The Angel – Issue 8, Spring 2008

the

ANGEL

AN UPDATE ON BURSLEM REGENERATION PROGRESS ISSUE 8 Spring 2008

Revised plans for former Royal Doulton site unveiled Page three

Healthcare boost for Burslem centre pages

Masterplan wisdom still prevails

By Hugh Edwards Chairman of The Burslem Regeneration Company

IN 2004, the Burslem Masterplan drawn up by consultants W.S. Atkins was published. The culmination of almost two years’ work, the Masterplan was the most significant study ever undertaken for the Mother Town.

Issued as supplmentary planning guidance, the Masterplan had sharp teeth, but those teeth were never used to bite hard. For some the strength of Atkins’ work was an embarrassment, and weak decisions issued in its name were seen for what they were – weak!

Happily, the Atkins Masterplan is still in place.

Wisdom has prevailed and new consultants, Hypostyle, have been instructed to update it to cater for changes that have either occurred naturally or by neglect since it was first published.

The original work was strong enough to stand the test of time. Further consultation is virtualy unnecessary, and those charged with the responsibility of implementing the Masterplan have seen this with commendable clarity.

So too have the developers.

They have a small moment of time to clamber through the eye of a needle. We should be under no illusion about this.

Good development comes about by implementing sound planning principles, and as good a starting point as any will be the decisions taken on the former Doulton site in Nile Street.

The Masterplan will continue to hold the line between successful and unsuccessful regeneration of the Mother Town.

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An artist’s impression shows how Swan Square will look.

‘Ugly duckling’ to be beautiful Swan piazza SWAN Square is soon to be transformed from an “ugly duckling” town centre site into an attractive Continental-style public piazza.

The £268,000 project has already seen the demolition of the ageing subterranean toilets, which have been filled in to make way for a number of stylish “wow factor” features, some of which were suggested by residents.

Work on the final phase of the exciting Swan Square scheme, developed by the city council and the Regeneration

Partnership to improve an important gateway to the Mother Town, starts in midMay and, weather permitting, will take three months to complete.

A gravel terrace and sandstone features will help create a 21st century public space, ideal for meeting friends, passing the time or stopping for a sandwich. Part of the piazza will create space for outdoor stalls, raising the possibility for more specialist markets.

The original iron railings

that used to surround the toilets will be re-used and repainted to form a barrier between the seating area and traffic making deliveries to nearby business premises.

Julian Read, Regeneration Manager, said: “The new Swan Square initiative will create a fitting entrance to Burslem and the project will have a really positive effect on Queen Street, Nile Street and Swan Bank, while also providing an impressive outdoor amenity for the people of the town and visitors to the area.”

£3.5m grant fund for

town facelifts I

NTEREST is mounting in the Burslem Townscape Heritage Initiative which has limited funding of around £3.5 million available to improve the look of historic buildings in the centre of the Mother Town.

Already grants totalling around £100,000 have been paid under the scheme for a number of facelift and refurbishment projects – and several more are in the pipeline.

Owners or leaseholders of suitable properties in the Townscape Heritage Initiative area are eligible for as much as 90 per cent of the project’s cost.

Those who have benefited from the Burslem THI so far include: the United Reform Church on Moorland Road, where a fire damaged room has been totally refurbished to provide amenities for the community; the Kismet restaurant in Queen Street which is extending into a vacant building

next door while retaining its period-style frontage; and Victoria’s Tailors opposite the Queen’s Theatre have had new windows and doors, with more proposals for some new guttering and possibly a new roof.

Suleman Nakhooda, Project Manager, said: “There has been a good take up so far, and as well as the work currently in progress the THI has attracted grant applications for about another 20 projects – most of which have detailed plans for what is proposed.”

For more details on the Burslem THI and to check whether you are within the scheme boundary, please log on to www.stoke.gov.uk/burslemthi2 Suleman Nakhooda can be contacted at the Burslem Regeneration Company Office, Burslem School of Art, Queen Street, Burslem, ST6 3EJ or phone 01782 236420.

An artist’s impression showing a facade of part of the planned residential scheme.

Revised Doulton site plans

ooze urban style R

EVISED plans for the development of the former Royal Doulton site at Burslem have been submitted to the City Council following a public consultation exercise.

Developers St Modwen Properties has amended its scheme for the 11 acres of land located in a key area of the town. The proposals are still a mix of business units, offices, workshops and homes – but there have been significant changes to the residential element.

