Councillor Glen Watson

After the Conservatives raided the Council coffers to build car parks and vanity projects, Labour's making the sensible decisions to protect our City, our residents and our services.

Today Stoke-on-Trent Conservatives walked out of full council rather than face up to their Government’s failure to protect families from ‘no fault’ evictions.

We all know someone who has found themselves thrown out of their home at short notice, or left living in a constant state of anxiety thanks to bad landlords who put profit before the security of their tenants. It’s been 4 and a half years since the Conservative Government promised to take action on Section 21, but nothing has changed.

Local renters in our city still don’t have the protections they deserve but the local Conservatives won’t even participate in the debate.

REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY IN BURSLEM

It was an honour to join our local community in Burslem today to honour the brave men and women of our Armed Forces, and to remember the sacrifices of all those who serve, past and present.

We had a fantastic turnout despite the wet weather, with people lining the street of Burslem to pay their respects.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning
We will remember them

Your Labour Council has secured nearly £500,000 of new, external funding for Transport Safety Officers to travel on our buses, and to patrol bus stops and stations.

Tackling crime and antisocial behaviour was one of our pledges at the local elections, and we're going to keep on delivering on those promises to give Stoke-on-Trent the change we need.

🚍 IMPROVING SAFETY ON OUR BUSES 🚍

✅ When you voted for me and my colleagues, on the doorsteps you told me of your concerns for safety, especially for women and girls, whether that is in our parks, out and about across our city or on our public transport.

✅ The team at the Council has listened and we've secured nearly £500,000 of new, external funding for Transport Safety Officers to travel on our buses, and to patrol bus stops and stations.

✅ Whilst the above news is great it is not enough. Over recent years, so many bus routes have been lost and that has been a disgrace. I know many of you rely on buses but simply can't get around.

✅ It was great news when we brought in all day £3.50 tickets but more now needs to be done to improve routes and timetables - watch this space. We are working on it.

GETTING WINTER READY

It won’t be long now until we start to see ice and frost on our roads and pavements, and I know the steep hills around Merrion Drive can be particularly dangerous in the winter months.

A number of residents told me recently that they struggle to get up to the grit bin at the top of the road, so I was pleased to secure an additional grit bin on the corner of Merrion Drive and Unwin Street, paid for with my ward budget.

I’m also working to get the existing grit bins in the area refilled in time for the first frost.

📢Have your say!

❤️We want your thoughts to help shape our inclusion strategy for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND).

➡️Go to: https://www.stoke.gov.uk/inclusionstrategy

PUMPKINFEST AT DOLLY’S LANE ALLOTMENT

It was a real Halloween treat to be invited to Dolly’s Lane allotment at the weekend to join in with their Halloween social event, with prizes awarded for heaviest pumpkin, best decorative carving and for the best jars of preserves.

It was great to meet so many people and have a tour of the allotment, and a particular honour to help hand out the awards. But best of all was seeing so many people coming together with a real sense of community spirit.

⏰The opening times at the Household Waste Recycling Centres (tips) have changed!

Visit: www.stoke.gov.uk/thetip for details

OUT AND ABOUT IN BURSLEM PARK

✅ I went on a walkabout on the Park Estate yesterday with our local PCSO and the Environmental Crime Team

🗑️We found several incidents of flytipping as well as a number of potholes and blocked gullies

☑️These have all been reported and should be cleaned up shortly

I’ve been made aware that some recycling boxes weren’t collected today on the Park Estate. If your box wasn’t collected please leave it out and the team should be back round tomorrow

FREE WEEKEND OF SPORT AND ACTIVITY - GET INVOLVED!

🏋️‍♀️ Join us for our Active Stoke open weekend.

🏸 Enjoy FREE activities, taster sessions, classes, friendly advice, special offers and more!

💸 Plus if you sign up over the weekend you will automatically get upgraded to global membership.

👉 Go to https://activestoke.co.uk/events to find out more.

TELLWRIGHT STREET POTHOLES

I spoke with several residents in Tellwright Street during my recent ward walk about the terrible potholes still remaining on the street.

