Posts Tagged ‘Biddulph’

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DiaryDate – Biddulph Jobs and Skills Fair

November 21st, 2012

An Invitation From Karen Bradley MP

We all know that today’s economic climate is tough. But there are many businesses out there with the potential to grow – they just need a helping hand to realise their goals. And even though Staffordshire Moorlands has a comparatively low rate of unemployment, we still need to do all we can to help those without jobs to aim high and reach their career goals. 

That’s why I’ve decided to hold a Jobs and Skills Fair in Biddulph Town Hall between 10.00 am and 5.00 pm on the 30th November. I want to bring employers, training providers, voluntary organisations and jobseekers together, in one room, so that each group can explore what the others have to offer.

As well as potential job opportunities, there will also be advice on skills and training available to businesses and jobseekers alike.

For smaller companies, the Virtual Entrepreneur Programme will be on hand to promote their national trials programme – ‘Connect 2012’. This will provide advice on website development, Search Engine Optimization and wider aspects of business support for start-ups and SMEs. 

Entry to the Fair is FREE, so if you’re a company wanting to raise your profile, employ new staff or simply network, do come along. And if you know anyone that’s out of work or even just fancies a change of direction – invite them to join us too.

For more information on how to set up a stand at the fair, or for any general queries, please call my constituency office in Leek on 01538 382 421, or e-mail me at karen.bradley.mp@parliament.uk.

I look forward to seeing you there.

Karen Bradley

PH/DD

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North Staffordshire’s early iron industry

September 14th, 2012

A working model based on an early blast furnace at Fernhust in West Sussex

Commercial iron production began in North Staffordshire when the Romans built an industrial village at Chesterton that had furnaces producing iron and workshops making pottery.

During the middle ages coal was mined in the Biddulph Valley and earthenware was manufactured in the small towns and villages that later became The Potteries.

At the end of the 14th century, there were ironstone mines and furnaces in Tunstall. Charcoal was produced at Goldenhill and there was a bloom smithy making iron in Chell.

An iron industry developed in the villages surrounding Newcastle-under-Lyme and the  iron produced was used to make nails.

There was an iron market in Newcastle and a building called The Iron Hall, which suggests the existence of a merchant or a craft guild that regulated the industry by fixing prices and maintaining quality.

Throughout the Middle Ages furnaces used charcoal.

Blast furnaces, which melted the ore and made pig iron, were developed towards the end of the 14th century.

A typical furnace – eighteen feet high by eight feet square – was built against a steep hillside enabling men, women and children to carry baskets containing ironstone and charcoal up the slope and tip their contents into the furnace. Bellows, made of bulls’ hides lubricated with lard, powered by waterwheels or a treadmill produced the bast.

From the beginning of the 17th century, coal was used in some furnaces.

John Turner who owned a large bottle shaped furnace at Red Bull used a mixture of coal and ironstone to produce pig iron for nail makers in Church Lawton and Scholar Green.

Between 1669 and 1702, the furnace produced an average of 700 tons of pig iron a year. Its output reached 900 tons in 1704-05. The furnace closed during the late 1730s or early 1740s and in 1744 it was converted into a flint mill.

During the 1730s, Abraham Darby successfully used coke in his furnaces at Coalbrookdale in Shropshire to smelt iron.

North Staffordshire’s first coke fired blast furnace was erected at Partridge Nest Ironworks overlooking Apedale where another ironworks was built on the banks of Gresley’s Newcastle Canal in 1789.

Copyright Betty Cooper – The Phoenix Trust 2012

PH/BC

 

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Moorlands NewsDesk – £100,000 to improve local High Streets

April 4th, 2012

Staffordshire Moorlands District Council will receive £100,000 from the Government’s High Street Innovation Fund.

The district council is one of a hundred councils in the country to be given a share of the £10 million fund which is part of the Government’s ‘Porta-Plus’ response following recommendations made by the retail expert Mary Portas to help the nation’s high streets.

