A partnership for Stoke-on-Trent
The Stoke-on-Trent City Forum is a partnership put in place to drive forward plans for Stoke-on-Trent.
The forum, which had its first meeting on 14 May 2021 is made up of representatives from over 100 organisations including government, regional agencies as well as a number of public, private, voluntary and community sector partners from across Stoke-on-Trent.
The partnership aims to deliver the ambitions set out in the Powering Up Stoke-on-Trent Prospectus that was launched in February 2021 and which focuses on securing partnership and investment for the city. Read more at www.stoke.gov.uk/poweringup.
It also pledges to create a powerful and influential partnership of organisations working across the city with regional partners, to address and deliver Stoke-on-Trent’s ambitions - outlined in the Prospectus - as one shared plan for the city.
The aims of the Stoke-on-Trent City Forum
We love our city and are passionate about the future of Stoke-on-Trent and making it even more of a success than it is now. The Stoke-on-Trent City Forum will help us to do this. It aims to:
- Help the city to focus on what we as partners need to do collectively to help us recover and thrive following the COVID-19 pandemic
- Bring together communities, businesses, the public sector, the private sector and anyone with an interest, a passion and a love for our fantastic city
- Bring rich collaboration between sectors and partners – a given with so many brilliant, kind and dedicated people in Stoke-on-Trent
- Drive the development of an attractive, growing, inclusive and vibrant city which we can all be proud of
- Harness expertise, influence, skills and experiences
- Promote big ideas
How you can be involved
Through the Stoke-on-Trent City Forum, and with so many talented people across the city, we want to help to build an attractive, growing, inclusive and vibrant city we can all be proud of.
And you can help with this by building civic pride across the city.
- Talk up the city and join in the conversation on social media using #Stokeisontheup
- Get involved by sharing ideas, building partnerships and thinking collaboratively – contact us at cityforum@stoke.gov.uk
- Sign up to receive our news updates at www.stoke.gov.uk/stayconnected
- Tell us the brilliant things happening across the city so we can share them
- See ‘While you were away’ video shared at the event here
- Watch a video from cllr Brown talking about the City Forum here
Comments about Stoke-on-Trent City Forum
The strength of the partnership lies in the diversity and shared ownership of members. Here’s what has been said about the forum.
Mark Gregory, chief economist at EY, who lived in Stoke-on-Trent said: “It’s exciting to be involved with the City Forum. I love this city, having grown up here and while I live elsewhere now, I want to be able to give something back.
“Following the pandemic, there is a huge opportunity around recovery within Stoke-on-Trent and the city forum is a key part of this. I’m proud to be part of the collaboration for Stoke-on-Trent and looking forward to what comes next.”
In a letter about the forum, Rishi Sunak, MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer said: “I welcome this initiative: the Stoke-on-Trent City Partnership Forum is an excellent example of local collaboration to drive positive change in places. Strong local partnerships being local authorities, businesses and other local stakeholders are crucial to delivering the government’s plans to spread opportunity and level up the United Kingdom.”
Carol Shanahan, co-founder and trustee of The Hubb Foundation and owner of Port Vale Football Club said: “The Stoke-on-Trent City Forum is a massive opportunity to build on the collective power of the people here. It’s about six towns becoming one city and where two football clubs can work side-by-side.
“Whatever your faith, creed, politics or football club, this is about working together to make this city richer – we are all Stoke-on-Trent – together.”
Tim Heatley, co-founder of Capital and Centric said: “I’m really pleased to be involved in the Stoke-on-Trent City Forum. I love this city – it’s a really exciting place that often isn’t recognised as such by those who live here.
“Stoke-on-Trent offers something really different with a community spirit and civic pride that is second to none. I’m proud to be part of the next chapter, embracing collaboration for the city and I’m hugely looking forward to what comes next.”
Feedback Report
Since we launched the Powering Up City Forum in May 2021, we are now focusing on the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. A report has been produced to summarise the rationale, content and key findings from the launch event.