Previously 175 new homes were planned – now there are 140 of mixed styles suitable for an urban location including fashionable mews and more traditional houses. The homes will be mostly two or three bedroom but there will also be some four bedroom with a variation in building height ranging from two, two-and-a-half to three storeys St Modwen Regional Director Mike Herbert said: “The revised residential plans have a more urban design rather than suburban. Consequently the layout follows straight lines rather than curved lines. There will be public art features and a central landscaped open space which will be a communal area for the benefit of the residents.”

Although most of the old factory will be demolished, the historic courtyard buildings at the former main entrance in Nile Street will be retained for the business element of the scheme. As part of the revised proposals St Modwen is making a financial contribution to landscaping and other

An artist’s impression of how the Royal Doulton factory courtyard will look as part of the new development. enhancements to the “town end” of Nile Street.

“This will strengthen the link between the development and town centre, making it more of an extension to the town centre,” said Mr Herbert.

“Vehicle access to the residential development will be via Hobson Street and Lingard Street and there will be an additional pedestrian access from Nile Street.”

As The Angel went to press, members of the City Council’s Development Control SubCommittee were expected to consider the planning application for the scheme at their April meeting. Should councillors give planning approval, work would begin later this year.

St Modwen Regional Director Mike Herbert examines layout plans at the former Royal Doulton factory site.

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Families delighted with Two new jobs points in town JOB seekers and people who use other public services now have a convenient and easy to use town centre customer access point situated within the library building in Queen Street And a second facility in Burslem will open shortly in the form of a job point inside the new Children’s Centre at Port Vale Football Club’s Vale Park stadium.

Both offer free direct phone access to staff to make inquiries not only about job searches but also a range of other issues including benefits, tax credits and pensions.

In addition customers have free use of a computer, supplied by the Library Service, for up to two hours.

This can be used as an online job search facility, and through the direct.gov.uk website the computer facility also links the user with information on a host of issues as varied as adult learning, recycling and how to give up smoking.

Residents in Burslem who need to make a claim for a working age benefit, such as Jobseekers Allowance or Sickness Benefit, should call a single contact point – 0800 055 6688.

Calls are free from a landline but charges may apply when calling from a mobile phone. The contact centre will arrange to call people back if asked.

Phil Rowley, Hanley Jobcentre Plus Manager, said: “Working with partners to provide Jobcentre Plus services within community locations is just one example of the way we are helping people get easy access to our services.”

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homes facelift D

Jamie Walker and her son Jake outside their newly-renovated house in Newport Street, Middleport.

OZENS of homes in Middleport received a facelift as part of a £1.1 million makeover project.

Terraced houses had front windows, doors, roofs, guttering, boundary walls and gates repaired or replaced, as well as having masonry repointed and painted.

The work was carried out by RENEW North Staffordshire as part of the huge programme to make run down neighbourhoods in the area attractive and popular places to live.

Resident Jamie Walker’s home benefited from a new front door, front wall, patio, a retiled roof and loft insulation.

She said: “It looks absolutely brilliant. When it’s finished it will look as good as a new house.

The whole street will look great and it will certainly help give the area a better reputation.”

Jamie’s home is one of 27 properties in Newport Street improved under the project. More than 30 homeowners and landlords in Ellgreave Street, 12 in St Paul’s Street, six in Sant Street and others in Church Square and Globe Street have also signed up for the work.

Board applications being considered PEOPLE who want to make a difference to Burslem have been given the chance to play an important part in the regeneration of the Mother Town.

Those with a strong commitment to rejuvenating the town were invited to apply for membership of the Burslem Regeneration Company Board, which aims to bring together the private, public, community and voluntary sectors to help deliver the regeneration required to secure the future prosperity of Burslem.

The Board has been re-constituted, meaning

that seven Board members needed to be appointed, and these positions were advertised in the local press. All the applications, which had to be received by no later than April 7th, are now being considered.

Successful applicants will be required to attend approximately four Board meetings a year and they may also be expected to serve on Board sub-groups. No remuneration or expenses are paid for these posts, but membership of the Board offers an exciting and rewarding role in the regeneration of Burslem.

A model for best practice

Pictured installing a solar panel at the Stoke-on-Trent College Energy Efficiency Centre are, left to right, students Lee Saxton,Ben Parkes, Tom Wise and Matt Goodwin.

