THE
PULIS: I WOULD HAVE LOVED TO SIGN SCHOLES
PA R T N E R S BARBER SHOP
Gift Vouchers Available 42 The Strand, Longton
Tel: 01782 326003
[P]
www.thepartnersbarbers.co.uk
Reporting local life since 1854
Friday, June 3, 2011
37p
BACK PAGE
BOARD GAME FOR FANS
GONE TO POT! Public spaces dream watered down as funding cut from £100m to £6m BY ALEX CAMPBELL alex.campbell@thesentinel.co.uk
OF CARS FOR SALE IN
Christmas Eve Edition
OUR MARTIN’S PANTO DEBUT
PINK
AFTER DARK CLUB
REVIEW: SEE PAGE 12
AWARD WINNER 2008 & 2009 (see main ad below)
[P]
www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk
[P] [P]
www.thisisthesentinel.co.uk Friday, May 11, 2007 www.thisisthesentinel.co.uk Friday, May 11, 2007
32p
£100m VISION OF CITY’S FUTURE BY DAVID JOHNSON
david.johnson@thesentinel.co.uk
MULTI-million pound plans to transform the city centre have been revealed for the first time today. Iconic five-storey high transparent bottle kiln structures, transformed public squares, shared spaces for cars and pedestrians, spectacular lighting and an amphitheatre are all part of the £100 million plans to put Stoke-on-Trent on the map. The designs are by internationally-renowned architects and designers Glenn Howells as part of its winning bid to kick-start Stoke-on-Trent’s economy by drawing in visitors from across the country. They were officially unveiled by the Princess Royal during a visit to the city today. Work will start within months – although the exact designs could change following public consultation – and the whole project is due to be finished by the end of 2010. Mark Meredith, elected mayor of Stoke-on-Trent, said: “Second best is not good enough. We will create a place that every resident of North Staffordshire can be proud of so they tell their family and their friends to come and look at our special city centre.” The designs feature water jets and a huge fountain in Fountain Square, and a Green Mile running through the city,
32p
connecting Central Forest Park with Hanley Park. After Princess Anne unveiled the designs at the Potteries museum Mr Meredith said: “She was really excited. We discussed the plans and she was very interested.” Councillor Roger Ibbs, who is Stoke-on-Trent born and bred, sat on the panel which chose the winning design. He said: “In my lifetime we will get one chance to really change things in Stoke-on-Trent. This is that time and we are going to do it properly.” The city council is putting up more than half of the £20 million of public money to be spent on Hanley’s transformation. The balance is coming from Government agency English Partnerships, and experts hope private sector investment will bring the amount invested to more than £100 million.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
‘The thing with Christmas is that it’s a bit like a rogue state – generally not a problem but harbouring the permanent threat of a nuclear explosion’
UNDER THREAT: How The Sentinel reported the plans to close care homes in February.
John Woodhouse: Page 10
And here’s Firms bid for £40m regeneration contract the news they didn’t want you to hear
GLASS KILN DREAM SHATTERED
COUNCIL chiefs have been accused of attempting to bury bad news after releasing the names of two care homes to be axed on the day the plans for the transformation of the city centre are to be unveiled during a Royal visit. Stoke-on-Trent City Council confirmed yesterday afternoon that Mill Hill home in Tunstall and Edith Beddow home in Hanford would be closed later this year. One politician believes the unveiling of the first two homes on the hit list was timed to coincide with the launch of plans to transform the city centre and the visit of Her Royal Highness BY IAIN ROBINSON Princess Anne. iain.robinson@thesentinel.co.uk Councillor Peter KentBaguley, leader of the THIRTY design firms are bidding for a Potteries Alliance, said: £40 million contract to transform the centre of Hanley, but the plans will not “They were probably banking on the fact that the include giant glass bottle kilns promclosures will be relegated to ised by the city council. Councillors yesterday agreed to page 29 of The Sentinel because so much coverage begin shortlisting bids for the Public Realm project, which will create new would be given to the plans squares and open spaces in the heart for the city centre and the of the city. royal visit.” The first phase will spruce up Percy A council spokesman said: Street and Tontine Street, although “We don’t accept this is bad the council still needs to raise the £40 million to complete the scheme. news. It comes almost three years “We believe this is what after Stoke-on-Trent City the people want.” What next for elderly residents? Page 39
Drugs found after blaze
33p
Council commissioned Birmingham-based architect firm Glen Howells to plan for the revamp. That £100 million vision was accepted in July 2007 and work was predicted to start by the end of 2008. But the eye-catching, fivestorey glass bottle kilns, which were to be dotted about the
NOT A RUDOLPH IN SIGHT... REINDEER NAME COMPETITION WINNERS: PAGE 4
£100m VISION: How we reported the plans to build giant glass bottle kilns in Hanley in May 2007. Below, former elected mayor Mark Meredith who spearheaded the scheme.
