Hanley Winter Wonderland Christmas event in doubt

Michelle Matthews said she was "hurt and sad" at the council's stance

An annual Christmas event in Stoke-on-Trent is in doubt, because the site is needed for development.

The city council said it informed the organisers of Winter Wonderland 10 months ago they would have to move.

It said it would take "significant amounts of money" to make the land in Hanley accessible this year.

But Wonderland organisers say they cannot find an alternative site and that the land could be made available before development works begins.

The event, on Terrace Birch car park, includes fairground rides, an ice rink, and Christmas market.

The organisers said last year's event attracted more than 100,000 visitors, bringing money into the local economy.

However, the car park is included in the council's multimillion-pound Etruscan Square regeneration plans and the authority said since last Christmas a lot of work had taken place "to clear land, make it suitable for redevelopment".

It said it has spoken to the event organisers about alternative sites and that there were "a number of privately owned sites right across the city, including locations close to the city centre, which Winter Wonderland could be speaking to the owners of".

No date has been set for the start of work on the Etruscan Square development, it said.

Winter Wonderland has been held in Hanley since 2016

Winter Wonderland organiser Michelle Matthews said, as someone who lived and worked in Stoke-on-Trent, she felt "hurt and sad" by the council's position.

She said she understood the land was needed for regeneration at some point in the future, and wanted "the city to prosper", but it was currently unused.

Ms Matthews added none of the alternative sites had the necessary hard-standing, while the Terrace Birch car park was also central and easily accessible.

She urged the local authority to rethink its position, suggesting leaving the site "bare and desolate at Christmas" was not a good message for potential investors.

A meeting between the organisers and the council is planned for Tuesday.