Having visited the exhibition last week, I have some outstanding concerns about the impact on the surrounding road network, both from my own knowledge of the area but also as the councillor of a ward where a similar planning situation arose a number of years ago, and continues to impact the area.

But do we need another supermarket in Longton? Some residents don’t believe we do and that the impact of another supermarket will kill Longton town centre once and for all. The development of the Baths Road site for Tesco Extra elicited the same concerns. When I first came to live in the Longton area ten years ago, Market Street and the Bennett Precinct nearby were busy, with The Strand being the part of town I didn’t really bother with. The situation has reversed now – and whilst Tesco can claim some credit for reinvigorating the northern part of Longton, the economic situation is largely responsible for the closure of Woolworths and many of the estate agents that flourished in Market Street.

One concern of mine in recent years is that the increased development around the northern part of Longton, particularly with the Phoenix Park now well on the way to completion, the developments in the south and south west of the town, especially the Wilkinsons and Matalan developments were becoming increasingly isolated from the ‘busier’ northern area of the town. However, a new ASDA store which will be just a short walk from The Strand and Commerce Street, could lead to a reinvigoration of the southern part of Longton, and also the small shops along Trentham Road. Certainly, the business owners I have spoken to in this area are keen to see ASDA develop the Spring Garden Road site as they see it only bringing benefits to their businesses in terms of increased footfall.

But the implications of the development of the Spring Garden Road site is about more than just impact on other businesses – the site may be bordered on one side by the A50 and its slip road, but the other is a mixture of housing, light industrial and schools. Having had a small supermarket on the site previously, these near neighbours do have an idea of what is likely to happen should ASDA develop the area, however on a far greater scale. And this is where a great deal of concern arises, as the roads in this area have become increasingly busy in recent years and are really not up to the drastic increase in users the supermarket is very likely to draw in. Of course, ASDA do realise this and are prepared to make some improvements, but are they enough?

ASDA’s main improvement is to change the roundabout directly outside the new store, where it joins Trentham Road to a traffic light-controlled junction, which of course will help with the traffic flow – however what about the traffic before it reaches this point? Along with many others, my most direct route to the new ASDA will be down the A50 and off at the sliproad at the bottom of Lightwood Road. This is where my experiences in Meir Park start to tell me there might be trouble ahead.

The access to Tesco and B&Q in Meir Park is via the Meir Park/Blythe Bridge roundabout off the A50, which then funnels traffic up Lysander Road a short distance to a smaller roundabout, with exits for Tesco and Whittle Road (where the entrances of Aldi and B&Q are). If you follow Whittle Road along, it turns sharply right after a while and then joins the A50. The development of the area off Whittle Road has to some degree been hampered by this traffic arrangement that sees heavy traffic flow at the bottom of Lysander Road into the various retail and leisure premises (including the Weathervane pub and McDonalds, along with Tesco, B&Q and Aldi) and also into the estate of Meir Park itself (approx 1700 residences). When developers have looked at the Johnson Matthey/Cooksons site at the end of Whittle Road, local residents have naturally been concerned about the impact of more traffic on the A50 roundabout and Lysander Road, which already often sees backed up traffic during busy times of the week, and have suggested access to the Whittle Road site from this minor junction. Having asked the question myself, the response is that the sliproad to this junction is too short for the sort of lorries likely to be using it. Whilst this is not an insurmountable problem (the Johnson Matthey site does now have planning permission, though this incorporates a number of traffic improvements around Whittle Road), it does reflect the fact that when the site was originally developed, the scope of future development was not considered.

I suspect few considered the likely future developments in Longton when the Lightwood sliproad was put in, however I would certainly expect it to be something ASDA considered in their improvements. Strangely, however, when I asked about whether the small Lightwood Road roundabout could cope with the increase in traffic, I was told it could and no improvements were currently suggested for it. Now frequent users like me will know how ‘short’ the sliproad is onto the roundabout, and I would hazard a guess that it will only take six or more cars being slow getting onto the small roundabout, and traffic will be tailing back onto the A50!

