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Post by Billy the kid on Aug 26, 2020 22:28:57 GMT
North Staffordshire is a small conurbation with approx 400,000 population. In my view, what is needed is for the area to have a Unitary Local Authority with a leader who has vision as to how the area should develop. The area has many natural advantages, Central location, good rail connections with London - though East West connectivity is poor (why are there no direct rail connections between, say Liverpool, Crewe, Stoke, Derby and Nottingham/Leicester?). The area is within easy reach of the Peak District/Lake District/Snowdonia as well as other local beauty spots such as Cannock Chase and the Dane Valley. Many jobs were lost in the 80's as a result of Economic policies at the time. When this happens, I think Governments have a responsibility to encourage new jobs into the area. We got a Garden Festival with the legacy of Festival Park. The transport needs of the area need re thinking (tram system?).Much of our industrial heritage has been lost. Bigger cities, especially Manchester and Birmingham have had massive investment. Stoke does not have the "critical mass" to achieve this. When I visit the city, my heart sinks to see - for example - the shell of the old Twyfords factory rotting away for all to see from the D road or the railway and to see Longton with its betting shops, charity shops and ageing shopping centre and decaying buildings. I may be wrong, but I cannot remember any civic leader successfully promoting the area and lobbying effectively for inward investment. The people are, I think, amongst the friendliest in England - and they deserve better. The most constructive suggestion on the thread, and one I agree with (while not seeing how it'll happen with the vested interests involved). Andy Street and Andy Burnham seem to be doing a decent job of being figureheads for their regions with actual power to get stuff done. A scaled down version of that with the administration able to lay out a vision with the power to try to deliver it seems the best hope for the area. In the short term the clean sweep of Tory MPs and council control throughout Staffs is an opportunity for them to show what the can do. My hopes aren't high, but what went before didn't work either. The problem you have there is the locals don’t really rise up and complain, it is very much a local to stoke on Trent problem, people are very good at being complicit, and generally moaning and groaning, but getting on with it. Every other city or area that has had investment has had a local and influential social group pushing local and national politicians for change, here we have a shrug shoulders and we are only Stoke opinion, so being a local mp is more about visiting a nursing home and posing for photos, cos actually arguing the toss about the need and benefits or routing hs2 through stoke, the scandals less housing shortage and lack of regeneration of bow brown field sites across the city, the rail link to leek, the often ridiculed team system.... all they have to do is pay lip service to it because no one holds them to account, the 80 a new build city council head office was built, now it’s going to be sold off cheap maybe fore university accomodation, but fuck it let’s pay a shit load of cash on a new council HQ That looks about a out of place as an ash tray on the handle bars of a motor bike. Instead that cash could have gone a long wss as y to sort out the infrastructure in roads and transport etc for the whole city
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Post by danceswithclams on Aug 26, 2020 22:52:36 GMT
Plus the wife would kill me if I took any Class A's now 😂 Yet she actively enjoys it when I call round with a massive bag of madman 🤔
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Post by iancransonsknees on Aug 27, 2020 6:41:00 GMT
Nothing changed for the better or improved under local or national labour. I think most people who voted for CI/Tories did so because what have they got to lose. A bit of reading into Common Purpose is interesting when you see who the local members are, where they work and the influence they have. None of them are prepared to put aside their differences and work to better the city for everybody. It's all self interest and one-upmanship. A lack of any personal responsibility. Did Stoke get any sort of a bounce out of Blair's first couple of terms? Seemingly every Northern(ish) city centre got tarted up, and the investment in public services was noticeable across the piece. Assume schools and hospitals locally were improved, but can't see any evidence of regeneration otherwise. In short, no. The pathfinder project started, demolishing swathes of the city, then the money ran out. None of the sites were shovel ready so have only really started to be built on after tapping into funding recently to clean them up. Schools and hospitals that were replaced were all paid for using PFI meaning we're all still paying for the obscene maintenance contracts related to this for the next 25 years. The new hospital that was built then had to take on extra patients from Stafford after the scandal under a Labour run NHS in their own town. It's still suffering as a result of this and probably explains many of the issues with capacity there. Labour have never had to invest in Stoke because they took for granted they would always win the seats around here. Yet we'd still get sneered at as a city despite that party loyalty. The last election result locally is probably finally a reaction toward that complacency displayed by the Labour party towards Stoke and it's people. The local election results have gone the same way for likely the same reasons.
