Tour of Regeneration Areas

We were at the Renew offices on Trinity Street on Friday 12 October and met Place Space & Identity artists and Renew programme managers responsible for the regeneration strategy in Hanley, Meir, Burslem, Newcastle and Coalville. Following an overview of Renew's plans for North Staffordshire presented by Phil Brundrett, we headed out for a mini-bus tour of the affected areas. First to Newport Lane in Burslem, where an eerie quiet hangs over rows and rows of boarded up terraces awaiting demolition.



In the back alleys we came across two demolition workers, Roy and Mike, knocking the walls down of an abandoned terrace.

"We've been asked to knock these walls down but to be honest
can't really see much wrong with them." Roy & Mike

Amongst the rows of boarded up terraces, occasional signs serve as a reminder that people continue to live here. Even the Cathedral Church Of Our Lady Of Grace asserts its existence with a panel on its front lawn (below right).

Then, we headed for Meir, an estate of 1700 properties containing 60% social housing. Here, Phil Brundrett explained the potential he saw in the area.

"If people are dying to move into areas like Congleton and Macclesfield
because of the greenery, just think what we can do here." Phil Brundrett

From Meir, we headed to the City Waterside project, described by Renew's Mike Sidebottom as "our jewell in the crown." The City Waterside website describes the development as "a pioneering urban neighbourhood in the heart of historic Stoke-on-Trent. Set on 120 acres (50 hectares) of land in a unique landscape - it will become home to a thriving, sustainable, mixed community."

Artists Impression of City Waterside

City Waterside under construction, with tour group in the background

City Waterside is the result of John Prescott's Design for Manufacture Competition challenging the housebuilding and development industry to create high-quality homes whilst reducing construction costs to around £60,000. The motivation is to provide first-time buyers with the opportunity of getting onto the housing ladder, even if they're very small properties. As Prescott said in 2005, "My £60,000 home competition has proved wrong those critics who claimed you can't have both quality and quantity. People deserve decent, affordable homes with good access to jobs, public services and green spaces."