Welcome Sandyford and Goldenhill Residents Association (S.A.G.E.)
Welcome to our website
A residents association uniting the two villages of Sandyford and Goldenhill since 1999
An organisation that aims to improve the environment and lifestyle for all its residents who live in our community
Click here to report any antisocial behaviour
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In this article David Wood talks about the good old PMT buses, does anyone know what the PMT stood for, of course you do “Potteries Motor Traction”.
 PMT Bus in Tunstall's Tower Square David’s story goes,
Who among you can remember the clock opposite the Travellers Rest which was used by the PMT to monitor the buses running times. The conductor had to get off the bus, place his card in the clock, press the handle and get back on again.
Can you imagine the speed that the conductor had to move if they were running late. He had to jump off while the bus was still moving and then run along the pavement to get back on because the driver had started off without him to try and make up a few seconds of lost time.
 1949 Leyland Motors PMT Double Decker Bus In the bad winters in the early mornings, the ladies used to get on the bus with hot water bottles because the old double deckers had no back doors on and they didn’t have heaters anyway.
Once, when the PMT were on strike, the pottery owners hired Jeffrey’s lorries to transport the workers to the potbanks. I don’t think that there is an elegant way to climb onto the back of a 5 ton truck, but the ladies did the best they could.
Until next time, you can read more of David’s stories by clicking onto the local memories tab at the top of the page.
Two men have been charged in connection with a serious assault in Bank Street, Tunstall.
An 18-year-old man suffered arm injuries in the incident at around 9pm on Thursday, 3 May. He was treated at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire and has since been released.
John Paul Maughan (20) and Patrick Maughan (32), both from St Helens in Merseyside, have this afternoon been charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent. They have been kept in custody to appear before magistrates in Fenton, Wednesday 9 May.
Inquiries into the assault are continuing and anyone with information should ring Staffordshire Police on 101, quoting incident number 732 of 3 May. Alternatively, they can ring independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
To celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth 2nd, a themed dance is to be held at Goldenhill Community  Hall/Centre, High Street, Goldenhill. on Sunday 3rd June 2012, 7.00 p.m.
Entertainment is to be provided by Elvis, also free bingo and raffle.
Fifties dress is preferred on the night and there will be a prize draw for the best costume and best “boppers”.
Price £5.00 per person (adults only) Admission by ticket, included in the price hot beef/ham  baps, gateaux, also a vegetarian option.
Bar open until 10.30 p.m.
Tickets available from Goldenhill Community Hall/Centre, tel no 01782 782045
http://www.elvis.com/
Steve Shaw, Sandyford & Goldenhil Residents Association Vice Chair has taken a new look at life since leaving his taxi driver role earlier in the year.
Steve who has been with S.A.G.E. volunteering on the residents committee since 2010 has decided to look at a more decorative life in the gardens of Stoke on Trent by hoping that people will be purchasing some of his hand made wooden garden ornaments, which are crafted to a very high standard.
The S.A.G.E. Vice Chairman has told the website that he believes a more natural effect of ornaments made with treated wood gives that accepted look to any garden, especially when giving buyers the chance to choose from a wide selection of stock or being able to design their own garden furniture and ornaments.
Since Steve joined the residents association, he has always wanted to improve the area and in his own words he says “improving the look of gardens has always been important to me because it makes the place look cared for”.
http://www.woodengardenornaments.co.uk/page4.html
In a north/south divide of Stoke on Trent, it is surprising to find out that equal amounts of residents in the two areas of the Potteries have different success rates when recycling waste.
Unfortunately, residents who live in the north divide of the city can only recycle 37.62% of its waste whereas residents in the south divide of Stoke on Trent recycle 51.98%.
Sandyford & Goldenhill Residents Association (S.A.G.E.) obtained figures from Stoke on Trent City Council’s Environmental & Waste Services Department and it appears that this has been the trend for a number of years.
The City Council is unable to give any particular reason to why there is such a difference in recycling waste between the two areas of Stoke on Trent and if anyone out there could throw some light onto why this is, then we are sure the City Council would be just as interested to find out the reason why as we are.
David Wood’s story this time discusses the landscape of Goldenhill and how it stands high overlooking the Cheshire Plain.
David goes on to say,
During 1961 the slag heap at the top of Kidsgrove Bank, Starvation Banks, was landscaped with the promise that it would be turned into a park with all sorts of facilities, yeah right. The area was actually more fun when it was wild and rugged and accessible.
If you sat at the very top you could see all over the Cheshire plain. The highlight was in 1957, when they had finished building the Jodrell Bank radio telescope near to Holmes Chapel, we could actually see it with a pair of binoculars, borrowed from my dad.
 Jodrell Bank built in 1957 The snowdrifts at the top of Kidsgrove bank were fantastic; they used to be several feet high and easily covered any vehicles which had been abandoned there. When it snowed the favourite pastime was making ice slides, the slides could be as long as 25 feet and were usually made in the middle of a pavement in a street with a downward slope to it.
The trouble is with projects like these was, the grownups didn’t like them and saw it as their civil duty to spoil them. A child doesn’t see the danger that an adult sees, so consequently, thanks to the age of the coal fire, ashes got thrown onto them to make them safe for the adults to walk over.
Many thank’s to David for his articles and I hope you enjoy the following link, which takes you to the BBC website on Jodrell Bank
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/space/universe/exploration/jodrell_bank_observatory
Please be aware that over 40 crimes have been committed in the Stoke and North Staffs areas in recent months relating to the theft of power tools and hand tools from workers vans.