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Post by lordb on Aug 27, 2020 7:31:29 GMT
Did Stoke get any sort of a bounce out of Blair's first couple of terms? Seemingly every Northern(ish) city centre got tarted up, and the investment in public services was noticeable across the piece. Assume schools and hospitals locally were improved, but can't see any evidence of regeneration otherwise. In short, no. The pathfinder project started, demolishing swathes of the city, then the money ran out. None of the sites were shovel ready so have only really started to be built on after tapping into funding recently to clean them up. Schools and hospitals that were replaced were all paid for using PFI meaning we're all still paying for the obscene maintenance contracts related to this for the next 25 years. The new hospital that was built then had to take on extra patients from Stafford after the scandal under a Labour run NHS in their own town. It's still suffering as a result of this and probably explains many of the issues with capacity there. Labour have never had to invest in Stoke because they took for granted they would always win the seats around here. Yet we'd still get sneered at as a city despite that party loyalty. The last election result locally is probably finally a reaction toward that complacency displayed by the Labour party towards Stoke and it's people. The local election results have gone the same way for likely the same reasons. So will the Tories now invest here to keep the seats No sign so far Would a future Labour government realize they can't take Stoke votes for granted anymore and invest? Depressing
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Post by muggleton on Aug 27, 2020 8:07:35 GMT
Did Stoke get any sort of a bounce out of Blair's first couple of terms? Seemingly every Northern(ish) city centre got tarted up, and the investment in public services was noticeable across the piece. Assume schools and hospitals locally were improved, but can't see any evidence of regeneration otherwise. In short, no. The pathfinder project started, demolishing swathes of the city, then the money ran out. None of the sites were shovel ready so have only really started to be built on after tapping into funding recently to clean them up. Schools and hospitals that were replaced were all paid for using PFI meaning we're all still paying for the obscene maintenance contracts related to this for the next 25 years. The new hospital that was built then had to take on extra patients from Stafford after the scandal under a Labour run NHS in their own town. It's still suffering as a result of this and probably explains many of the issues with capacity there. Labour have never had to invest in Stoke because they took for granted they would always win the seats around here. Yet we'd still get sneered at as a city despite that party loyalty. The last election result locally is probably finally a reaction toward that complacency displayed by the Labour party towards Stoke and it's people. The local election results have gone the same way for likely the same reasons. Fair points, and the Pathfinder stuff rings a bell. Failed regen projects demoralise communities and snd the message that no one in power gives a fuck about the area. I've worked (junior level) on a PFI and felt the whole thing a smoke and mirrors job that made it almost impossible to compare to more traditional funding methods. It felt like a bad idea at the time, and they look disastrous as a model now, but I assume the benefit of them was they sped-up the process of actually building the infrastructure. Without PFI (which I agree is a shambles) there's a danger the work would've been delayed long enough that it never happened, as Stoke has seen in other sectors.
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Post by thevoid on Aug 27, 2020 8:20:03 GMT
I'm popping up Hanley today to collect something I've ordered (not drugs). I might run a book on how many times I'm asked for money.
Over/Under 2.5 @ 5/6. You can move the line for better odds 😉
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Post by muggleton on Aug 27, 2020 8:27:52 GMT
In short, no. The pathfinder project started, demolishing swathes of the city, then the money ran out. None of the sites were shovel ready so have only really started to be built on after tapping into funding recently to clean them up. Schools and hospitals that were replaced were all paid for using PFI meaning we're all still paying for the obscene maintenance contracts related to this for the next 25 years. The new hospital that was built then had to take on extra patients from Stafford after the scandal under a Labour run NHS in their own town. It's still suffering as a result of this and probably explains many of the issues with capacity there. Labour have never had to invest in Stoke because they took for granted they would always win the seats around here. Yet we'd still get sneered at as a city despite that party loyalty. The last election result locally is probably finally a reaction toward that complacency displayed by the Labour party towards Stoke and it's people. The local election results have gone the same way for likely the same reasons. So will the Tories now invest here to keep the seats No sign so far Would a future Labour government realize they can't take Stoke votes for granted anymore and invest? Depressing Well the floor is there's now the swept the floor in the County so let's see what they do. The cynic in me predicts talk of long term infrastructure that's several electoral cycles away and unlikely to ever happen (Leek train line), and jingoistic nationalism around Brexit to rally the troops. Neither of which be much use to anyone.