I’ve now had a response back from my report to say that the repair team should be out soon.

MISSED BINS IN BURSLEM PARK

I’ve been made aware that some bins weren’t able to be collected in Burslem Park today. If your bin was affected, please leave it out and it should be collected tomorrow

We’ve been out enjoying the sunshine this morning, talking to residents in the Tellwright Street area about their local concerns.

I spotted several potholes and blocked gullies along the way, these have now been reported to the council along with the fly tipping in the alleyway behind Leigh Street.

Had a fab morning out talking to residents around Dolly's Lane and Shaftesbury Avenue. Really appreciate people taking the time to share their thoughts on how we can make a difference across the city.

It was great to be joined by our Parliamentary Candidate for Stoke-on-Trent North Councillor David Williams, together we'll keep working hard all year round to make a difference for residents.

If you have any queries or would like to raise anything with me please feel free to drop me a message or email me at [email protected]

During the election Labour pledged to do more to tackle fly-tipping and keep our communities tidy. We’re delivering on that promise, but there’s still plenty more to do.

🎯We've smashed our 100-day target to clear 1,000 illegal dumping cases but we're not stopping there.

📈 Our teams are still working hard to tackle illegal dumping across the city.

🥳We've cleared 1⃣7⃣0⃣2⃣ reports since June.

LEONARD STREET POTHOLES

Just a quick update on the severe potholes on Leonard Street, pleased to report that a repair has now been logged and should be underway shortly

❌ CLOSED ❌

Burslem Household Waste Recycling Centre (tip) is currently closed.

We will update on the reopening ASAP.

Sorry for any inconvenience caused.

It was great to see Burslem bustling this afternoon with people filling up the square to enjoy some brilliant live music.

A huge shoutout to everyone at Our Burslem for all the hard work they put in to deliver great events like today’s festival.

Great morning out in the Merrion Drive area today speaking to local residents. Some really positive feedback as well a few local issues raised.

JOIN THE BANK HOLIDAY FESTIVITIES IN BURSLEM

The 'Our Burslem' Burslem Unites Festival is taking place this coming Bank Holiday Monday. As always it promises to be a brilliant day out for the whole family, with some great bands and musicians performing live.

Good luck Lionesses! The whole country is behind you!

TAKING ACTION ON DECENT HOUSING

🗣️ During the election, we heard time and time again from Council tenants who felt that the Conservative-run Council didn’t care about them and their living conditions.

🌹 Labour promised to do things differently, and we are delivering on our promise.

✅ The Council has now approved a £117m investment in improving more than 16,000 Council homes across our city.

🏠 We won’t tolerate people living in cold, damp and mouldy houses. We want the best for our residents and we will work to deliver better homes.

Stoke-on-Trent Council in £117m housing stock pledge All council homes in Stoke-on-Trent are set to benefit from the spend which covers the next five years.

🎾NEW BALLS PLEASE!🎾

☑️Excited to announce that through the Lawn Tennis Association, funding has been secured to refurbish tennis courts in Burslem Park!

☑️ This is great news for the park and will mean local residents can enjoy improved tennis facilities on their doorstep.

☑️The LTAs aim is to have 1 million more people playing tennis by the end of 2024 across the country.

☑️Improvement works should start in the next few weeks with completion in September/October, weather permitting.

📢Here's the latest on our illegal dumping crackdown...

Last week:
3⃣9⃣ fines issued
9⃣5⃣ skip loads worth of waste cleared
1⃣9⃣6⃣incidents of illegal dumping cleared

We won't tolerate illegal dumping in our city.

Following reports of vandalism in the early hours of this morning on the Park Estate, I’m currently doing a walk about in the affected area to speak to residents and assess the damage. If you’d like to chat about this (or anything else) please come and say hello

We all deserve to live in a clean, well kept neighbourhood. That’s why we’re continuing to crack down on illegal dumping

📍 Hamil Road, Burslem

We are continuing to flush out illegal dumping in our towns.