Survey

On 10th May 2008, we undertook a totally unstructured, unscientific survey on Queen Street, Burslem. We hope that it conveys the true thoughts of the people, and that the points raised can be addressed by the Council, RENEW and other development agencies, so that true regeneration can take place, and Burslem can start to be viable again.

We asked members of the public what they thought should be done to "make Burslem a better place for people to visit". The answers were written on Post-it notes, so are necessarily short. Some answers were eminimently practical, some not so, and some downright illegal!

The thirty-four replies can be grouped into various categories:

Retail
More clothes shops. A supermarket is essential. Large department store. More clothes shops. Grocery store. More male + female (clothes shops). Better shops. More shops. Indoor market to reopen.	9/34 - 26.5% of respondents. An issue that is of great concern, and one that does not seem to have been taken on board by the regeneration agencies. There are two empty supermarket buildings in Burslem. Nothing seems to be being done to get them reopened. All the development in Burslem appears to be geared towards housing, and all retail development seems to be going to Tunstall and Hanley. The Council needs a serious rethink on this issue. The Elected Mayor was told of these concerns during his "Meet Mark" session in Chell in November 2007. He was challenged to start, on foot, from Ceramica and return within an hour with a bunch of bananas. He declined to face the challenge. The point that was being made still does not seem to have sunk in.
Parking
Free parking!! Free parking. Free parking. Free parking!!!!!!! Free parking. Free parking. Free parking. Free parking.	8/34 - 23.5% of respondents. Again an issue that concerns a lot of people - without shoppers and visitors, Burslem is never going to be a thriving place. Parking charges are an active deterrent to people stopping in the town. HAVOC is working on a proposal that we hope will be acceptable to the Council. Preliminary informal conversations with a couple of local Councillors have been positive.
Leisure/Entertainment
More activity places/leisure centre. Swimming pool. Better places to hang around. More places to hang around. More fun events. Events every week in Queen Street.	6/34 - 17.6% of respondents. The first two points are being addressed in the proposal by Joan Walley, M.P., for the development of a sports village at Dimensions (see the Dimensions Splash pages). More/better places to hang around - we challenge the younger generation to come up with serious proposals on what they want to see happen in Burslem. More events - see the Local Edition special  Burslem Festivals 2008 (free - can be found at 7 Queen Street, other shops in the area or at http://localedition.blogspot.com). We would of course encourage any event - if somebody comes up with an idea and is willing organise it!
Renewal
Clean up buildings. I think it is vital to retain all historic buildings. Numerous empty upper stories need to be used. Keep the history. More culture. Flatten the lot and rebuild it. History counts for nothing.	4/34 - 11.8% of respondents. Yes please, especially the former Central Hotel pictured below - this street-level facade is an eyesore that ruins the rest of Queen Street. The upper stories of the building are magnificent, but are almost hidden by the red monstrosity below. We believe that there is an enforcement notice extant on the building, but that it is obviously not being enforced! We will try to get the enforcers to enforce.
Others
Arcade! Arcade. More salons/tan/nails. Close Hanley. Independence from Stoke-on-Trent. Lower drinking ages. Cleaner streets.	7/34 - 20.6% of respondents. There already are two arcades in Market Place, Silver Coin Amusements and Shipleys Amusements.. Interesting proposition! This is probably a cry for more local accountability and a fair deal for Burslem. Maybe, due to the unique linear geography of Stoke-on-Trent, if the six towns were treated as six towns and not as an amorphous mass, the populace would be more amenable to local government. One for the Council to ponder. Don't think so! Again, one for the Council.

It seems that the people of Burslem want to be able to shop in Burslem - they don't want to have to travel to Hanley or Tunstall. The most pressing need seems to be for clothes shops and somewhere that fresh fruit and vegetables can be bought. Also people want the indoor market to reopen as a market - not as a "world class ceramic aution house" which would not benefit the locals at all. It is up to the Council to devise a scheme to attract retail shops to Burslem - maybe a reduction in business rates for a specified time?

Shoppers also want to be able to park near to where they do their shopping, and don't want to pay for the privilege. We are working on a proposal.

Most of all, people want their views taken into account - something that has obviously not happened in previous local renewal programmes.