unique shopping experience never materialised. Stoke-on-Trent City Council says land acquisition and unforeseen groundwork problems held work up – until now. Former elected mayor Mark Meredith, who spearheaded the original scheme while in office, questioned why a new design was needed and why the value of the project had dropped by 60 per cent. He said: “We spent an awful lot of time and money on the previous design competition and I cannot fathom why we need another one. The glass bottle kilns would have been an iconic development and I’m extremely concerned that the cost of the project has dropped dramatically.” Mr Meredith added: “I understood that funding was available for this at the time, but we didn’t push it forward.” The winning team will be picked in February and its proposals will go out for public consultation in May before a planning application is made. Work on the fouryear project, which will modernise
Picture: Wesley Webster
FUNDING for dramatic plans to transform the centre of Hanley has plummeted from £100 million to £6 million. New figures reveal the scale of the decline of the Public Realm dream, once heralded as the rebirth of the city, but now a shadow of the original plan. Just four years ago the vision, which pledged four kiln-shaped glass pavilions as a centrepiece, was unveiled by Princess Anne, pictured below. After the five-storey kilns and other innovations did not materialise, a £40 million scheme to create squares and open spaces in the city was approved by Stoke-on-Trent City Council in 2009. Now the scheme has been scaled back yet again with the authority working on a new project for improving parts of the city centre for shoppers, investing £6 million of its own money. The original £100 million masterplan, set to be boosted by outside investment which has been restricted by the economic downturn, was approved in July 2007 and was due to start in late 2008. The project had been billed as a scheme to create new squares and open spaces in the heart of the city. But the city council now says the original £100 million figure included projects such as the new bus station, the Central Business District and the planned East West Shopping Centre. These are ventures being handled separately and are expected to go ahead. Council leader Mohammed Pervez said the original plans were “aspirational” and had been hampered by the economic climate. Combined with the council’s planned £6 million investment, Mr Pervez said the public realm projects still have significant funding. The new plans for the city
100s
Final CityCity Final
more than 860,000 sq ft (80,000 sq metres) of Hanley in six separate phases, is to begin in 2011. Final designs will focus on developing streets and public spaces, creating extra seating and improving paving, lighting and greenery. Cabinet member for regeneration, Councillor Brian Ward, said it was always the council’s intention to refine the 2007 masterplan. He added: “The Glen Howells scheme was a top-market plan, but it’s not clear whether the new design teams may come up with entirely new ones.” North Staffordshire Regeneration Partnership Public Realm project officer Owen Griffith said the aim of the new design competition is to come up with an affordable blueprint. He said: “It has to be a deliverable scheme within the budget that we have available. It is unlikely to include the bottle kilns from the earlier designs.”
£100m VISION: Our story in 2007 and in 2009 when plans for the giant glass kilns, pictured right, were scrapped. city centre as part of a POLICE officers are today hunting the occupier of a house where hundreds of cannabis plants were found following a fire. The plants were found growing in the upstairs of the house in Harpfields, downstairs, as well as in the loft.
The dawn of a new era: Pages 2, 3, 4 & 5; Comment: Page 8 To look at the whole proposal go to www.thisisthe sentinel.co.uk/ hanleyrevamp
Full story: Page 12
What do you think of the decision to abandon the glass bottle kilns plan? Email us at letters@ thesentinel.co.uk
PINK LOUNGE BAR & CLUB offers unmatched class!