New course teaches

green skills S

TOKE-ON-TRENT College’s Burslem campus is leading the way with one of the UK’s first centres for environmentally-friendly plumbing and heating skills.

Students gain expert advice on renewable energy while their employers can expand the range of services they bring to 21st century building projects.

As well as helping the new generation of apprentices learn their trades, the Energy Efficiency Centre welcomes experienced plumbers and heating engineers “back to school” to update their skills.

Plumbers from all over the country are signing up for the lessons which will help promote an increase in the use of green technologies in building projects.

Courses range from a solar power awareness day to training that brings experienced plumbers and heating engineers up to speed with the latest technology.

Students learn about solar panels for hot water and photovoltaic panels for the generation of electricity, and how these green technologies can be integrated with existing plumbing and heating systems.

Martin Ball, programme manager for building and engineering services, is one of the team behind the Energy Efficiency Centre run through

the college’s Centre for Vocational Excellence (COVE).

He said: “As environmental issues rise to the top of the agenda in almost all walks of life it’s no surprise we are getting tremendous interest in the scheme.

“We’re finding that apprentices who have visited the centre are going back to their employers and the experienced tradespeople are coming along to find out more.

“We are training them to do installations of complete new systems, as well as concentrating on upgrading existing systems at a cost that people can genuinely afford.”

The Energy Efficiency Centre is a joint venture funded by the college and the Dane Housing Group.

A FREE employment agency service in Burslem has helped 147 local builders find jobs since launching in June.

Over 350 have received training through the North Staffordshire Construction Employment Centre, which ranges from a one day health safety course to three weeks in advanced plastery or excavation.

The centre in Moorland Road links skilled workers looking for jobs with contractors who are short of hands, putting locals at the front of the queue.

Project Manager Tim Robins said: “Over 2,500 clients have registered with the centre and a lot of our former clients who are now employed have said they have the centre’s free services to thank for their new jobs.

“Just this morning I was speaking to a man who completed an excavator driving course through the centre and is now operating one of those vehicles for a living.”

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Enjoying the new play equipment are pupils, back to front, Nimaira Aziz, Jay Williams and Jessica Hill.

Construction work on schedule for state-of-the-art facilities at Burslem’s Haywood Hospital complex

New £35m project boosts

health services T

Pupils celebrate a bonus at the double PUPILS at a school in Burslem are celebrating a double bonus thanks to new play equipment and an after-school club.

The £35,000 worth of new equipment at John Baskeyfield VC Primary School includes a large play unit with steps, a bridge and chute slides, a walled off area for five-a-side football and netball, and basketball shooters.

School Business Manager Ian Picken said: “The contained area will enable children to play fast ball games without impinging on others in the playground who prefer different activities.

“The basketball shooters are shaped like big witches’ cauldrons with multiple exit holes and you don’t know which one the ball will come out of.”

The outdoor play area also sports low level climbing walls and an elevated stage for rehearsed or impromptu performances.

Ian said: “We will use the stage for drama in the summer, while for the rest of the year it 6

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can just be an element of playtime.”

The after-school club, which is launching on 14th April, will complement the breakfast club that runs from eight in the morning, fitting in with the schedules of parents who work throughout the day.

Run by staff from Building Blocks Nursery at Tunstall, the club will run until six in the evening and provide sports facilities, arts and crafts, TV, videos and computer games, as well as a quiet space for homework.

Ian said: “The after-school club will give what we call wraparound care. This means parents will be able to work in jobs any time between eight and six and know their children will be in good hands.”

Building Blocks Nursery Manager Melanie Lowton said: “Children shouldn’t see the club as an extension of school.

They can choose which activities to take part in and snacks will be provided to keep them going until their parents or carers pick them up.”

ENS of thousands of patients in the Burslem area are making the most of 21st century health care... in Victorian hospital buildings at the Haywood Hospital.

The Haywood is already at the forefront of providing community services close to where people live. Now all eyes are on the launch of a new £35m hospital on the site in just over a year’s time to complete the transformation.

And there are better things ahead for the hospital which, like an iceberg, is much much more than it first appears.

Now in its seventh year, the Haywood’s Walk In Centre for minor injuries and ailments already attracts 40,000 patients a year – hardly a secret.

But few would know the hospital – off High Lane, near the high school – also boasts imaging and hydrotherapy services, a fracture clinic and deep vein thrombosis centre, rheumatology and rehabilitation specialties and is a regional centre for wheelchairs and limb fitting.