If you are heading to ASDA from the opposite direction, driving up the A50 past the Britannia Stadium, you will need to take the Longton sliproad. Yes, the one just before Tesco Extra, that is already often congested – and that is before the Phoenix Park developments open, which boasts several new stores, a fastfood outlet and a new pub. You would then travel along the road past Matalan to the roundabout at the top of The Strand.  Anyone who, like me, travels around this area, will know how it is not unusual to experience a short delay at this roundabout.

Of course, we can’t really blame ASDA for the inadequacies of the road network around Longton, though it should remind local councillors that we need to remember that there is more to regeneration than the ‘shiny shiny’ new store. It will be interesting to see how the ASDA store plans develop, particularly any changes made as a result of the public exhibition – certainly, I have suggested that work on the A50 sliproad needs to be considered, and intend to monitor the situation closely.

You can keep up to date with developments for ASDA Longton here.

We thought it would be interesting to see what residents liked and disliked about the area…

What are the top 3 things you like about where you live?

• Lots of green places and space
• Well maintained estate
• Good facilities and amenities – and proximity to places like Peak District etc
• Active local church

What are the top 3 things you would like to change?

• Less litter!
• Better use of green space / stopping abuse of green space (motor bikes / flytipping)
• More community opportunities to come together
• Greater police presence at the weekends
• Traffic issues (more safer places to cross / reduction in speeding traffic)

Do you have any suggestions to improve the Meir Park ward?

• Johnson Matthey site needs to be developed or clean up
• More places for young people (8-14) to cycle, skateboard etc
• More community events

Several suggestions were also made for community events later this year. The next meeting is on Monday 13th February, 7pm, at St Clare’s, Lysander Road. Please come along and share your thoughts on Meir Park ward.

Dill Grove in particular was quite bad – and the problem was exascerbated as someone had driven over the area before the tarmac had dried, leaving bold black lines on a near-white surface.

An initial complaint to the Highways Department suggested a number of possible reasons for the problem and that it would fade over a few days, however several weeks later, the problem remained, and had actually got worse in places, being almost ghostly grey!

I asked that the Highways Department look again at the problem pavements, particularly as these seemed quite isolated cases which I had not seen anywhere else in the ward or the wider Meir area.

After further investigation, the cause of the mysteriously lightening pavement is still not known, however it does appear to be gradually fading. The Highways Department have also reassured me that they continue to monitor the situation.

Although it is still not entirely in keeping with the corporate image of the city (new signs are red and black, and feature the Council logo introduced several years ago), the appearance has been much improved.

These gateways are the first ‘hello’ visitors receive to Stoke-on-Trent and as is often said, first impressions count. Unfortunately, whilst the A50 entry is bright and clean, the A520 is best described as ‘tired’. The signage on Sandon Road, where Stafford Borough becomes Stoke-on-Trent, is dirty and dismal, and desperately in need of replacement.

The sign on the A520 at Weston Coyney is only marginally better – but in contrast to the Staffordshire signs viewed if you are heading out of Stoke-on-Trent, they are well below par.

To try to get the welcome signage improved, I tabled a question at the December full Council meeting and received some reassurance from the Deputy Leader of the Council that improvements to the gateway signage will be seen. Watch this space!

Apparently, Westminster City Council have decided that the parking proposals put forward to the Cabinet in February 2011 look good, and are keen to adopt them (much to the annoyance of London Mayor, Boris Johnson). Now one of the strengths I often think of the Conservative Group on Stoke-on-Trent City Council at the moment (other than that buying a round of drinks in the pub is very cheap) is that we have our own areas of political interest that we pursue – Jack is very keen on transport and infrastructure, whereas I am really interested in green spaces and the built environment. However, one thing that we both get frustrated about is parking. So my phone call from London got us talking about the Council’s proposals for Hanley AKA ‘the city centre’.

