Sandyford and Goldenhill

Goldenhill Community Hub

Goldenhill Community Hub Open Day “Thursday 26th April”

Sandyford & Goldenhill Residents Public Meeting

Residents Public Meeting Information

Sandyford’s Flagship Employer Churchill China Confirms Bigger Investment

Churchill China have reported making record profits last year, which has increased more than £2 million to over £53 million pounds.

This is good news for the Sandyford based company as well as giving an added boost to the economy of Stoke on Trent.

Churchill China have also pledged to reinvest around £1 million pounds from it’s land sale in Fenton to it’s headquarters in Sandyford. The company say that the investment will go towards capacity, capability and efficiency improvements at the site, which employs around 650 staff.

For more on this story follow the link https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/stoke-on-trent-news/churchill-china-confirms-1-million-1389059

Saving Lives - Sandyford McDonald's to have a defibrillator on site

Councillor Martin Garner has made a contribution of £500.00 out of his ward budget to support the provision of a defibrillator at McDonald’s Restaurant in Sandyford.

The councillor say’s the contribution will not fund the full cost of the defibrillator, but the remainder will be raised by McDonald’s staff and volunteers through other activities.

The provision of a defibrillator will enable public access to an important piece of equipment which can save lives, and it is a known fact that CPR and defibrillation can double a person’s chances of surviving a cardiac arrest.

Residents have raised concerns to where the defibrillator would be located, especially if it was outside the restaurant as in possible vandalism.

When recently discussed at the Sandyford & Goldenhill Residents Association Committee Meeting, it was suggested that the defibrillator should be outside in respect to access e.g. when McDonald’s is closed.

The procedure for use of a defibrillator is that you would telephone 999, and then the call centre will notify where the box is located, with a code, which in turn would help to keep the equipment safer from vandalism.

Road Closure That May Affect Residents

Main sewer repair work is to start on Monday 12th March 2018 in Ridge Road, Sandyford. The road will be closed during these works for approximately 5 days.

Severn Trent Water anticipate the works to be finished earlier than this period, and should this change then residents will be kept updated on the progress.

Due to an obstruction in the sewer pipe the water authority are having to carry out excavation to remove the obstruction to restore full water flow, and to prevent sewer flooding the highway and/or properties.

During the road closure there will be a small diversion in place via Wignall Road, Maureen Avenue and Sandy Road (and reverse of).

There is a contact tel no should you wish to speak to the contractor, which is Jamie Clewes, “Marlies” on 07720682711.

https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/stoke-on-trent-news/stoke-trent-road-blocked-traffic-1330476

Caddick Construction Works (Sandyford)

As part of the ongoing works on the Tunstall Arrow Project, Caddick will be continuing with slab works on a further 2 of the 5 units which involves works that may extend into the early hours of the morning.

Just as the works 2 weeks ago, it is anticipated that the works will involve some intermittent noise disruption from the finishing equipment in the units. Caddick will obviously endeavour to minimise both the noise levels and any disruption that this may cause.

With this in mind, the company is informing residents that on the evenings of Thursday 8th March, Friday 9th March and Monday 12th March, there will be site activities extending, potentially into the early hours in order to complete the concrete finishing works.

Caddick are taking this opportunity to offer their sincere apologies for any inconvenience and disturbance that these works may cause, and their thanks for your patience and understanding.

Petition Fails to Keep Tunstall Co-op Bank Open

A 1,261 strong petition has failed in an attempt by Sandyford & Goldenhill Residents Association to keep the Co-op Bank open in Tunstall.

A meeting took place with Co-op Bank management on the 12th February, outlining why the Tunstall Branch should not close. Reasons put forward at the meeting by the residents association, along with City Councillors, Ann James, Joy Garner and Alan Dutton were,

The Co-op Bank is encouraging business use at the post office, which could encourage customers to transfer their services over to them
Tunstall Bank has disabled parking bays outside the branch where Hanley & Newcastle branches don’t
Nat-West & Barclays Bank closures has meant more people moving their services to the Co-op because of it being known as the people’s bank; mutuality when it was Britannia, and people still see it that way even though it no longer holds it’s mutual status. It is far easier to lose customers than to gain new “This needs to be remembered”
Post Office in Tunstall struggles to cope with the influx of customers now, let alone having extra Co-op Bank customers, (people shop in Tunstall)
There has been more disappointment about the Tunstall Bank closure because customers feel hurt at what has happened, you don’t usually get this with other bank closures & the upset could cause loyalty being thrown out of the window
1 in 4 of over 16’s in Stoke on Trent don’t have internet access, over double the national average (many older people are not savvy with the internet let alone banking with it
Britannia passbook accounts cannot be serviced at the post office
Demographics of the city was discussed at length, including time, travel and financial costs
When the Co-op Bank recently suffered financial difficulties, its customers/membership stood by the financial institution in it’s time of crisis and now it is believed the favour should be returned
Concerns were raised that older people may keep their cash at home before travelling a distance
Loyalty with the Co-op Bank by it’s customers/members, sometimes means they will invest money at lower interest rates rather than investing elsewhere, and if driven to bank in Hanley then loyalty could be lost to other banking organisations

Conclusion statement given to the Co-op Management read, Customers/Members of the bank are devastated at the decision the Co-op has made to close the Tunstall Branch, and are hopeful that you will reconsider your choice to leave it open for your many members who have regularly supported the Co-op and previously the Britannia.