Construction work is on schedule for the opening of the new buildings in summer 2009.

There will be additional ward space (five large wards and one smaller unit) and accommodation for existing services. A welcome addition for communities in the north of Stoke-on-Trent will be a new outpatients clinic, giving access to a range of specialties.

Hospital manager Helen Duffy said: “The expanding range of services we provide at the Haywood provide a real double

RETIRED rheumatologist Ted Hothersall, Stoke PCT Chair Paul Warsop and Haywood High School head teacher David Dickinson look at the model of the new Haywood Hospital.

Fifteen year-old Haywood High School student Demi Jones visits the oral health stand

benefit. They take pressure off busy departments at the main hospital complex at Hartshill, such as A&E, and they mean people living in the north of the city can receive the care they need closer to home.

“Construction of the new hospital is well underway and we’re in the middle of a complex planning procedure to enable a smooth transfer from the old buildings to the new.” ● Plans for the new hospital site were on show at an open day where school students and residents were given an insight into the area’s health services.

Thanks for the memories MEMORIES of the Haywood’s long history will feature in a Staffordshire University arts project to mark the massive redevelopment. Arts for Health will also provide artwork which will decorate the new buildings.

Signal Smokebusters project worker Kim Knight with Nelufar Dawakuli, aged 15, at the Haywood open day.

Gardens will help treatment ATTRACTIVE gardens replacing Victorian buildings at the Haywood will play an important role in some patients’ treatment.

Kerbs, gravel and sand areas will all be included to help patients’ rehabilitation and people with new artificial limbs.

Hospital manager Helen Duffy said: “At the moment people use kerbs in the car park to get used to their new limbs or as part of their rehab. But we’re lucky to be planning almost every aspect of the new hospital to make a contribution to caring for patients.”

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Enjoying the new play equipment are pupils, back to front, Nimaira Aziz, Jay Williams and Jessica Hill.

Construction work on schedule for state-of-the-art facilities at Burslem’s Haywood Hospital complex

New £35m project boosts

health services T

Pupils celebrate a bonus at the double PUPILS at a school in Burslem are celebrating a double bonus thanks to new play equipment and an after-school club.

The £35,000 worth of new equipment at John Baskeyfield VC Primary School includes a large play unit with steps, a bridge and chute slides, a walled off area for five-a-side football and netball, and basketball shooters.

School Business Manager Ian Picken said: “The contained area will enable children to play fast ball games without impinging on others in the playground who prefer different activities.

“The basketball shooters are shaped like big witches’ cauldrons with multiple exit holes and you don’t know which one the ball will come out of.”

The outdoor play area also sports low level climbing walls and an elevated stage for rehearsed or impromptu performances.

Ian said: “We will use the stage for drama in the summer, while for the rest of the year it 6

THE ANGEL

can just be an element of playtime.”

The after-school club, which is launching on 14th April, will complement the breakfast club that runs from eight in the morning, fitting in with the schedules of parents who work throughout the day.

Run by staff from Building Blocks Nursery at Tunstall, the club will run until six in the evening and provide sports facilities, arts and crafts, TV, videos and computer games, as well as a quiet space for homework.

Ian said: “The after-school club will give what we call wraparound care. This means parents will be able to work in jobs any time between eight and six and know their children will be in good hands.”

Building Blocks Nursery Manager Melanie Lowton said: “Children shouldn’t see the club as an extension of school.

They can choose which activities to take part in and snacks will be provided to keep them going until their parents or carers pick them up.”

ENS of thousands of patients in the Burslem area are making the most of 21st century health care... in Victorian hospital buildings at the Haywood Hospital.

The Haywood is already at the forefront of providing community services close to where people live. Now all eyes are on the launch of a new £35m hospital on the site in just over a year’s time to complete the transformation.

And there are better things ahead for the hospital which, like an iceberg, is much much more than it first appears.

Now in its seventh year, the Haywood’s Walk In Centre for minor injuries and ailments already attracts 40,000 patients a year – hardly a secret.

But few would know the hospital – off High Lane, near the high school – also boasts imaging and hydrotherapy services, a fracture clinic and deep vein thrombosis centre, rheumatology and rehabilitation specialties and is a regional centre for wheelchairs and limb fitting.

Construction work is on schedule for the opening of the new buildings in summer 2009.

There will be additional ward space (five large wards and one smaller unit) and accommodation for existing services. A welcome addition for communities in the north of Stoke-on-Trent will be a new outpatients clinic, giving access to a range of specialties.

