that be have done, or rather NOT done with the place. |
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Post by Gifton on Oct 14, 2021 13:03:41 GMT
I live in Nottingham and I'll tell you one thing, the city may piss all over Stoke but the people don't come close. I miss Stokie folk so much.
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Post by questionable on Oct 14, 2021 13:17:32 GMT
That’s because the people from other cities embrace change and investment Stoke-on-Trent people just moan their bollocks off and ask “ what the fuck do we need that for” Every time something gets mentioned about Hanley it gets slaughtered on here and in the local rags comments columns As we sit there are rumours about an arena being built on the old bus station site and again it gets questioned and “who the fuck wants to come to Hanley” comments by those people from this city ….it’s no wonder it’s getting left behind Those moaning about it and lack of investment in shops and nightlife in Hanley need to look in the mirror The main problem is that everywhere you look Hanley, well Stoke as a whole is a total dump really. Take Hanley as an example the new Cinema complex went up right next to Hope Street and a matter of yards from where the drug link place is, it’s eye opening that place is as there’s a little city of druggies camped out. There should be a rolling development plan for Hanley as an entirety not just plonking an all singing and dancing new complex right next to a pile of shit then thinking what a wonderful job we’ve done, I’ve only visited the new complex once and wouldn’t go again as it’s a shit hole surrounding it and the locals were literally rolling around the pavement on monkey dust, lovely sight. |
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Post by mrcoke on Oct 14, 2021 13:36:28 GMT
Stoke has suffered from a historical dependence on smokestack industries and coal mining, marlpits, etc. Nottingham also had coal mining but had other industries like lace, Raleigh bikes, Boots. Stoke has suffered from the fragmentation of the six towns and unification as a city was artificial in a way. Geographically it is laid out as a long strip of separate communities, each with a town hall etc. Nottingham was always one large conurbation with a centre for major community buildings. Nottingham also had a strong community identity with the goose fair and a long history going back to Norman times with the castle, etc. Nottingham is not alone. There are other cities with a thriving community and night life. The Newcastle night life has been renowned for many years. Leeds is one of the major investment centres of Europe with massive investment and a rapidly growing financial services industry. www.chroniclelive.co.uk/whats-on/music-nightlife-news/things-night-out-in-newcastle-16872678www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/news/article/leeds-the-uk-financial-powerhouse-planning-a-digital-future-at-the-heart-of-europe |
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Post by mickeythemaestro on Oct 14, 2021 13:39:23 GMT
That’s because the people from other cities embrace change and investment Stoke-on-Trent people just moan their bollocks off and ask “ what the fuck do we need that for” Every time something gets mentioned about Hanley it gets slaughtered on here and in the local rags comments columns As we sit there are rumours about an arena being built on the old bus station site and again it gets questioned and “who the fuck wants to come to Hanley” comments by those people from this city ….it’s no wonder it’s getting left behind Those moaning about it and lack of investment in shops and nightlife in Hanley need to look in the mirror The main problem is that everywhere you look Hanley, well Stoke as a whole is a total dump really. Take Hanley as an example the new Cinema complex went up right next to Hope Street and a matter of yards where the drug link place is, it’s eye opening that place is as there’s a little city of druggies camped out. There should be a rolling development plan for Hanley as an entirety not just plonking an all singing and dancing new complex next to a pile of shit then thinking what a wonderful job we’ve done, I’ve only only once used the new complex once and wouldn’t go again as it a shit hole surrounding it and the locals were literally rolling around the pavement on monkey dust, lovely sight. Stoke needs an all encompassing masterplan. One that is put together by very talented but very expensive planning and regeneration experts. They need to be led by a brave no nonsense visionary heading up the councils regeneration plan with a mission of turning Stoke around. They also need to use sweeping compulsory purchase orders over vast swathes of the city to facilitate the vision of the experts. This is what happened with Ancoats/Northern Quarter north of Manchester City Centre with regard to CPO's. Most of the land had been bought up by rich Arabians and the likes on the off chance Manchester won their very ambitious Olympic bid back in the 80s. They didn't and as a result the ownership had become very fragmented and owned by very wealthy people who mostly lived abroad, who had little incentive to bother selling. And Manchester having the balls to mount an Olympic bid paid off in the end as it enabled them to get the Commonwealth Games in 2002 which was a massive boost to the regions profile. Ancoats went from somewhere you wouldn't go even during day time to a place where young ambitious professionals are proud to call their home. |
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