Remember, you already have a supportive and loyal membership, and this is something that most other banks don’t have, so please look at your decision again, it is important for everyone concerned.

The Co-op Bank responded by saying, they understand the strength of feeling towards the closure of any branch, and they appreciate the arguments presented against the closure of the Tunstall Branch. The bank went onto say, their proposal reflects changes in the way their customers are choosing to bank with them, which has continued to accelerate as customers increasingly undertake more of their transactions online or via contactless payments. The bank added, the Tunstall branch has seen a reduction in transaction volumes of 11.% in just the last 12 months, which is one of the highest reductions amongst the branches which are due to close in the Stoke area.

The Co-op Bank further report that the Post Office provides everyday banking services to their customers and there are 4 located within a two mile radius of their branch.

The bank continued to say that while they have considered the feedback of their customers and the wider Tunstall community through the petition, and subsequent feedback at the recent meeting with the bank, they are unable to change their decision to close the branch. They believe it is the right decision to close the branch and while they recognise and understand the concerns people have, they have made sure alternative arrangements outlined by the Co-op Bank are available to customers of the branch.

Sandyford & Goldenhill Residents Association, along with 1,261 customers/members and supporters are very disappointed with the outcome made by the Co-op Bank to close it’s Tunstall Branch and believe it is the wrong decision to make.

Co-op Bank say in their own words, About The Co-operative Bank (Their Vision, They Say) “We pride ourselves on our customer service and customer satisfaction levels, and aim to put our customers at the heart of everything we do”. Unfortunately, almost 1,000 customers/members and supporters who signed the paper petition on cold and wintery days outside the branch as well as the online petition are finding it difficult to believe the Co-op Bank statement of priding themselves on their customer service, satisfaction levels and aiming to put their customers at the heart of everything they do by closing this well used bank in the heart of Tunstall.

https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/stoke-on-trent-news/defeat-1261-customers-who-tried-1280686

Appeal for witnesses to M6 incident

Staffordshire Police were called at 11:20pm last night to the M6 between junctions 14 and 13 southbound following the report of a Ford Mondeo that had collided with the central reservation.

The 32-year-old driver then left the car and tried to flag down a number of passing vehicles before getting over the central reservation and onto the northbound carriageway. He was then struck by a Mercedes box van and suffered head and arm injuries.

He was attended to by medical staff from West Midlands Ambulance Service and taken to Royal Stoke University Hospital where his condition is described as critical.

Sgt Richard Moors said: “The collision involved a number of scenes over a mile distance and officers from the Regional Collision Investigation Unit undertook a detailed examination. The northbound carriageway was opened after around five hours but the southbound remained closed until around 9.30am today.

“Attempts were made to turn vehicles around on the southbound carriageway to release trapped vehicles, but with a number of large goods vehicles in the backlog this was a difficult task. I would like to thank motorists caught in the post-collision traffic for their patience whilst officers carried out their work.

“The investigation remains ongoing and we are keen to speak to any witnesses who saw either of the collisions on the southbound or northbound carriageway. I am particularly interested in any witnesses who have dash cam footage from either carriageway.”

Any witnesses are asked to contact Staffordshire Police on 101 quoting incident 801 of 25 February

Caddick Apologise for Forthcoming Construction Noise

Caddick Construction have reported as part of their ongoing works on the Tunstall Arrow Project in Sandyford, they are currently installing the Concrete Floor Slabs to 2 of the 5 Units.

Unfortunately, this involves works that will extend into the early hours of the morning.

With this in mind, they are informing residents that on the evenings of Tuesday 20th, Wednesday 21st and Thursday 22nd February, there will be site activities extending, potentially into the early hours, in order to complete the concrete finishing works.

It is anticipated that the works will involve some intermittent noise disruption from the finishing equipment, but they will endeavour to minimise both the noise levels and any disruption that this may cause.

Caddick would like to take this opportunity to offer their sincere apologies for any inconvenience and disturbance that these works may cause, and their thanks for residents patience and understanding of the situation.

Tunstall Co-op Bank Closure Goes to Parliament

Ruth Smeeth M.P. for Stoke on Trent North & Kidsgrove took the fight to Parliament, where she called on the Government to do more to stop bank closures, including the Co-op Bank in Tunstall.

Ruth debated in the House of Commons on Thursday telling members that all the towns in her constituency are facing branch closures, and is requesting the Government to support measures to protect access to banking services in local communities.

Sandyford & Goldenhill Residents Association have welcomed the M.P.s involvement in her attempt to protect banking services in Tunstall, but also in Kidsgrove and Burslem.

S.A.G.E. Residents Association has now attracted over 1,250 petition signatures in it’s attempt to save the Tunstall Co-op Bank from closure, and will soon be presenting it to senior members of the Co-operative Bank.

To hear Ruth Smeeth debating the bank closures issue in Parliament, please follow the link https://en-gb.facebook.com/ruthsmeethmp/