Hospital manager Helen Duffy said: “The expanding range of services we provide at the Haywood provide a real double

RETIRED rheumatologist Ted Hothersall, Stoke PCT Chair Paul Warsop and Haywood High School head teacher David Dickinson look at the model of the new Haywood Hospital.

Fifteen year-old Haywood High School student Demi Jones visits the oral health stand

benefit. They take pressure off busy departments at the main hospital complex at Hartshill, such as A&E, and they mean people living in the north of the city can receive the care they need closer to home.

“Construction of the new hospital is well underway and we’re in the middle of a complex planning procedure to enable a smooth transfer from the old buildings to the new.” ● Plans for the new hospital site were on show at an open day where school students and residents were given an insight into the area’s health services.

Thanks for the memories MEMORIES of the Haywood’s long history will feature in a Staffordshire University arts project to mark the massive redevelopment. Arts for Health will also provide artwork which will decorate the new buildings.

Signal Smokebusters project worker Kim Knight with Nelufar Dawakuli, aged 15, at the Haywood open day.

Gardens will help treatment ATTRACTIVE gardens replacing Victorian buildings at the Haywood will play an important role in some patients’ treatment.

Kerbs, gravel and sand areas will all be included to help patients’ rehabilitation and people with new artificial limbs.

Hospital manager Helen Duffy said: “At the moment people use kerbs in the car park to get used to their new limbs or as part of their rehab. But we’re lucky to be planning almost every aspect of the new hospital to make a contribution to caring for patients.”

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Christian training centre THE UK’s largest Christian Radio Station has established its centre of operations at Burslem and is planning to set up as a media training facility for other religious charities.

United Christian Broadcasters (UCB) have renovated their building in Westport Road – the former offices of Severn Trent Water – to make ready for its expansion of services.

UCB Senior Publicist Paula Cummings said: “The new training centre will provide cost-effective training on subjects such as media, human resources and legal issues for Christian charities, churches and organisations.”

While UCB broadcasts from another property in Hanchurch, the Burslem complex is the centre of the charity’s marketing, fundraising, graphic design and prayerline activities.

The centre has also been used as a base for volunteers of the charity Operation Christmas Child, who used the site to pack over 15,000 festive gift boxes for Romanian children last year.

Paula said:“Since April 2007, when UCB first started broadcasting its UCB UK radio service on DAB in the Stoke-on-Trent area, we are reaching more people locally. A third of our audience is comprised of people from all walks of life who have come to appreciate the positive, uplifting and encouraging programming on the issues of life which affect everybody.”

You can tune into UCB on a DAB digital radio, digital satellite or online at www.ucb.co.uk.

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New radio station plan at theatre P LANS are taking shape for a new commercial radio station at the Queen’s Theatre, which will begin broadcasting from inside the building this year.

It is hoped the station, named Ice Radio, will hit the DAB digital and internet airwaves in September with four studios built into the Price Street side of the Burslem theatre.

The station will reach listeners as far away as Chester, Uttoxeter, Knutsford and Penkridge.

Theatre Manager Steve Ball said his son, also named Steve, would control programming at the station, having worked as a presenter and DJ for eight years at Signal 1.

He said: “Ice Radio will broadcast modern, cutting edge music and offer a local alternative for radio lovers.

“It will raise the profiles of both Burslem and the Queen’s Theatre, and produce new advertising opportunities for local businesses who want to make more people aware of their services.”

The station will double as a media centre, where youngsters can gain training and experience in audio mixing, presenting and advertising.

Steve said: “Ice Radio will

Above, Theatre Manager Steve Ball points to the refurbished stalls and circle at the Queen’s Theatre in Burslem. create opportunities for young people in Burslem who want to break into the media industry but lack experience.

“I’m sure this will be the first time many of them have been inside a broadcasting or recording studio.”

Burslem fringe opens new axis for the arts CHART-TOPPING Britpop hero John Power tops the bill at the first Burslem fringe of the citywide Axis arts festival in May. The week after the headline events are staged across Stokeon-Trent will see a series of events in the Mother Town.

Between May 8 and 11 there will be a programme of workshops, concerts and classes aimed at involving as many people as possible in the arts. These include folk music sessions at the Leopard, salsa dancing classes at the School of Art and songwriting at the George Hotel.

Power – the songwriter behind Britpop sensations The La’s and Cast – plays at the Leopard on Saturday May 10.