Parking is a key part of the economy – whether you charge for it or provide it for free, ensuring you have enough in the right places is vital. In city and town centres, council car parking figures highly though increasingly private companies provide parking also, but the need to be competitive is key.

I won’t dwell too much on past problems, suffice to say I remain to be convinced that the sale of the multi storey car park next to the Potteries Centre – the goose that lays the golden eggs – was a good idea (even though it solved a financial problem at the time), and that the flop of a Park & Ride could have been so easily avoided. So where do I think we should go from here?

The problem with parking is that what has been described as something the Council provides for its residents near the shops, has become a largely reliable source of income for other things instead. I don’t blame the Council for this, with national government continuing to pass down increased responsibilities to local government without the requisite financial support, it was always going to happen. However, this does mean that the basic economics of supply and demand (reducing the price to increase the demand) is a gamble possibly too far. However, without reducing price, it is hard to see how to maintain the income level, especially when new providers enter the market.

Within Hanley, the challenge provided by Tesco’s old store in Hall Store has been replaced by a new model that sees a low cost competitor enter the market, with Go Outdoors capitalising on the huge car park they’ve inherited by piling ‘em high and selling spaces cheap at 50p per hour – possibly the cheapest car park in Stoke-on-Trent and only a short walk to the shops! However the threat is even worse as Tesco may not be quite so close anymore, but their new super-shiny super-big store is only fractionally further away and still offering effectively free parking in exchange for some kitchen cupboard staples or a sandwich lunch and newspaper. So how does the Council compete? Without the best car park in the city by the Potteries Centre (I know, I said I wouldn’t mention it again), and no domination over car parking in the city centre, the best challenge is a good value park & ride and we all know what happened to that…

The problem with any plan put forward is that the council needs to acknowledge that it actually has very little control over parking the Hanley. Unlike other towns where the parking is predominantly Council-owned, with perhaps one or two private car parks, Hanley has numerous private providers who are all closer to the centre that the Council’s. This drastically changes the dynamics of any parking model, and means the Council really has to start to accept that unless the centre of Hanley is moved (unlikely), we will never be in a position to lead the market.

So bearing in mind that we need the income, what is the best model to pursue? Many of the Council-owned car parks are on the periphery of the ring road, idea for those who work in the city centre. If the business district proposed for Hanley also comes to fruition, even more car parking will be needed. A well-priced (and promoted) 5 day ticket would attract those currently forced to park in residential streets and walk in, or pay through the nose to use the shoppers car parks. Of course, some will always prefer to pay nothing and walk a mile to work, but many will be grateful for the convenience of a guaranteed car parking spot within a short walk of work.

The other proposal is a park and ride that works. The major flaw with the original was that it was quicker to park and walk than wait for the bus, but if all the projects proposed for Hanley come off (business district, East West/City Sentral, and the Potteries Centre extension), parking in the centre of Hanley will once again become a highly desirable commodity – and the Council may have the trump card, owning a number of large car parks on the ring road. A well-priced, well located park and ride, perhaps not far from either the A500 or Lichfield Street/Bucknall New Road (maybe even both!) would be idea to serve as a terminus, encouraging day trippers to Hanley to park and ride, whilst the periphery parking becomes premium for those who want to pay extra to nip into Hanley for an hour or two. A location that was just a short walk from Stoke station would be even better, having the extra benefit of potentially also taking students from the University Quarter into Hanley too.

Of course, all this relies on the additional developments promised for Hanley, which may or may not happen. Unfortunately, parking in Hanley is for the Council the genie that escaped from the bottle. There is no chance of getting it back in, so we have to make the best of what we’ve got.

‘Culture’ for me means shared characteristics, values, goals and practices, and I find it quite disappointing that we don’t take pride in our local culture in Stoke-on-Trent. Perhaps that’s why I have been so enthusiastic in promoting the Titanic link to our city? (But more of that another time).

