Stoke Councillor Disappointed with the people of Stoke-on-Trent for not doing enough for the Royal Wedding.

Stoke on Trent Councillor Brain Ward has this week has criticised the people of Stoke on Trent in a Birmingham based newspaper, saying he was “disappointed” that not one application had been posted to hold a street party on the day of the wedding in the City. He didn't express his disappointment to the local press, but in a publication that many of us would be unaware existed (well if not for the magic of Google).

The Paper quotes Mr Wards Frustration with us common and unpatriotic Stokies as saying:

“I am very surprised that nobody has come forward”

“I don’t think people are as patriotic as they used to be, and communities just don’t seem to get together as much as they used to. It’s a real shame.”

“Local communities used to be organised round the working men’s clubs and pubs, but in many areas these have closed down.”

Mock up of how Brian could be dressed when celebrating the wedding.

Surprise
I’m surprised that Mr Ward is surprised that no one has come forward.

Royals
Are Stoke on Trent lavished with lots of Royal Attention?

Do the Royals visit our land, boosting our cities morale? A morale, that has also suffered so greatly at the hands of our Councils with all of the recent Cuts, of which Brian Ward sits on the cabinet that has been responsible for where the cuts will and will not fall.

Do we ever get to be made to feel special? - Charles and Camilla visited last year, but not to meet the people of Stoke, but to visit some tossed away trinkets from a bygone age.

Mr ward also tells us that we are no longer patriots, when in this day an age we no longer know what it is to be English, where Britain gets even more fractured and Europe looms bigger.

Communities
Mr Ward then goes on to talk about communities. Communities in Stoke on Trent again have been shattered, and divided and no longer feel complete. Communities no longer meet in the work place as they used to, and information spread. The very reason I started this site was because I didn’t feel like I belonged to a community.

I’ve discovered since that that isn’t true and Tunstall alone has many great community meeting places such as Tunstall Pool, Library, Market, Childrens Centres, Pubs and so on. Each and every one under threat at the minute in the form of council influence in the short or long term or by economic variables.

The Problem Is
Mr Ward can see to the heart of the problem.

“I also think that people are unsure of how to organise these things. Local councils need to make it that much clearer and hopefully then we will have a rush of applications.”

Bad Communications
The answer is simple. Stoke on Trent City Council and the Residents of this CIty set up these marvelous thinks called Residents Associations. Through them many people in a area come together to do work for other people.

Maybe the answer would have been to approach these to spread the information as they already have a network of people who work together already and then have a line of communication into the people of their groups area.

But no one in the council offices thought to do this. Probably because the people that communicate with these RA groups will now no longer have jobs, or will be in a different job.

What about the city mag? Our council with it’s wonderful and expensive our city magazine might have posted some information in there. It’s what the mag is meant to be there for, so why not use it to infomr us of what we should be doing with our Bank Holiday firdays.

Lastly the point about how to put a street party together. On most estates, people are probably already organising them, themselves and are planning these events, unaware that council permission is needed.

Or that the people of Stoke on Trent should be checking the Stoke Gov website daily for articles relating to street parties for one press release that will put them off than inform how to go about it.

What are your thoughts?

Update - have a look at the Stoke Gov Website for putting in planning permission. http://www.stoke.gov.uk/ccm/content/et/highway-network-management/royal-...