Baroness Hilary Armstrong, chair of the Independent Commission on Neighbourhoods (ICON), visited Stoke-on-Trent on 27 June to find out more about the issues facing communities in Stoke-on-Trent and learn about future opportunities. The visit came as ICON is reviewing the current state of neighbourhoods across England.
During the visit, Baroness Armstrong praised community building in Stoke-on-Trent. However, community leaders spoke about the challenges they still face.
Baroness Armstrong visits Stoke-on-Trent
Baroness Armstrong visited a Stay and Play session at St John’s church in Abbey Hulton hosted by Thrive at Five during her visit to Stoke-on-Trent. She also attended a session at St John’s Day Service run by the council’s Adult Social Care and All Age Commissioning service. They support adults with learning difficulties with activities including cookery, gardening, health, education and digital skills.
She also took part in a roundtable discussion with representatives of community groups at Bentilee Neighbourhood Centre. This gave her the opportunity to hear directly from those working to improve the lives of people living in the city. Finally, she finished at The Portland Inn Project in Hanley, learning about their plans to transform a former pub into a new community hub.
Speaking about her visit, Baroness Armstrong said it was “a real pleasure to visit Stoke-on-Trent”. She added: “I saw first-hand how the council and grassroots organisations are building strong communities and enriching neighbourhoods.
“The path to national renewal lies in neighbourhood renewal. I hope Ministers will closely examine the lessons from community-led regeneration, in Stoke-on-Trent and across the country.”
Council leader Jane Ashworth said it was a “privilege” to meet with Baroness Armstrong and discuss the “challenges and opportunities facing our local communities”.
Trailblazer funding secured for community regeneration
The visit to Stoke-on-Trent by the chair of ICON comes in the wake of Bentilee and Ubberley being named as one of 25 trailblazer neighbourhoods announced in the government’s Comprehensive Spending Review, each of which will receive £20 million in funding for community-led regeneration projects.
As part of its Comprehensive Spending Review, the government announced 25 trailblazer neighbourhoods located in cities including Hull, Blackpool, Glasgow and Swansea. Each will receive £20 million in funding over the next decade, along with support from a specialist team.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) will work with partners in trailblazer neighbourhoods to develop schemes and provide a direct line to Whitehall. A spokesperson for MHCLG said the funding would “support improvements people can see on their doorstep, champion local leadership, foster community engagement and strengthen social cohesion”.
Council leader Jane Ashworth described the injection of funding from the trailblazer scheme as “transformational” with the potential to “make a real difference to people’s lives for decades to come”. She went on to say it was “recognition of the work we have already been doing to empower communities to have more control over the places where they live”.
Building ‘One Stoke-on-Trent’ for everyone
As part of a broader process to understand the challenges facing Stoke-on-Trent communities, the city council is working with the charity Protection Approaches on a major listening exercise to identify what needs to be done to make everyone living in Stoke-on-Trent feel ‘safe and welcome’. Protection Approaches are a charity with expertise in ‘community resilience, inclusion and social cohesion’.
The listening exercise is funded by a £600,000 grant from the MCHLG. It will involve consultations with community groups and other key stakeholders, specialist sessions with underrepresented communities and workshops at which the public can discuss the challenges faced by their community and those things that are working well.
Andy Fern, co-executive director at Protective Approaches said the exercise was “about hearing from people across Stoke-on-Trent about what matters to them and what they want for the city”, adding that they aimed to understand the “ideas, strengths and connections that can help build a more inclusive and united city for the future”.
The listening exercise is part of the ‘One Stoke-on-Trent’ campaign launched in August 2024 in the wake of the public disorder that swept across the country following the murder of three children at a Taylor Swift themed dance event in Southport.
Launched in February this year, the One Stoke-on-Trent campaign aims to bring the city’s communities together by building lasting connections. The first two sessions will be held at the Dudson Centre in Hanley on Thursday 31 July and at Gladstone Pottery Museum in Longton on Thursday 14 August; both will take place between 10am and 4pm.
Anyone wishing to take part should email education@protectionapproaches.org for more information.