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Post by danceswithclams on Aug 27, 2020 8:31:07 GMT
I'm popping up Hanley today to collect something I've ordered (not drugs). I might run a book on how many times I'm asked for money. Over/Under 2.5 @ 5/6. You can move the line for better odds 😉 Depends where you park* Potteries Centre Multi-Story and walk down Town Rd towards the centre (Stan Matthews statue) then I'm going to plump for x4 incidents. Tesco and walk up to Piccadilly towards the centre and and I'm going for 5-7 times (depending on whether you go anywhere near Wilko or not) *other parking locations and routes are available
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Post by iancransonsknees on Aug 27, 2020 8:58:56 GMT
In short, no. The pathfinder project started, demolishing swathes of the city, then the money ran out. None of the sites were shovel ready so have only really started to be built on after tapping into funding recently to clean them up. Schools and hospitals that were replaced were all paid for using PFI meaning we're all still paying for the obscene maintenance contracts related to this for the next 25 years. The new hospital that was built then had to take on extra patients from Stafford after the scandal under a Labour run NHS in their own town. It's still suffering as a result of this and probably explains many of the issues with capacity there. Labour have never had to invest in Stoke because they took for granted they would always win the seats around here. Yet we'd still get sneered at as a city despite that party loyalty. The last election result locally is probably finally a reaction toward that complacency displayed by the Labour party towards Stoke and it's people. The local election results have gone the same way for likely the same reasons. So will the Tories now invest here to keep the seats No sign so far Would a future Labour government realize they can't take Stoke votes for granted anymore and invest? Depressing Same as it ever was. Unfortunately.
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Post by danceswithclams on Aug 27, 2020 9:05:32 GMT
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Post by muggleton on Aug 27, 2020 9:14:04 GMT
I'm popping up Hanley today to collect something I've ordered (not drugs). I might run a book on how many times I'm asked for money. Over/Under 2.5 @ 5/6. You can move the line for better odds 😉 Thoughts and prayers. 😁 Incidentally Ive only been asked for cash once that I can remember in Hanley on dozens of visits. Have definitely just been lucky as I know that's not the norm. Have found Manchester and (especially) Liverpool much worse for that.
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Post by muggleton on Aug 27, 2020 9:16:49 GMT
I'm popping up Hanley today to collect something I've ordered (not drugs). I might run a book on how many times I'm asked for money. Over/Under 2.5 @ 5/6. You can move the line for better odds 😉 Depends where you park* Potteries Centre Multi-Story and walk down Town Rd towards the centre (Stan Matthews statue) then I'm going to plump for x4 incidents. Tesco and walk up to Piccadilly towards the centre and and I'm going for 5-7 times (depending on whether you go anywhere near Wilko or not) *other parking locations and routes are availableOn the subject of parking I've had 2 parking tickets in Stoke, and never had one anywhere else in 20+ years of driving. So you can claim to have more efficient parking wardens than most places. So that's something I suppose.
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Post by thehartshillbadger on Aug 27, 2020 9:19:09 GMT
Depends where you park* Potteries Centre Multi-Story and walk down Town Rd towards the centre (Stan Matthews statue) then I'm going to plump for x4 incidents. Tesco and walk up to Piccadilly towards the centre and and I'm going for 5-7 times (depending on whether you go anywhere near Wilko or not) *other parking locations and routes are availableOn the subject of parking I've had 2 parking tickets in Stoke, and never had one anywhere else in 20+ years of driving. So you can claim to have more efficient parking wardens than most places. So that's something I suppose. Yeh you’d think they’d spend some of the money they make in issuing tickets on the horrendous pothole situation across the city
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Post by muggleton on Aug 27, 2020 10:21:39 GMT
On the subject of parking I've had 2 parking tickets in Stoke, and never had one anywhere else in 20+ years of driving. So you can claim to have more efficient parking wardens than most places. So that's something I suppose. Yeh you’d think they’d spend some of the money they make in issuing tickets on the horrendous pothole situation across the city Would be nice, though local authority finances are so dire I suspect they'll just be plugging a gap of funding lost elsewhere. Heard Stoke wardens cover outlying places like Stafford and Leek too, or is that an urban myth?
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Post by danceswithclams on Aug 27, 2020 11:04:03 GMT
Yeh you’d think they’d spend some of the money they make in issuing tickets on the horrendous pothole situation across the city Would be nice, though local authority finances are so dire I suspect they'll just be plugging a gap of funding lost elsewhere. Heard Stoke wardens cover outlying places like Stafford and Leek too, or is that an urban myth? It's a different authority in both those places so I imagine the parking wardens will be from Stafford Borough Council and Staffordshire Moorlands Council respectively. They're still cunts though.
