Stoke-on-Trent City Centre BID and key partners come together for an Operation Sparkle weekend

City Centre businesses and key partners joined Stoke-on-Trent City Centre BID last weekend to clean up their surroundings and be part of the positive change that they want to see for the town. 

The weekend of activity is part of Stoke-on-Trent City Centre BID’s ‘Operation Sparkle’, an all-encompassing project to ensure the City Centre achieves and maintains a quality environment through the delivery of a number of tasks, from small-scale tasks like litter-picking, to larger-scale projects such as new street art pieces. This in turn, is hoped to attract shoppers and visitors, and increase footfall and dwell time.

Businesses along Piccadilly and beyond, including We Are Culla, The Orchard Bar and Bistro, XPVR, The Slamwich Club, The Sugarmill, The Gin Rummy, Rubbersoul Records, NØRTH Kitchen + Bar and Planet VR, united to litter-pick, de-clutter and have a general tidy-up in advance of COVID restrictions potentially being relaxed from April 12 when a number of the venues will reopen as outdoor hospitality spots, utilising a skip that Stoke-on-Trent City Centre BID organised for the occasion.

Rob Fenton, Creative Director for Piccadilly-based screen-printing studio and creative agency We Are Culla, says:

“At We Are Culla, we have a real sense of pride for our City and champion it wherever and however we can, so we were of course pleased to play our part and support the other businesses in cleaning up the street.

There was a real community feel to the day and that's what Operation Sparkle is all about; a community approach to make our City Centre shine.

All the Operation Sparkle activity taking place over the last month and during the weekend is a precursor to lots of other exciting things going on in the City Centre to brighten the place up and engage visitors, including some street art we have been working on with the support of the BID which we will be unveiling next month.”

A team of staff from The Potteries Centre - and even some of their family members - also gave up their time to assist with Operation Sparkle tasks, by brandishing litter-pickers, giving the perimeter of the centre a lick of paint and tending to garden areas.

General Manager for The Potteries Centre, Amy Whittaker, says: 

“We’re pleased to have had the opportunity to support Stoke-on-Trent City Centre BID’s Operation Sparkle this weekend and we are proud to play our part in making our great City Centre the best it can be.

“It was also great to see so many fellow Stokies getting involved over the weekend; it was a real team effort and there was a fantastic atmosphere as we all rolled up our sleeves to give the City Centre a big spring clean ahead of the reopening of non-essential retail. 

“As the city prepares for the return of shoppers, we think it is important for us all to consider the part we have to play in keeping the City Centre a clean and welcoming environment for everyone.” 

Stoke-on-Trent City Centre Manager Richard Buxton – who also got in on the litter picking action over the weekend – thanks The Potteries Centre wholeheartedly for their support with Operation Sparkle and the effort to clean up the City Centre:

“The team displayed true good neighbourliness as their actions went far beyond just the perimeter of the own business, but they also lent a hand to businesses located elsewhere in the City Centre and applied their efforts in cleaning up the environment to the wider area.

“This is a great example of seeing the bigger picture for our City Centre, and being an active catalyst towards the positive change that we all want to see, and we applaud the work they’ve put into Operation Sparkle.”

In addition, young people from YMCA North Staffordshire also volunteered their own time to help Senior Ambassador April Jackson with a much-needed litter pick on Birdcage Walk and in other parts of the town.

“It was a really fulfilling way to spend a Saturday and it’s great to see what an improvement we’re making to our environment” reports April.

“Over the space of just a few hours, the combined efforts of everybody involved in the Operation Sparkle weekend resulted in approximately 95 bags of rubbish being cleared, which Stoke-on-Trent City Council then removed for us.”

“It was wonderful to see YMCA and other partners playing their part to improve their environment and that’s exactly the kind of positive influence we need in our City Centre. I’d encourage everyone to spend just a few minutes picking up litter around them - if everyone did this, our city would truly sparkle.”