For more information the website at www.axisfestival.co.uk Axis spokesman Ben Sutcliffe said: “Anyone interested in the arts should come along and bring a friend.”

The plans will cap years of refurbishments to the building since part of its ceiling collapsed in 1998, wrecking seating and forcing the theatre to close. Since then, grants from the Townscape Heritage Initiative have breathed new life into the venue, funding new seating, plumbing, heating, staging, decoration and architectural features.

Steve said the work has enabled the Queen’s Theatre to host large scale events, such as a 700-strong corporate conference to be held by Steelite International in April.

The venue also promises to fill seats in the same month with a stage adaptation of John Steinbeck’s tragedy set in the American depression, Of Mice and Men, which is a set text for GCSE English students.

Performances will be preceded by a workshop aimed at pupils studying the tale.

Antique dealer Derek Bradbury pictured in his shop holding a two-handled vase produced in 1920 by MacIntyre Burslem and exclusively designed by Moorcroft.

A

SMALL antiques shop in Burslem’s Market Place is spreading ceramic artwork made in the city to collectors across the globe.

Burslem Antiques sells busts, vases, figurines and toby jugs

by Spode, Moorcroft, Mintons, Beswick, Wedgwood, Royal Doulton and many other world famous pottery brands to customers from as far away as the USA and Japan – some pieces costing thousands of pounds.

The collection dates back to the 1750s, drawing its subjects from myths, history and cartoons.

While one shelf displays a life-sized bust of Marie Antoinette, another holds a sword-wielding St George with his dragon adversary lying headless beneath his horse.

Quirkier pieces include a plane-shaped teapot piloted by the Red Baron with a spout for

Antique pottery for the

world

a propeller. Further towards the back of the shop, the collection moves on to characters from the page and screen: Daffy Duck scowls from a toby jug while, across from him, a figurine of the artful dodger slumps on a barrel with his hands in his pockets.

The literary theme continues upstairs in the shop’s Clayhanger Tearoom, named after Arnold Bennet’s novel.

For the shop’s owner Derek Bradbury, who once worked as a placer in the bottle ovens of W. H. Grindley, the business is about preserving and promoting great art.

Burslem-born Derek said: “I have been passionate about the artwork of pottery since I first saw the bottle ovens at 15 and realised how difficult it is to make beautiful pottery.

“Unlike a canvas painter, the ceramic artist must apply his colours to a 3D surface, as well as calculating how they will change under the firing process.

“I collected pottery for years before setting up shop here and there are many pieces I would never sell.”

When Derek bought the premises, a former butcher’s, structural engineers said the building was unsafe for trading,

but a £240,000 refurbishment has lavished a new roof, floors, brickwork, plumbing and electrics on the building.

Since then, the business has grown an extensive web site, enabling it to serve clients from across the UK and the world.

Derek said: “We have sold to serious collectors from Paris, New York, Tokyo and Hiroshima, among many others.

“It’s impressive how many of them really do their homework and know exactly what they are looking for.”

Over 2,000 of the shop’s treasures can be viewed online at www.burslemantiques.co.uk

Firefighters give training courses to teenagers FIREFIGHTERS at the town’s station have been giving teenagers crash courses in first aid and fire hose techniques.

The training was given in six half-day sessions to groups of 12 to 14-year-olds and 16 to 18-year-olds from Stoke on College and local schools.

Their achievements were honoured at

the end of the courses with a passing out parade where the students demonstrated their new skills before an audience of family and friends.

City Youth Intervention Coordinator Tracy Creswell said: “The course is designed to develop the young people’s team work and social and communication

skills. Achieving the goals we set them boosts the students’ confidence and self esteem, while working with others makes them more aware and respectful of other people. The course also gives them a certificate they can show off to prove they can achieve goals and see things through.”

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An Update on Port Vale Football Club’s Community Activities

VALE Community

in the

Initiative boosts quality of life and

wellbeing I

T’S not surprising that Port Vale Football Club plays such a big role in the lives of people who live within a goal kick of the club’s Vale Park ground in Burslem.

For the Federation of Stadium Communities – the national charity that aims to improve the quality of life in stadium neighbourhoods – has its head office in the Enterprise Centre within the Vale Park complex.

The Federation set up Vale Park Community Initiative (VPCI) which over the past two and a half years has explored how Port Vale and the Vale Park Stadium can be utilised as a resource for the 1,000–strong community that lives in the neighbourhood of the football club.

