Stoke-on-Trent City Council

From 1 April, the length of time taken to investigate a complaint made to Stoke-on-Trent City Council will be reduced, and a new online system will be in place allowing members of the public to track their complaint after it has been made. The changes being made to the current system are: * The complaints procedure will now have only two stages * Stage one will be investigated by the manager of the service involved and have a 10 working day deadline for completion.

Deputy Leader of Stoke-on-Trent City Council Brian Ward has today confirmed that he will stand as an Independent Candidate in the upcoming General Elections Ward, who is a Councillor for the Blurton Ward and is also the Leader of the City Independent Group is currently at a conference in Cannes in France on behalf of the City Council. The principle reason for his decision to enter the contest is that he does not feel that the City's 3 Labour MPs have delivered on behalf of the electorate.

With work ending on 11 of Stoke-on-Trent’s children’s play areas, a second sum of money as been given to the council, to improve or build another 10. This will make a total of £1.1 million spent over the 2 year on these play grounds. Work will be completed on the first 11 facilities by the end of this month. Work on the other 11 must be completed by the end of March 2011 or the grant may be withheld.

Residents are being given the chance to find out how a £177m scheme will transform six city housing estates. Stoke-on-Trent City Council has been provisionally allocated the money under round six of the government’s private finance initiative. It paves the way for more than 700 homes to be built and environmental improvements to be made in the suburban estates of Abbey Hulton, Bentilee, Blurton, Chell Heath and Fegg Hayes, Meir and Norton.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council’s Clean Air Superheroes are hoping that people spring clean the air by pledging to use greener forms of transport. The campaign, featuring Fiona Freeze, Travis the Time Traveller and Oxy-Gen the Super tree is currently taking place at the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery The characters have been created along with the evil “Professor Pollutant”, to highlight the issues of air pollution within the city and get people to try and find better greener ways to travel, to

Residents are being invited to have their say on the latest phase of redevelopment work in Middleport. The houses in Port Street, Travers Street, Harper Street and Burgess Street, close to the historic Middleport Pottery, are earmarked for regeneration activity and local residents are being urged to air their views on the plans at special meetings over the next week.

Young people from Moorland Park Youth Centre will be showing off the results of a recent project to highlight alcohol abuse next week. Walls at the community centre have been decorated with graffiti, painted by youngsters attending workshops, and will be unveiled next week, with the artists signing their names on their creation.

An exhibition of artwork inspired by the city’s past will be officially opened this weekend (Saturday March 13) at The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery. The exhibition, entitled Stoke through Time – an expression of a new generation, was created by young people who visited the city’s four museums. From their visits they produced a range of multi-media artwork which will now go on display between March 13 and April 25, 2010.

Audio Interview Now Online! Council Leader Ross Irving has had a difficult time of it lately. First there was the Full Council meeting [and all the preamble] where the Annual Budget was agreed and 'that' Labour Amendment was tabled. Then there was the news that Staffordshire Police was investigating the Procurement Procedures and in particular tendering for demolition contracts.

City Council’s Fostering Service have launched a campaign urging people in the city to “be the big difference” by supporting disabled children and their families needing a short break. Short Breaks are the support service requested by families of disabled children. They are regular opportunities for families to have a break from caring while the child enjoys spending time with a short break carer.