businesses - Stoke-on-Trent City Council

4 Our City MARCH 2012
A place with a
great feeling of
neighbourliness
BARBARA Andrew
arrived in the city from
Coventry 26 years ago
to run a hostel in Shelton for
homeless young men – and is
still working hard on behalf of
other people in her
community.
Now Chair of Hartshill and
Harpfields Residents’ Association,
Barbara looked back to the
bitterly cold winter of 1985 when
she came to the city to start her
new job on New Year’s Eve.
“On New Year’s Day I walked
out on to Snow Hill to find the
local shops,” recalled Barbara.
“Everywhere was still and from
the top of Broad Street I looked
over the city and remember
thinking how ugly it was and yet
also how strangely beautiful it
seemed in the wintry light with
everything covered in snow.”
However it didn’t take long for
Barbara to fall in love with
<strong>Stoke</strong>-on-Trent – and particularly
with Hartshill where she chose to
settle. “It’s like a village
with a strong sense of
history and community,
good shops and
restaurants and a great
feeling of neighbourliness.
“I wouldn’t want to
live anywhere else,” she
said.
Barbara also found
personal happiness in
the city when she
attended a meeting of North
Staffordshire Homelessness
Forum and met Joe who was
chairing the event.
Support
They have now been married
for 23 years and Joe, who is
Professor of Literature and
Culture at Keele University where
he has lectured for 40 years,
supports the Residents’
Association in every way.
Barbara worked in health and
social care for 20 years.
She joined the Association in
October 2007 as its Secretary and
became Chair in November 2009
following the death of her
predecessor Graham Simpson.
She is particularly proud of
how the people of Hartshill and
Harpfields support their
Residents’ Association – it’s
normal for 80 people to attend
meetings and as many as 120
have turned up.
For each meeting residents
choose a theme reflecting their
interests.
Last year these were Law and
Order, Housing and Supporting
Local Businesses. This year
the focus will be on Promoting
Health and Wellbeing; Babies,
Children and Teenagers and
Services for Older People.
The Association’s newsletter is
delivered by volunteers to 3,000
homes on 80 streets and there is
no shortage of positive ideas from
residents.
While the area can justly boast
of being one of the most green,
pleasant and convenient within
the city’s boundaries, the
Residents’ Association is
Barbara
Andrew chats
with Hartshill
shopkeeper Reg
Melathil while out
and about in her
community.
extremely active in tackling the
kind of bread and butter issues
that can affect any neighbourhood
– such as litter, traffic problems,
housing, planning, noise nuisance
and, recently, controversial plans
to erect a mobile phone mast.
In each category the
Association works closely with
relevant agencies such as the city
council, NHS, police and local
councillors.