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Post by muggleton on Aug 27, 2020 12:11:20 GMT
Would be nice, though local authority finances are so dire I suspect they'll just be plugging a gap of funding lost elsewhere. Heard Stoke wardens cover outlying places like Stafford and Leek too, or is that an urban myth? It's a different authority in both those places so I imagine the parking wardens will be from Stafford Borough Council and Staffordshire Moorlands Council respectively. They're still cunts though. Just looked it up (as I'm in an excruciatingly dull Zoom call at work) and all parking tickets in the county are processed by S-O-T Council Parking Enforcement, but can't see anything about the actual wardens. Suspect they are from the same (privatised) mob. Have dealings with Stafford and Staffs Moorlands councils through work and they've next to no staff left following the last decade of cuts, so would be surprised if they directly employ parking staff.
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Post by muggleton on Aug 27, 2020 12:22:16 GMT
It's a different authority in both those places so I imagine the parking wardens will be from Stafford Borough Council and Staffordshire Moorlands Council respectively. They're still cunts though. Just looked it up (as I'm in an excruciatingly dull Zoom call at work) and all parking tickets in the county are processed by S-O-T Council Parking Enforcement, but can't see anything about the actual wardens. Suspect they are from the same (privatised) mob. Have dealings with Stafford and Staffs Moorlands councils through work and they've next to no staff left following the last decade of cuts, so would be surprised if they directly employ parking staff. I'm down a rabbit hole with this now and am wading through the joint annual parking report from the County and City Councils. Parking wardens for the whole of the county except Tamworth are directly employed by Stoke City Council, so not a private mob as I thought. So that's one thing the council are getting right - being so good at dishing out tickets they can sell the service to neighbouring authorities. So the rest of the county can be miserable too.
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Post by thevoid on Aug 27, 2020 17:14:58 GMT
How long has Webberley's been a bookies? I thought they were making them into apartments?
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Post by thehartshillbadger on Aug 27, 2020 17:18:55 GMT
How long has Webberley's been a bookies? I thought they were making them into apartments? Think they decided to keep it as somewhere people could read at their leisure.
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Post by spiderpuss on Aug 27, 2020 23:43:25 GMT
How long has Webberley's been a bookies? I thought they were making them into apartments? Shit if true and shows how low Hanley has gone and how long I've bothered with the place. Replace learning and art with spunking your cash up the wall. Un-removable cancer.
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Post by supersimonstainrod on Aug 28, 2020 6:25:32 GMT
How long has Webberley's been a bookies? I thought they were making them into apartments? I think the original proposal was for retail/leisure space on the ground floor with apartments above,so may still be the plan?
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Post by muggleton on Aug 28, 2020 7:54:34 GMT
How long has Webberley's been a bookies? I thought they were making them into apartments? On a related note, any good 2nd hand bookshops locally/any charity shops with a decent stock? Been in a few in Hanley and they weren't great.
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Post by thehartshillbadger on Aug 29, 2020 9:48:23 GMT
Went into Newcastle yesterday for a few pints. Not been for a couple of years and my god I won’t be going back, can’t believe how downhill it’s gone. Went into Wetherspoons at 3 and it was like a match day pub. Went Yates’ and there was a bloke walking around with his top off threatening people with a golf club. Saw a female Monkey dust addict being all sweary and aggressive to a group of around 6 kids who were no older than about 12. Went Bulls head where said monkey duster came in and abused everyone in there saying she was going to burn the pub down. Went Blackfriar where there was a bloke going around telling everyone he had Coronavirus then was coughing and spitting everywhere when being wrestled out of the pub. There were 4 rough sleepers in the subway. Speaking of Subway there were 4 staff members stood in the doorway smoking. Christ what a state we’re in😬
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Post by iancransonsknees on Aug 29, 2020 10:10:42 GMT
Went into Newcastle yesterday for a few pints. Not been for a couple of years and my god I won’t be going back, can’t believe how downhill it’s gone. Went into Wetherspoons at 3 and it was like a match day pub. Went Yates’ and there was a bloke walking around with his top off threatening people with a golf club. Saw a female Monkey dust addict being all sweary and aggressive to a group of around 6 kids who were no older than about 12. Went Bulls head where said monkey duster came in and abused everyone in there saying she was going to burn the pub down. Went Blackfriar where there was a bloke going around telling everyone he had Coronavirus then was coughing and spitting everywhere when being wrestled out of the pub. There were 4 rough sleepers in the subway. Speaking of Subway there were 4 staff members stood in the doorway smoking. Christ what a state we’re in😬 Need to skirt the boundaries of castle to avoid the scrotes. Boat and Horses is open again. I think lymestones is too. The Albert is always decent. Used to love the Castle Mona but there were some dickhead locals in their last time I was in. Cunts have ruined the blackfriar turning it into an 'ordinary' pub.
