Tunstall - The Forgotten Town
This is a copy of the letter I sent in to the Sentinel which they published.
Sir, would someone please help me with a problem I have at the moment.
I always believed their were six towns in the make up of Stoke-on-Trent, and any financial aid given to the City would be used to the benifit of all?
It appears however that this statement is wrong.
We have £177 million to use on housing and environmental improvements, but the poor sister of the City -TUNSTALL-is to be left out "again".
Abbey Hulton, Bentilee, Chell Heath, Fegg Hayes, Meir, and Norton, are to benifit only.
Where are "our" silent councillors?
Do they not see the faults with this town?
Do they beleive Tunstall to be the Golden Town not requiring any improvement environmentally?
Take a drive through the centre of Tunstall town on what shock absorber manufacturers would describe as a perfect test track.
Now coming up to its 5th birthday (never repaired from a month after construction).
We have got plenty of take-aways and charity shops.
Perhaps that's why we have been bypassed again.
Take a look at the run down estates that have been starved of money while places like Bentilee, and Chell Heath have had more than their fair share of funds.
Residents Associations in Tunstall have to fight for peanuts from the council, while it seems others are showered with help and finances.
The Hoskins estate ( housing nearly 800 family's) has not even got a children's park, since the council took it out.
Now the Residents Association has to raise the money to get children's play equipment.
Many is the time at a council meeting I have heard the likes of Meredith, Wolfe, and others forget Tunstall when referring to the City towns.
Lets have some equality and fairness when funds are allocated to the City.
Terry Cope.
Chairman of the Greenfields Residents Association.
8 linwood way
Tunstall
st65na.
Is anybody else in Tunstall, Sandyford and Goldenhill getting the impression that we have been excommunicated from the City of Stoke-on-Trent by its council?
If we have then can we have our insidious poll-tax back we have been paying year in year out?
One other detail, the Centenary of the six towns is only worth £1,000 per ward, while the city council can splash out on dinner party's, umbrella's and jolly boys outings to Cannes?
Comments
Am I living in another town
I have to say that I dissagree with your blog, the area around Asda, matalan, has been developed, the northern bypass has been a success, new fire station being built, chatterley valley has been developed, new housing all over the area around Tunstall, not forgetting there is still a credit crunch on, I agree that there may be more room for improvement, but in the last eleven years I haved lived here, there has been a real transformation of the town.
To be honest Mark, I thought
To be honest Mark, I thought you would know exactly what Terry's point was, after your neighbourhood watch group battled the council tooth and nail for four years to get the park built, with money already set aside, when we bought our houses.
The retail park that has sprung up in Tunstall is great, but it's not exactly going to carry us forward. How about getting some industry back.
Chatterley valley
The councils of Stoke on Trent, and Newcastle, together with advantage west midlands have tried to bring back commerce, industry, and employment, as for community projects, it is up to the whole community, working with the council to bring these projects to fruition, not just left to the council to sort out, I believe the playground that Megan Ryan and friends had built, was largely private finananced.
New stoke chief exec thinks differently
Hiya Mark, you want to listen to this interview Pits N Pots did a few months ago, as the New Stoke-on-Trent Council Chief Exec John Van De Larrschott thinks differently.
Have a look at this page
The man who fixed Stoke? John van de Larrschott - local council chief exec interview.
Sharky, take a look at
Sharky, take a look at this.
With work ending on 11 of Stoke-on-Trent’s children’s play areas, a second sum of money as been given to the council, to improve or build another 10. This will make a total of £1.1 million spent over the 2 year on these play grounds.
Work will be completed on the first 11 facilities by the end of this month. Work on the other 11 must be completed by the end of March 2011 or the grant may be withheld.
The 11 sites are-:
Ball Green Play Area, Bemersley Road, Ball Green.
Brindley Ford Play Area, Fisher Street, Brindley Ford.
A Site Off the A34, Trentham, to link in with the Trentham Awakes Cycle Track.
Bakewell Park, James Street, Oakhill.
Mollinson Road Play Area, Meir.
An Area in Linnburn Road, Longton.
