Longton residents invited to help shape town’s future through ‘Time Machine’ project

Longton residents are being invited to help shape the future of their town as part of a new community project that will inform a major regeneration masterplan.

Urban Wilderness CIC has launched the Longton Time Machine, a creative project asking people to share what they love about Longton, their hopes for the future and how they want to be involved in the town’s next chapter.

Inspired by H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine – written after his visit to the Potteries in 1888 – the project is supported by Stoke-on-Trent City Council and will feed directly into the development of a new masterplan for Longton in 2026.

Residents’ responses will be brought together into a collective timeline of memories, ideas and ambitions, which will be shared with the city council and a steering group chaired by Allison Gardner MP.

As part of the project, Urban Wilderness CIC is holding community conversation sessions in Longton. Residents can drop in to Kiln Café on Saturday 14 February from 1:30pm to 3:30pm or Longton Indoor Market on Saturday 28 February from 10am to 1pm.

People can also take part by emailing info@urbanwildernesscic.com, sending WhatsApp voice notes to 07432 663368, sharing photos or video, or by completing the online form.

Participants are being asked questions such as: What do you love about Longton? What are your wishes for Longton in 10, 50 and 100 years? How would you like to be involved in developing Longton – and how should future generations take part?

A free toolkit is available to help community groups and organisations host their own conversations. Contributions will be added to a public timeline displayed at The Moony Club in Longton Exchange until the end of February.

Urban Wilderness CIC co-director Isla Telford said: “Longton has been overlooked for a long time but there is now a real sense of hope and optimism, and a feeling that the town is on the up.

“Longton is a real asset for the city as a whole, and this is an opportunity to get involved and play your part in something which is good news for the town.”

Fellow co-director Jenny Harper added: “Longton has a strong identity, and this project is a way of gathering its stories and aspirations directly from the people who live and work here.

“We will gather these thoughts and ideas together and create a timeline that spotlights what we are proud of from our past and what we aspire to for our future. Being part of this conversation is very important to us.”

Urban Wilderness CIC is leading Longton’s bid to become the UK’s first Town of Culture, which would see the winning town receive £3.5 million to deliver a year-long cultural programme in 2028.

The not-for-profit organisation is also currently converting the former Barclays Bank in The Strand, Longton, into a vibrant creative hub.