Stoke-on-Trent City Council set to commission £70k project to look into causes of summer riots
It's following the violent disorder in Hanley in August
Last updated 16th Feb 2025
A £70,000 research project will look into the reasons behind last summer’s riots in Hanley. Stoke-on-Trent city centre was the scene of violent disorder on August 3 as anti-Muslim protesters clashed with Muslim counter-protesters.
It was one of a number of riots which took place across the country following the fatal stabbings in Southport. Stoke-on-Trent City Council will now commission a large scale community engagement programme looking into community concerns, ‘feelings of belonging’ and the underlying issues that resulted in the disorder.
The project will aim to promote cohesion and trust between groups and towards institutions, empower communities to develop solutions to the issues affecting them, and collect insights to inform future initiatives. It will look to engage with communities across the city, including young and older people and those from the various cultural and linguistic groups represented in Stoke-on-Trent.
Researcher will be specifically interested in speaking to ‘marginalised’ groups who do not typically engage with mainstream services, as well as those who took part in the disorder. The project will be one of a number of initiatives funded through the £600,000 community recovery grant allocated to Stoke-on-Trent following the riots.
City council leader Jane Ashworth said: “We have made it clear that everybody in Stoke-on-Trent has a right to feel and be safe – and that prejudice and discrimination are not welcome here, but we know that more needs to be done to understand the individual challenges facing our local communities.
“This will mean confronting some uncomfortable realities, engaging in difficult but necessary conversations and managing misinformation that can so easily spread hate and division.
“As we mark our city’s centenary, we also need to recognise the contributions our diverse communities are making to our city and celebrate our unique history, heritage and individual character of each of our six towns.
“Our goal is to foster a greater sense of pride, trust and belonging among all residents regardless of their origin, background, race or religion.”
Council leaders decided to commission an external organisation to carry out the work partly due to the need for the engagement to be seen as independent of the authority. The engagement exercise is set to take place between March and June, with a final report expected to be produced in July.
The council has been working with partner organisations to develop a wider programme of work funded through the community recovery grant.
The funding is set to be allocated as follows:
Management and delivery costs – £169,000
Immediate clean up and repair – £45,000
Community and volunrary activity – £189,000
Schools and education – £10,000
Community engagement and strategy development – £91,000
Safety and security (including CCTV cameras) – £45,000
Measures to reduce anti-social behaviour and crime (including youth diversionary activities in up to five areas of the city) – £38,000
Communication – £13,000