In the main Ford Transits and Citroen Berlingo’s have been targeted and there have been various means of entry including the use of force on side doors, smashed windows and forced door locks and not to mention those vehicles left insecure.
Please pass this message on and remind your neighbours, especially those with vans containing power tools to remove them and if possible to garage their vehicles leaving them secure with the alarm on.
Any information on thefts from vehicles then please contact Staffordshire Police on 101 or anonymously to Crime stoppers on 0800-555-111.
http://www.crimestoppers-uk.org/
Police are appealing for witnesses following a robbery in Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent.
The incident occurred at approximately 9.20pm on Tuesday 24 April as a 20-year-old woman was walking home.
At the junction of Sunnyside Avenue and Little Chell Lane a group of five/six young people, all wearing hooded tops with their faces covered, blocked the woman’s path and the main offender has pulled her into an alleyway which runs behind Sunnyside Avenue.
The male then demanded she hand over her handbag, and stole a quantity of cash, then grabbed a necklace from the woman which he threw to the floor.
The offenders fled the scene via the Greenway towards Benson Street/Pittshill area.
Fortunately the woman was not injured and raised the alarm when she returned home.
The group of males/females were all wearing hooded tops and had their faces covered. It is believed one of them was a child.
The main male offender was white, aged 16 to 20, 6ft tall with a medium build. He was wearing gloves, a plain black-hooded sweatshirt, dark-coloured jogging bottoms with a bold white stripe running down each leg and a baseball cap.
Police are keen to speak to anyone who witnessed the incident, particularly a man and woman walking a dog in the area at the time.
Anyone with information should contact DC Liam Rider at Staffordshire Police on 101 quoting incident number 683 of April 24, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111
Planning- The Government’s new planning guidelines have now been published following much lobbying by myself and outside bodies such as the National Trust, and Friends of the Earth. The new guidelines are an improvement on the original proposals but it is now crucial that Stoke-on-Trent City Council works with local residents in devising a robust local plan for the city. I encourage all those who take an interest in planning decisions to engage with the Council on this.
Legal Aid- This week saw the Legal Aid Bill come back to parliament. The Bill seeks to dramatically reduce access to legal aid for some of the most vulnerable people. Labour oppose these changes and supported amendments to preserve legal aid for victims of domestic violence, industrial accidents and clinical negligence.
Boundary Review- The review of parliamentary boundaries has published draft proposals which will do nothing for democracy. The Government intends to reduce the number of MPs by 50, and to accommodate this the proposal is to abolish Stoke-on-Trent North constituency in favour of a new Kidsgrove and Tunstall constituency which pays no heed to local identities and which would split Burslem between 2 separate constituencies. This will marginalise the wards in Stoke on Trent. I have made my views known to the consultation, and the final recommendations will be subject to approval from parliament.
Rail Travel – There is no excuse for there being no disabled access to 3 out of the 4 platforms at Kidsgrove Rail station and so I organised a round table meeting with Staffs County Council, Newcastle Borough and Kidsgrove Town Councils, East Midlands Trains and other campaigners to agree a plan of action. We desperately need to secure investment to allow elderly and disabled people to access all platforms and we have now submitted a joint bid to the Access for All funding stream. This would allow easy access across Stoke on Trent and to places further afield.
Working Tax Credit- The Government’s new rules for working tax credit have now come into effect. This means that many people will have to increase the amount of hours they work or lose their credit. All the evidence shows that employers will not agree to workers increasing their hours and so many people, especially women, may be forced to give up work simply because work does not pay. This government policy is one more example of many budget changes where local people are worse off.
Payday Loans- A combination of pay freezes, benefit cuts and tax changes, rising unemployment and cuts to public sector jobs are making it more difficult for people to pay their way, and this in turn is leading to a greater reliance on credit. Locally there has been a rapid growth in take up of credit from pay day loan companies at very high rates of interest. I shall be advising the Office of Fair trading how much of a problem this issue is for us, and welcome any feedback.
NHS- Now that the Government changes to the way the NHS is to be run have been voted through parliament despite widespread opposition, there is great concern about the effect this will have on local services, waiting times etc . Please let me know if you notice any deterioration in services.
Foodbank – I will be opening the new Foodbank in Birches Head on 3rd May and will be encouraging food producers and retailers to donate any surplus food rather than through it into landfill.
Ormiston Academy- I welcome the relaunch of the community sport facilities and hope that good use will be made of them.
http://www.joanwalleymp.org.uk/
It was reported to residents on Thursday at the Sandyford & Goldenhill Residents Association (S.A.G.E.) Public AGM Meeting, which attracted 110 residents and guests that Dr Chandra Kanneganti and Dr Kishor Gohil, of Goldenhill Medical Centre have purchased the previously owned council’s Heathside House care home in Goldenhill.
 Former Heathside House Care Home, Goldenhill Joe Smith, Chairman of S.A.G.E., said “it is extremely pleasing to see local people take on the care home”.
The Chairman of S.A.G.E. went onto say “it is a very positive move for residents in the area and it will offer much needed jobs to local people across the city”.
It is reported that once the new care home reopens that it is expected to take in residents who are suffering from dementia.
For more on this story follow the link http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/GPs-buy-care-home-dementia-sufferers-opposite/story-15874838-detail/story.html
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