A few years ago, there was a suggestion that Stoke-on-Trent apply to be the European City of Culture in 2017. Cue a lot of raucous laughter. But why? By definition, we have culture – something that makes Stoke-on-Trent different to Manchester, Birmingham, Nottingham, in fact any city you care to name. Why not take our turn celebrating that on the global stage?

Now much has been blogged on Liverpool as Capital of Culture, and I’m not going to regurgitate that; I’ve also blogged myself in the past on how we can use certain aspects of our history to regenerate the City. What I am going to do though is focus on the fun side of culture, one particular aspect that I think we could easily replicate in Stoke-on-Trent. The Superlambanana. What a fantastic idea!

A what? A superlambanana. A fusion of a lamb and a banana by a Japanese artist for an exhibition in 1998, and ‘adopted’ by Liverpool for the City of Culture, acknowledging the port’s association with importing (amongst other things) lambs and bananas. So simple, it’s genius! I can image the guffawing when the original superlambanana was unveiled, however those people are now probably feeling quite sheepish (pun absolutely intended). The superlambanana became so famous that more than 70 were eventually created, decorated and distributed to promote Liverpool. One ended up in London, another in Wales and the rest all over the Liverpool area, decorated in a variety of patterns and colours, following a competition run in the local paper for sponsors. At the end of the City of Culture event, 70 were collected together for a preview, and over 2 days, more than 47,000 people came to look at them. The charity auction that followed raised £675,000 for the Lord Mayor’s charity. The total impact of the superlambananas in Liverpool is that 570,000 people stated they came to the city primarily to see them (that’s more than those who came to see the tall ships, Mathew Street Festival, and Liverpool Sound put together). It is estimated that this had a £9.6m impact on Liverpool. Not so funny now, are they?

The thing is, such relatively simple ideas have a track record of delivering. In 2004, Manchester had ‘Cow Parade’ and in 2010, nearby Chester had ‘Rhino Mania’, both following the very simple idea of the superlambanana. The research around Chester’s ‘Rhino Mania’ suggested that over the relatively short period the event was held, 40% of visitors to the town came specifically to see the decorated rhinos, worth an estimated £100,000.

However it doesn’t have to stop at animals. One of the most famous ‘citizens’ of Philadelphia was Rocky Balbao, who’s statue now stands at the top of those famous steps he ran up. Yes, the sequels were never as good as the original, but this statue has become one of Philly’s biggest tourist attractions and is acknowledged by local politicians to have helped their regeneration. Hardly surprising that residents of Detroit are trying to raise US$50,000 to pay for a Robocop statue, is it?

So, Stoke-on-Trent. Opinion is split over Captain Smith of the Titanic, and also Slash and Lemmy, but I don’t think anyone disputes the importance of pottery in our culture. Why not a series of teapots or cups and saucers around the city? Sponsored by companies, decorated by pupils at local schools and celebrating our heritage and culture? A fabulous opportunity to show the world what we do best, teach our children what their forebears did and replace the traditional view of Stoke-on-Trent as smog and soot, with that of bright design, imagination and invention?

This would tie in brilliantly with the British Ceramic Biennial in 2013, so why not? Why are we so scared to say I’m Stoke-on-Trent and I’m proud of my culture?

Another glass panel was smashed earlier this month and the police have been called numerous times to incidents at the shelter. Nearby residents have repeatedly complained to me about the behaviour the shelter has attracted, including late night football with the shelter as a goal, urinating in residents gardens and drinking with the litter thrown at houses and into gardens. This was originally raised with myself and other councillors for the area last year, and the decision was made to move the shelter then, however co-ordinating the various departments and outside agencies has taken a bit longer and required some additional money from this year’s ward budget.

Unfortunately, the location of the bus shelter meant that it was not overlooked by nearby houses so attracted anti social behaviour, particularly in the evenings, and the owner (who is not the City Council) had stopped replacing the glass panes as they were smashed. I realise that this will cause inconvenience for residents who use the bus shelter whilst waiting for the bus, however sadly removal was the only option.