We are dedicated to providing the very best entertainment. Evenings at PINK are hosted by some of the UK’s leading female impersonators.
Friday & Saturday - 7pm - 4am, Sunday, Monday & Thursday - 7pm - 3am, Tuesday & Wednesday - Closed.
www.pinkloungebarandclub.com Cultural Quarter, Piccadilly, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent
CELEBRATE NEW YEARS EVE @ PINK Hosted by Monique Diamond & Foxy Divine Open 7pm - 7am FREE ENTRY BEFORE 11pm Last admission at 3am
Exceed your expectations not your budget. You’ll be surprised to find how little it costs to get behind the wheel of a BMW 116i ES. BMW Select finance example – BMW 116i ES
The BMW 116i ES
34 monthly Payments of
On the road cash price**
£199.00
£17,152.70
Knights
Customer deposit
Dealer deposit contribution
Total deposit
First monthly payment
Amount of credit
Optional final payment
Total amount payable
£2,500.00
£2,000.00
£4,500.00
£324.00
£12,652.70
£8,074.50
£19,664.50
Pool Dam, Newcastle under Lyme ST5 2RP Tel: 01782 753900 Typical 8.4% APR Radford Bank, Lichfield Road, Stafford ST17 4PQ Tel: 01785 246999
Knights
The Ultimate Driving Machine
Fuel economy figures for the BMW 116i ES: Extra Urban 48.7mpg (5.8 l/100km), Urban 29.6mpg (10.5 l/100km), Combined 37.7mpg (7.5 l/100km), CO Emissions 179g/km.
2 Finance example is based on a 36 month BMW Select agreement for the model shown a BMW 116i ES with an annual mileage of 7,000 miles. **On the road cash price includes 3 year BMW Dealer Warranty, BMW Emergency Service, 12 months road fund licence, vehicle first registration fee, delivery, number plates and VAT. Prices are correct at time of going to press and subject to change without notice. All finance and hiring is subject to status and available to over 18s in the UK only (excluding the Channel Islands). Guarantees and indemnities may be required.
centre could include a new raised area and a water feature. Phase one will see work in Tontine Street and Percy Street, while Tontine Square and Fountain Square will follow in phase two. A report is being drawn up to re-start the scheme and is due before the city council’s cabinet in July. Brian Ward, cabinet member for regeneration at the time of the £40 million scheme’s approval, said today: “I was originally told the scheme might be too ambitious and everybody knew the money might not be there. But we thought we needed at least £15 million of the projected figure (£40 million) we were aiming for. Now we have less than half of that and it is nowhere near enough.” Councillor Ruth Rosenau, the authority’s current cabinet member for regeneration, said: “Funding for the city centre public realm works is now a lot more tight than it was a couple of years ago, when concepts were initially drawn up. “But the city council remains committed to creating environmental improvements in order to ensure the city centre is a vibrant, attractive place to visit and shop.”
BACK PAGE
Park cordoned off after death POLICE shut off a park while paramedics attended to a man who is believed to have suffered a heart attack. The 65-year-old man, who has not been named, was later pronounced dead at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire. Officers had to cordon off part of Burslem Park, near to The Lodge where the man was first seen, at about 10.55am yesterday. A visitor to the park alerted the ambulance service. A police spokesman said: “As with all sudden deaths we are now making inquiries.”
Pervert kept kids’ clothing POLICE officers discovered children’s clothes when investigating a complaint against pervert John Platt. Officers found the items at the home of the 50-year-old who just a few days earlier had tried to persuade a 10year-old girl to show him her knickers. See Page 3
Police to help late-night pub POLICE say they will work more closely with the owner of a trouble-plagued nightspot after a decision to reduce the venue’s opening hours was overtur ned. Brassingtons, in Newcastle town centre, will be able to continue to open until 2.30am on Fridays and Saturdays. See Page 14
WIN TICKETS TO SEE X-MEN SEE PAGE 24
What do you think? Email us at letters@thesentinel.co.uk How the dream was watered down: Page 6
SEN-eO1-S2 [P]