In January 2026, Stoke-on-Trent City Council unanimously supported a motion to seek £20 million in "Pride in Place" funding to develop Ball Green and Norton , including securing the future of the former high school site and funding community facilities. Discussions also continued regarding long-standing drainage issues on Baddeley Green Lane and Leek New Road, with the council committing £60,000 for flood mitigation works scheduled for March.
Cllr Dave Evans said: "We've struggled in Norton and Ball Green. We don't have a lot of community facilities. There's a real challenge in terms of the demographics of the area, as there are elsewhere in the city.
"The challenge that has arisen is one of politics and decision-making. Governments, of whatever colour, will give money for pilot schemes. We want to make sure the money is spent wisely, and the maximum number of residents get the impact.
"That naturally draws these programmes to areas of higher population, as the more people there are the easier it is to evidence what you've done and get more money from government.
"The problem that Norton and Ball Green has is that it's smaller, in terms of population, so it doesn't necessarily get the pilot programmes that other areas of the city get, like Abbey Hulton, Bentilee or Chell."
Cllr Evans said the council's Strengthening Communities partnership with voluntary groups is doing 'good work' in the area.
But he argued that the area received much less third sector grant funding than other parts of the city due to the lack of infrastructure such as community facilities.
Cllr Evans added: "I'm from Ball Green – the top of South Street – and I grew up there. I know the challenges that community has. Frankly, I'd give my left arm for them to get £20 million.
"They deserve to be remembered and supported, and right now that hasn't happened. For justifiable reasons, sadly, but it's not OK that it's been forgotten."
The motion calls on council leader Jane Ashworth to write to the government to ask for funding for Ball Green and Norton. It also asks Stoke-on-Trent North MP David Williams to lobby the government for his constituency to receive the same funding as Stoke-on-Trent Central and Stoke-on-Trent South – both of which have awarded Pride in Place grants.
Read more at Dave Evans Carl Edwards.