Henderson Grove Play Area, Meir.
Abbey Road Play Area, Abby Road, Abbey Hulton.
Bentilee Recreation Ground, Beverley Drive, Bentillee.
Joiners Square Play Area, Cornes Road, Joiners Square.
An 11th site, Hem Heath Wood was to be included, and still might be, but as met with public opposition. The area and its shear of grant money may well be moved to a location more acceptable to residents.
Each site will be given £54,577 and will improve facilities for 8 to 13 year olds. Work on the areas will be carried out by the councils neighbourhood teams. They will work with city councillors and the communities involved to give children a place to play.
The communities of Great Chell, Mount Pleasant, Norton, Etruria, Longton, Trent Vale, Meir and Boothen have already seen the benefits of the founding.
Do you see Tunstall, Sandyford, or Goldenhill mentioned?
Also there is another scheme floating round with £3.3 million for housing and enviroment, but again we are not even given a look in, as that will go to Chell Heath, FeggHayes, Abbey Hulton, Bentillee, ect ect.
Where is the fairness in distribution of this money when we are constantly left out?
I agree that some have raised the money themselves, but is it right that others get it given to them.
S,A,G,E, also worked very hard to raise funds for a play area, which took them years.
If the City Council or the Government is giving out money for play areas then we deserve it as much as the next town, and our councillors should get off their backsides and lobby for it.
On that I do agree
We really need some hardworking councillors to back this part of the city, maybe things will change at the next local elections, noticed the majority of the areas you mentioned are ex council house areas, I do feel that all areas should of been told of this grant, and together with our councillors, fought for a share.
Renew
One of the things that struck me when I was building the "peoples archive" for the Sentinel, which chronicles the renewal process, was the lack of anything Tunstall. As I was building the map on the home page, there was a large gaping space where Tunstall should be.
http://thepeoplesarchive.co.uk/home
http://thepeoplesarchive.co.uk/about_renew_northstaffs
I won't even go into how overlooked most of Tunstall was when it came to getting our grit bins filled (the very few that have them).
Tunstall
Sharky, I know what you are saying, but I am talking about the communities not the buisness section.
Asda, Matalan, and the others have built their stores in Tunstall for themselves not the communities.
I am talking about the councils lack of community projects, parks, and play area's for the young.
We as a Residents Association proved last year ( with youth groups) that anti-social-behavior can be cut in half with the help of the police (who gave us total support).
It is the lack of support from the Council that is letting us down at the moment.
As Webb Monkey states there is a large gaping hole where Tunstall should be.
Curve ball
Regarding our councillors, why not invite all councillors in and around the area, to join the website, and maybe weekly, blog, or comment on what they are doing on our behalf, and also invite potential candidates to respond what they would do if elected, I have lived in another part of Tunstall for over six months now, and no information has been given as what our councillors are doing to promote this side of the city.
106 money
sharky, a good Idea will try it out on them tommorrow.
Forgotten Tunstall
Just to clarify things for you, this Councillor did lobby for some of the playbuilder funding both for Greenfields and to finish off Nash Peake park but much to my disappointment we were unsuccesful.
We work with the police over Street Games and in that we fund it out of our Ward Budget, without the Councillors input there would not be any Street Games. Infact I had a 2 hour meeting this morning with Inspector Hardern where we discussed this years Street Games and I have agreed to fund the whole of this years activities.
I quite agree that it seems like we are fogotten at this end of The City and I get really angry about that, but I will keep chipping away and try to get things for us.
Megan, with respect this has
Megan, with respect this has been going on a very long time, and this is just the tip of the iceberg.
The city council has consistantly let Tunstall, Sandyford and Goldenhill down.
The same places crop up everytime, (Fegg Hayes, Chell, Abbey Hulton, Bentilee) WHY??
Investments pour into these and other areas yet we have to scramble for a pittance.
Ask the R/As who have had to go through hoops to get funding, yet others get it thrown at them.
£5 MILLION and not a penny for Tunstall, Sandyford, or Goldenhill?
Am I angry, NO I AM FURIOUS.
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