The removal has been reported in the Sentinel. The majority of monies for removal of the shelter was paid in 2010/11 from the Meir Park & Sandon ward budget (£950), with an additional £338 paid this year from the Meir Park ward budget.

One of the most daunting aspects of being a new councillor is speaking in the chamber. It’s not so much the speaking in front of lots people, most councillors will have all ready spoken in other meetings both in the Council and local community, often to far more than the 60 or so people in the Chamber on Full Council day. Unlike many other Council chambers, the Chamber in Stoke-on-Trent is an old fashioned wooden style chamber, with wooden pew-style benches and the sense that you are treading where many others have trod over the years. It may not be as big as chambers elsewhere, but it has a certain solemnity that instills a sense of awe as soon as you walk in.

Last year, I sat on the back row of the chamber, safely nestled within my group, but standing up to speak felt no less frightening. As the group leader, I now find myself right at the front, within metres of the press table on the floor of the chamber and the members of the Labour group facing us. And towering above us all at the end of the chamber is the Lord Mayor, looking down from the bench.

I have always been determined not to be a silent councillor, and a good friend who had been a councillor himself, encouraged me to get that initial speech out of the way early in my time in the chamber. Even a short speech is enough to build your confidence to say more later. I concentrated on my notes that first time, gripping the edge of the bench, looking up occasionally and trying to look around the chamber but without really fixing on anyone in particular. After a year of this, I’m more confident – however taking that step into the ‘big chair’ was something else.

The committee clerk had prepared me for the agenda running order, and we entered the Chamber. Licensing sub committees are like a court hearing, starting when the Chairman and sub committee enter from the Members Room. (The importance of the room you are about to enter is obvious from the moment you enter the Members Room, lined with glass cabinets full of history themselves). Up onto the bench then along to the Chairman’s seat, up one final step. The ‘big chair’ – so heavy that you can’t adjust it whilst sitting on it, and facing a desk scarred and worn from my many predecessors… Looking down into the chamber was frightening itself, but then I relaxed back into the chair and sunk into the well-worn leather, so divotted over time that it’s not possible to reach the microphone from this position. Pulling myself forward, I switched on my microphone and started the meeting, but the knowledge that I was sitting in THE seat was obviously too much for me, as I stumbled through the start of the agenda, forgetting to ask for apologies and then getting the name of a fellow councillor wrong (sorry!).

I spent the rest of the first hearing concentrating on the agenda, perched on the edge of the ‘big chair’, trying not to let myself be distracted by where I was. After returning to give our ‘verdict’ on that first hearing, I suspect the relief at having managed to get through it all was too much for me, and I performed a most spectacular dive off the bottom bench step, which I suspect would have impressed even Lee Evans. Yes, it did hurt however I think the realisation that I was sitting in that hallowed seat and had managed to fairly successfully chair a meeting from there without fainting, disappearing back into the seat or accidentally pressing one of the switches, buttons and widgets that surround the desk, meant I was oblivious to my bruised knee and scuffed foot.

Being the Lord Mayor is a huge honour – 12 months as the City’s ‘First Citizen’, this highly-respected figurehead may seem to spend their time glad-handing people across the City, but the responsibility of chairing the Full Council is no small part of that role. Having sat in that seat again this week, chairing the relatively civil and straightforward licensing sub-committee, it again hits me that keeping control over 44 councillors whilst taking advice from officers is no mean feat, whilst simultaneously sitting in the ‘big chair’ and carrying all the history and tradition of the City of Stoke-on-Trent with you. Hats off to the Lord Mayor!

Delays with the Cobridge Community Health Centre have affected the Primary Care Trust’s ability to get the new Meir Centre open on time, however the Trust are working hard to reduce the impact of this delay. Plans are also being put in place to ensure services that are due to move to the new health centre continue until the new opening date when services can be transfered to their new base.

The official opening has been planned for Friday 2nd December, also combining with the community Christmas event in Meir. The Lord Mayor has been invited to officially open the new facility.