Now the Federation of Stadium Communities is spearheading a bid for fresh funding so the project can be continued for a further three years.

The VPCI is unique as it’s the only project of its kind focused on a football club, working to an action plan based on regular community consultation and led by a steering group made up of local residents, community organisations and public agencies – including Port Vale, the local Primary Care Trust, the City Council and Football in the Community.

Already the project has been successful in bringing together club and community in a number of ways, such as: ● Port Vale Tales – a DVD made by Haywood High School pupils based on their interviews with former players and older supporters about their memories of Port Vale FC over the last 50 years. As well as bringing the generations together, the project was designed to develop media and interviewing skills of the youngsters who took part.

Julie Crabb, Chief Executive of the Federation of Stadium Communities, pictured at Vale Park in the section of eight seats which the club will give over next season for the use of community groups and good causes. ● A month long programme of activities at Vale Park last year to promote healthy living culminated in a smoke-free Healthy Match Day. ● Valiants Against Racism Community Shield Football Tournament.

The involvement of the Federation of Stadium Communities has also led to Vale Park being involved in initiatives such as healthy walks, tackling obesity and encouraging more people in the community to play football.

Judy Crabb, Chief Executive of

FSC, said: “Bringing Port Vale and the local community together not only helps to improve the wellbeing and quality of life of people who live in the Vale Park area, but also contributes to the regeneration Burslem as a whole.

“With future funding we will focus on the management and delivery of those projects which have most effectively used the power of sport, the brand of the club and the stadium facilities on offer in order to engage the local community and address local issues.”

Minister officially opens new enterprise centre GOVERNMENT minister Shriti Vadera, pictured, unveiled a plaque to officially open the Vale Park enterprise centre supporting new and growing businesses.

Baroness Vadera – Minister for Business and Competitiveness – visited to launch the Enterprising Britain 2008 contest to find the UK’s best place to start a business.

Last year North Staffordshire scooped the prestigious award, with Vale Park’s community facilities an important part of the winning bid.

A third of the club’s 20 units – 10 T H E A N G E L

built with support from regional development agency Advantage West Midlands – have already been let to new businesses, with a great deal of interest in the remaining fully-serviced offices.

Vale Chairman Bill Bratt said: “The centre is an opportunity for the club to support new businesses in an area that has suffered its fair share of job losses. The units fit into the wider regeneration of North Staffordshire and are another feature cementing the club at the heart of the community.”

Club helps to tackle

child obesity P

ORT Vale through its Football in the Community Scheme is helping to combat the growing problem of child obesity with MEND, a fun filled programme aimed at encouraging youngsters in Burslem to keep fit and eat healthily.

MEND (it stands for Mind, Exercise,Nutrition, Do It!) is a free after-school activity for children aged between seven and 13 whose BMI ( body mass index) indicates they could be prone to obesity or weight problems.

The three-year initiative comes at a time when the UK has the highest rates of obesity in Europe and a staggering 30 per cent of under-16s in England are obese or have weight – related health problems. Port Vale is the first football club to become involved in the national MEND initiative and this is also the first time it has been launched in North Staffordshire.

The programme, which consists of twice-weekly two-hour sessions over ten weeks between 5pm and 7pm, places equal emphasis on behaviour, exercise and nutrition.

Youngsters use the superb facilities in Vale Park’s community gym for non-competitive exercises, as well as classroom-style

accommodation in the stadium for informal sessions where they learn about nutrition, diet, and how to read food labels, as well as how their body works and other issues designed to make them fitter, healthier and happier.

The MEND initiative is being delivered in Burslem by a partnership of The Federation of Stadium Communities, Port Vale Football in the Community, regeneration and social housing agency Midland Heart and the City Council’s Closing the Gap programme, a scheme promoting sport and fitness for people in Stoke-on-Trent.

Youngsters who take part in the MEND programme at Vale Park can look forward to an awards evening at the end of their course when they will have a chance to meet Port Vale players who will present prizes and talk to the children.

Jim Cooper, Port Vale’s Football in the Community Manager, said: “The whole programme has been designed so that the children have lots of fun while learning about how to look after their bodies and minds through exercise and eating the right sort of food.”

A model for best practice VALE’S pioneering Valiants Against Racism campaign works with several organisations, community groups and football supporters to combat racism and promote racial equality at the club and in the community.