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Post by thehartshillbadger on Aug 29, 2020 10:17:16 GMT
Went into Newcastle yesterday for a few pints. Not been for a couple of years and my god I won’t be going back, can’t believe how downhill it’s gone. Went into Wetherspoons at 3 and it was like a match day pub. Went Yates’ and there was a bloke walking around with his top off threatening people with a golf club. Saw a female Monkey dust addict being all sweary and aggressive to a group of around 6 kids who were no older than about 12. Went Bulls head where said monkey duster came in and abused everyone in there saying she was going to burn the pub down. Went Blackfriar where there was a bloke going around telling everyone he had Coronavirus then was coughing and spitting everywhere when being wrestled out of the pub. There were 4 rough sleepers in the subway. Speaking of Subway there were 4 staff members stood in the doorway smoking. Christ what a state we’re in😬 Need to skirt the boundaries of castle to avoid the scrotes. Boat and Horses is open again. I think lymestones is too. The Albert is always decent. Used to love the Castle Mona but there were some dickhead locals in their last time I was in. Cunts have ruined the blackfriar turning it into an 'ordinary' pub. Ah yes went in the boat and horses, the highlight of an otherwise soul destroying afternoon. The Castle Mona is very close to be yet I’ve never been in, I’ll have to give it a try👍🏻. The Blackfriars booze is ridiculously cheap, probably explains the low lives in there. Ended up in Sutherland Arms in Stoke. That was sound
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Post by iancransonsknees on Aug 29, 2020 10:27:47 GMT
Need to skirt the boundaries of castle to avoid the scrotes. Boat and Horses is open again. I think lymestones is too. The Albert is always decent. Used to love the Castle Mona but there were some dickhead locals in their last time I was in. Cunts have ruined the blackfriar turning it into an 'ordinary' pub. Ah yes went in the boat and horses, the highlight of an otherwise soul destroying afternoon. The Castle Mona is very close to be yet I’ve never been in, I’ll have to give it a try👍🏻. The Blackfriars booze is ridiculously cheap, probably explains the low lives in there. Ended up in Sutherland Arms in Stoke. That was sound The Suth is quality.
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Post by thevoid on Aug 29, 2020 10:33:35 GMT
How long has Webberley's been a bookies? I thought they were making them into apartments? I think the original proposal was for retail/leisure space on the ground floor with apartments above,so may still be the plan? If I was buying an apartment I don't think I'd want it above a bookies 🤔
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Post by innocentbystander on Aug 29, 2020 14:25:38 GMT
How long has Webberley's been a bookies? I thought they were making them into apartments? On a related note, any good 2nd hand bookshops locally/any charity shops with a decent stock? Been in a few in Hanley and they weren't great. Likewise. I get books from the library or charity shops, both currently unavailable. I'm out in the country where lots of village phone boxes have a motley selection - but Abacas Books in Milton is open with good stock at fair prices.
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Post by richie22 on Aug 29, 2020 14:48:56 GMT
For the next ten years I want our local leadership/council to give there heads a wobble and identify which of our towns they’re going to call our city center (Hanley) and get on with it instead of a half arsed effort, put some green space/escape space in the town such as by the old bus station. Make Hanley a destination town with bars and eateries that are diverse, maybe introduce street food as a regular thing, and put them in an area instead of spread all over. Whilst this is ongoing spread the wealth amongst the other towns, develop what they already have , embrace there history. That dude from the sentinel was on radio the other day saying what great buildings they have in boslem and how they are criminally underused, make a town like that a go to for ceramic art etc. Put someone like valentine clays in there that can run some sort of hands on experience and encourage ameture potters to get in there. Bring people in, make stoke a town that embraces its links to the nearby uni....... what I’m trying to say is try shit instead of giving us a city that will be all right when it’s finished. A phrase I’ve heard for 38 years
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Post by iancransonsknees on Aug 29, 2020 15:11:27 GMT
For the next ten years I want our local leadership/council to give there heads a wobble and identify which of our towns they’re going to call our city center (Hanley) and get on with it instead of a half arsed effort, put some green space/escape space in the town such as by the old bus station. Make Hanley a destination town with bars and eateries that are diverse, maybe introduce street food as a regular thing, and put them in an area instead of spread all over. Whilst this is ongoing spread the wealth amongst the other towns, develop what they already have , embrace there history. That dude from the sentinel was on radio the other day saying what great buildings they have in boslem and how they are criminally underused, make a town like that a go to for ceramic art etc. Put someone like valentine clays in there that can run some sort of hands on experience and encourage ameture potters to get in there. Bring people in, make stoke a town that embraces its links to the nearby uni....... what I’m trying to say is try shit instead of giving us a city that will be all right when it’s finished. A phrase I’ve heard for 38 years Fuck all chance of any of that happening.
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