Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of 36 square miles (93 km2). In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement in Staffordshire.
Stoke is polycentric, having been formed by the federation of six towns in 1910. It took its name from Stoke-upon-Trent where the main centre of government and the principal railway station in the district were located. Hanley is the primary commercial centre. The other four towns are Burslem, Tunstall, Longton, and Fenton.
Stoke-on-Trent is the home of the pottery industry in England and is commonly known as the Potteries, with the local residents known as Potters. Formerly a primarily industrial conurbation, it is now a centre for service industries and distribution centres.
Stoke-on-Trent community action
Community involvement
- All the Small Things, collective of community development practitioners - information on corganisers.org.uk
Biodiversity
Westport Lake is a lake and local nature reserve in Stoke-on-Trent, in Staffordshire, England, about 0.8 miles (1.3 km) south of Tunstall. It is alongside the Trent and Mersey Canal.
It is owned by the Canal and River Trust, and is operated by the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust and Stoke-on-Trent City Council.
There is a visitor centre, with a café and lakeside balcony. The centre has conference facilities. Staffordshire Wildlife Trust has two visitor centres; the other is the Wolseley Centre near Rugeley.
The lake is the largest expanse of water in Stoke-on-Trent. There is a level footpath of about 1 mile (1.6 km) around the lake. There is waterfowl on the lake, and it is an overwintering site for many species.
Art, sport and culture
- Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire Cultural Education Partnership, stokecep.co.uk, added 16:42, 19 February 2021 (UTC)
- Port Vale Foundation Trust, registered charity, using the Port Vale brand to engage, inspire and motivate individuals of all ages and backgrounds, providing programmes, events and courses in four core areas: Sport, Health, Education and Inclusion.
Community and voluntary action
Community energy
In 2014, Stoke-on-Trent City Council announced plans for a £52m project to create a district heating network powered by geothermal energy. This will provide heating, in the form of hot water, to local customers. Work started in 2017 and the first customers will be connected in early 2019.
Cycling activism
As of November 2009 there are 77 miles (124 km) of new National Cycle Network off-road bicycle paths through the city, connecting to the national long-distance paths which were completed in 2005. Together with those in Newcastle-under-Lyme, there are now over 100 miles (160 km) of cycle paths in the urban conurbation. A further £10 million of funding has now been secured for the city's cycling network, to be spent in 2009–2011 through Cycling England's support for Stoke as a Cycling City.
- Cycle communting guide, Stoke-on-Trent from britishcycling.org.uk, added 16:49, 19 February 2021 (UTC)
Environment quality
- Air quality in Stoke-on-Trent, information from iqair.com
Food activism
- Stoke-on-Trent Foodbank, added 17:01, 19 February 2021 (UTC)
Open spaces
Stoke is at the centre of the Stoke-on-Trent Green Belt, which is an environment and planning policy that regulates the rural space in Staffordshire surrounding the city and Newcastle-under-Lyme, and extending into Cheshire. It is in place to prevent urban sprawl and minimise further convergence with outlying settlements such as Kidsgrove and Biddulph. First defined in 1967, the vast majority of area covered is outside the city, but there are some landscape features and places of interest within that are covered by the designation mainly along its fringes, these include the Trentham and Goldenhill golf courses, Hem Heath Wood Nature Reserve, Meir Heath, Barlaston Common, Caverswall Cricket Club, Park Hall Nature Reserve, Chatterley Whitfield Country Park and enterprise centre, the villages of Baddeley Edge and Ravenscliffe, Bucknall Reservoir, Caldon Canal, the River Blythe, and the Head of Trent, Wedgwood Museum and estate, Strongford Treatment Works and Trent Vale Pumping Station.
Each of the six towns in Stoke-on-Trent has at least one park. At nine hectares, Burslem Park is one of the largest registered Victorian parks in the UK.[45] Park Hall Country Park in Weston Coyney is a national nature reserve, and its sandstone canyons are a Site of Special Scientific Interest.[46] Hartshill Park in Stoke is also a nature reserve, and Bucknall Park is home to the City Farm. Westport Lake in Longport is the largest body of water in Stoke-on-Trent[47] and has a nature reserve. Queens Park or Longton park in Dresden is one of the city's heritage parks and is famous for its horticulture and lakes. It houses several buildings including a clock tower and three bowling pavilions. W
Social inclusion
Sustainable transport
The city is served by the Trent and Mersey Canal, which sees traffic of some 10,000 boats a year. Additionally, the Caldon Canal branches off from the Trent and Mersey Canal at Etruria, within the city boundaries, going to Froghall with one branch going to Leek.
Resources
Maps
Networks
- Counter Community, describe themselves as "...a membership network and digital platform that enables organisations and individuals to work together for social change and to boost the local economy." They are currently running a pilot in North Staffordshire. added 17:11, 5 December 2020 (UTC)
Research
- Climate action: Energy and carbon, information about Stoke-on-Trent from pcancities.org.uk, Place Based Climate Action Network, added 16:16, 19 February 2021 (UTC)
- What Makes for a Good Life in Stoke-on-Trent? July 2017 cusp.ac.uk
News and comment
2020
New fund to help communities tackle climate change, Nov 9 [1]
Students have designs on a sustainable Staffordshire, Feb 13 [2]
2019
Work Starts on Stoke-on-Trent's Sustainable Heating Network, Sep 30 [3]
Stoke-on-Trent hosts second CtrlShift Emergency Summit for Change in May, Mar 24 [4]
UK Talk - UK Village pump CASwiki... Places - Topics - Resources - News / About - Join - Talk - Village pump / UK |
External links
- Wikipedia: Stoke-on-Trent