VAR reaches out to Black, Asian and all other ethnic minorities in the community through a wide range of events and by encouraging them to use the club’s facilities.

One of the biggest events on the calendar is the annual Valiants Against Racism Community Shield Football Tournament which last year brought together ten teams from the local area with players from many ethnic backgrounds.

The work of VAR was recognised when Port Vale FC was awarded the prestigious Kick It Out Racial Equality Standard Preliminary Level national award, only the third Football League club to do so.

VAR Chairman Doctor Steve Bradbury said: “There are strong signs that we are being successful in helping to establish Port Vale as a model of best practice in dealing with racism and promoting inclusion.”

Seats for community

Keys handed over for new Children’s Centre CONSTRUCTION has been completed on the £800,000 Children’s Centre in the Lorne Street Stand. Pictured above at the outdoor play area which overlooks the Vale Park pitch is Paul Moore, left, Site Manager for the main contractors Kier, handing over the keys to Ian Barber, centre, City Council Project Officer for The Early Years and Childcare Service and Mike Aldridge, Vale Commercial Manager. Furniture and equipment will now be moved in before the “One Stop Shop” for children’s services opens its doors to youngsters and parents in mid-April.

EIGHT seats in the top tier of the Vale’s Lorne Street stand will be given away next season for the use of community groups and good causes. Organisations can apply to the Vale to have the seats free of charge for any one of the 23 home league games and friendly matches.

Club Chairman Bill Bratt said:“These seats are available for groups and charities in our area who can benefit from them.

“It could be a fundraiser or for people who would not normally be able to go to a match. The seats will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.”

T H E A N G E L 11

Celebrating the rise of the

Titanic T

HE Titanic brewery in Lingard Street has defied the fate of its namesake to win national acclaim and sell over 1.7 million pints a year of its unique beers.

Named in honour of the ship’s Captain John Edward Smith, who lived and went to school just down the road in Etruria, Titanic’s tipples have won over 30 awards, including CAMRA’s Midlands Beer of the Year and The Guardian’s Bottled Beer of Britain.

The beers may seem light hearted with names like Iceberg and Lifeboat, but the brewery maintains links with Titanic enthusiasts and fundraises regularly for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI).

Dave Bott, who runs the business with his brother Keith, said: “The Titanic was a fascinating chapter of history and we genuinely want to commemorate it, along with the country’s broader maritime past.

“That is why we sponsor the RNLI and have ties with the Titanic Society.”

Now in its 23rd year, the brewery is also leading the way in green production methods with sensors installed on site that turn off the lighting automatically when an area is not being used.

Award-winning local brewery steams ahead as it highlights city’s links with iconic ship Dave and Keith have cut the weight of their bottles by 80 grams each, which uses less glass and petrol to transport them. Dave said: “At the end of the process, we give the malt to a farmer who feeds it to his pigs and the hops are used by gardeners to fertilise their soil.

“We deliver the beer in a metal cask which we reuse over and over, producing zero packaging waste.”

Titanic’s profile is due to rise even higher this spring when it will sponsor music and events on the Burslem Fringe of the citywide Axis Festival.

Dave said: “We are very proud to be based in Burslem and look forward to seeing it take a big part in the festival.”

Burslem historian Fred Hughes said: “It’s great to see

Titanic brewer Dave Bott with another pint of their finest.

COME SINK A TITANIC – Jim Ray, Assistant Manager at Burslem’s Bull’s Head pub, which is owned by the town’s Titanic Brewery, with a selection of its top tipples. the brewery taking a prominent place in our town.

“I have always loved the range of beers for their tongue

in cheek names, highlighting our city’s links with that iconic ship and its unforgettable voyage.”

Security is improved at Longport Station LONGPORT Railway Station is steeled against vandals thanks to a new CCTV security system and reinforced waiting shelters.

The makeover funded by regional development agency Advantage West Midlands has installed eight cameras, two camera control cabinets and a pair of steel waiting shelters.

Other enhancements carried out by the North Staffordshire Community Rail Partnership include new display screens, poster frames and public

address speakers and floral displays around the station.

Central Trains Project Support Manager Sanj Ali said: “These improvements are aimed at making the station vandal proof as well as more pleasant to look at with the flowers and vegetation.”

A survey carried out after the works had been completed showed 87 per cent of passengers felt safer while waiting for their train on the revamped station.

The Angel is produced on behalf of Burslem Regeneration Company by Smith Davis Press