04.09.23 – Road Closures at Festival Park, Love NUL Business Awards, Staffordshire History Festival
Written by Hitmix Local News on 3 September 2023
Improvement work on a major Stoke-on-Trent roundabout is drawing to a close.
Work to widen the Marina Way and Festival Way arms of the roundabout at Festival Park started earlier this year.
This final phase of work is due for completion in mid-September, before then, a number of overnight road closures will be in place for road surfacing.
Festival Way – from the roundabout to the bus stop outside the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel – will be closed to traffic from 8pm tonight, tomorrow night and Wednesday night, until 6am the following mornings, while Marina Way – which runs adjacent to the Odeon cinema – will be closed from midnight until 6am on those dates.
Once the roads have re-opened, traffic management will remain in place until the overall works have been completed.
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Following public nomination and voting stages, Newcastle-under-Lyme BID has announced the shortlisted businesses and individuals for the LoveNUL Business Awards.
With over 45 businesses shortlisted for the awards across 15 categories; including Sustainability Champion, Community Champion, Independent Business of the Year and Restaurant of the Year, an awards ceremony will take place on 15th September at Newcastle Performing Arts College.
The LoveNUL Business Awards, which has seen over 500 individual nominations submitted and more than 5000 votes cast, has been designed to provide the public with the opportunity to show appreciation for their favourite establishments, service providers and community champions in Newcastle across and celebrate those who have gone above and beyond to create exceptional experiences for customers and clients.
The inaugural awards is being sponsored by Keele University and will provide an excellent platform for the university to reinforce its support for the local business ecosystem and its commitment to building further relationships with the public and key partners.
Please see below shortlisted businesses:
Beauty & Personal Care
Toni & Guy
Black Opal Tattoo
Beauty Effect
Cafe of the Year
Piccoloco
Oatcake Heaven
Baileys Tearoom
Independent Business of the Year
Tony Price Quality Butchers
Anasma Greek Bakery
Hollie’s Haberdashery
Mejoolies
Large Retailer of the Year
Sense Charity
Vue
Morrisons
Market Trader of the Year
Darren’s Plants
Piccoloco
Cheeky Cheesecakes
New Business of the Year
Mejoolies
Family Bakery Cafe
Playhouse
Professional Services Award
Staffordshire K9
Saferhand Care Solutions Ltd
Thompson Wright Limited
Pub of the Year
Bridge Street Ale House
Cappello Lounge
The Little Vic
Service with a Smile Award
Il Capo Barbers
Toni & Guy
Oatcake Heaven
Small Retailer of the Year
Caffe Java
Brampton Museum Shop
Newcastle Pet Supplies
Restaurant of the Year Award
Amore Italian Restaurant and Café
Peaches
Anasma Greek Bakery
Visitor Attraction of the Year
Brampton Museum
Castle Artisan Market
New Vic Theatre
For more information please visit www.lovenulawards.co.uk or visit @newcastlebid on social media.
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The Staffordshire History Festival, organised by Staffordshire County Council’s libraries, arts and museum services will run throughout September and October.
People interested in finding out more about Staffordshire’s fascinating history are invited to join in a two-month long celebration of the county’s past.
The annual event, which saw over 10,000 people joining in last year will include exhibitions, historic talks and walks, heritage open days and library events. An online festival to highlight famous people from Staffordshire and little-known facts about the county’s history will run alongside the physical events.
Highlights include a heritage open day at the Staffordshire Archives Museum stores in Stafford on 9 September with a chance to see and handle historical objects and learn the stories behind them from the team. The service will also be launching ‘Knowing where you stand: an introduction to local history’ adult learning course in partnership with Keele University on 3 October.
A mini walking tour of historic Eastgate Street in Stafford and an exhibition created by David Robbie about the history of Great Haywood at Rugeley library is also part of the programme.
At Burton Library on 23 September, a local author day will give people the chance to meet with history authors promoting their books. At the Perton Library History Fair on Saturday 7 October people can explore stalls, exhibitions, re-enactors and enthusiasts and a special escape room activity for young people.
Tamworth library will be celebrating its 50th birthday with a ‘Tamworth Then and Now’ photographic exhibition, created in partnership with Tamworth Castle. And, at Newcastle library, customers will be celebrating the town’s 850th birthday with a series of events for children during the October half term break.
Libraries Chief at Staffordshire County Council, Victoria Wilson said: “Our annual history festival is always a wonderful celebration of our county’s rich past and it’s great to see our library, archives and museums teams working together to create such a brilliant programme of events.
“For many of us, our local library, archives, and museums services are our best gateway to learning more about family or local history. We also know that local cultural experiences inspire, foster pride, and connect communities, which is so important to us all.
“I’d urge everyone to get involved, visit their local library, attend an event near them and follow all the action on social media.”
Other events include talks in libraries from local historians and authors, including Andrew Lound, Joy Stephenson-Blank, Shaun Farrelly, Emma Venables, Carolyn Kirby, and Steve Booth. a book signing with Nick Thomas at Stafford library, Sylvia Baddeley at Newcastle library and another with Philip Leese at Kidsgrove library. Taster sessions on the Ancestry website, quizzes and treasure hunts for children will also take place in libraries.
The Pop-up Stafford Film Festival is also back this September, with The Mace Guide to the Midlands, a celebration of the customs and traditions of the Midlands region. Films will be shown every lunchtime in Stafford Library between 12 and 17 September.
Perton library and Burton library will also be hosting ‘Their Finest Hour’ digital collection days on 19 and 21 October. People are encouraged to bring along Second World War artefacts and family stories for recording and uploading as part of a national project organised by Oxford University.
Further information and details of the events are available at Staffordshire History Festival events
Photo 1: Farida Mohamedali from Stafford Library holding history books
Photo 2: Cllr Victoria Wilson with Tara Spandrzyk at Perton Library