The High Street Innovation Fund supports councils in their efforts to improve the look of local high streets by encouraging new start-ups and bringing empty shops back into use.

Cllr Andrew Hart, Cabinet Member for Housing and Regeneration said:  “This is very welcome news and will help to support the work already achieved in the Moorlands to improve our town centres – in particular, the Masterplan for Cheadle and the Action Plan for Biddulph.

“We have been busy developing our very own enterprise workshop programme to support the local economy which is looking to help people wishing to start-up their very own business but who may be unsure as to how to go about it.

“This extra funding could not have come at a better time, helping to support the work we’ve already got planned but enabling us to do even more.”

 

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Moorlands NewsDesk – Council declares war on antisocial dog owners

February 6th, 2012

Parents of youngsters attending two Staffordshire Moorlands schools have been urged to act as the eyes and ears of enforcement officers by reporting dog walkers who fail to clean up after their pet.

The District Council has sent letters to Oxhey First School, Biddulph and Bishop Rawle Primary School, Cheadle, asking parents to call time on lazy dog owners who cannot be bothered to bend their back and scoop the poop.

And the council is to display large banners outside the schools, warning that thoughtless owners who fail to remove their dog’s waste are risking an £80 on-the-spot fine or a £1,000 penalty if convicted by magistrates.

The banners are also asking witnesses to report dog fouling by calling 0345 605 3014 or by visiting www.staffsmoorlands.gov.uk/doitonline.

 

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Pickles backs campaign for Moorlands post town and Cameron wants a ride on the first train from Leek to Stoke

December 1st, 2011

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has weighed in behind a campaign to get the Staffordshire Moorlands recognised officially by the Royal Mail.

The fight for official recognition was started last week by District Council leader Sybil Ralphs, who said that having a Staffordshire Moorlands post town would raise the area’s profile and make it easier to attract inward investment through tourism and from businesses looking to relocate.

On Thursday, November 24th at 10 Downing Street, Mr Pickles pledged to support the crusade when he met Cllr Ralphs before a reception given by Prime Minister David Cameron.

Cllr Ralphs already has the backing of Moorlands MP Karen Bradley, who is to write to Ed Davey, Minister for Consumer Affairs, to call for a Staffordshire Moorlands post town.

Speaking after her visit to Downing Street, Cllr Ralphs said that dozens of residents had contacted her over the last 10 days to pledge their support.

Now, she is going to write to all 42 parish councils to urge them to back the fight and to start including the words, “Staffordshire Moorlands”, in addresses. In addition, she will seek support from the district’s parish assembly when it meets next week.

At the moment, Leek is the only town in the district designated as a post town. As a result, Biddulph and Cheadle – and the many villages – are covered by towns outside the district.

The result is that many residents have addresses which they feel do not accurately reflect the identity of where they live.

“It’s ridiculous that our post towns often associate residents with places miles from where they live – such as Stoke and Buxton. By creating a Staffordshire Moorlands post town, we would make clear where people live.

“And this would have the added advantage of marketing the district as a distinctive place with much to offer investors and visitors”, she explained.

During her meeting with Mr Cameron, Cllr Ralphs said she was delighted that the Government had awarded Moorland and City Railways (MCR) £1.65m in Regional Growth Fund money towards its expansion plans.

MCR’s restoration of the rail line from Staffordshire Moorlands into Stoke-on-Trent, creating a link with the West Coast Main Line, will provide a sustainable and low-carbon freight and passenger route. Major quarries, Alton Towers and the town of Leek will benefit from direct rail access.

Having already re-opened the eight-mile stretch between Leekbrook and Cauldon Lowe, MCR is now making progress with restoration work from Leekbrook towards Stoke-on-Trent. It is planned to have the line open as far as Endon by early 2012.

Mr Cameron told Cllr Ralphs that, when MCR’s expansion was complete, he would be thrilled to ride on the first train from Leek to Stoke-on-Trent in nearly 50 years.

 

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