Housing | The Lead

Hope and community fighting austerity and loneliness in Stoke-on-Trent

People in Stoke-on-Trent have been facing the pressure of Conservative-implemented austerity cuts, de-industrialisation and a cost-of-living crisis. But where there is community, there is help available.

By Martha Bird

Inside Stoke-on-Trent's battle with monkey dust

Austerity and deprivation are just two contributing factors for the rise of monkey dust in Stoke-on-Trent - and more needs to be done to tackle these root causes

By Jessica Bradley

Stoke the embers - how the ceramics industry is firing up for the future

At the height of production, Stoke-on-Trent supported 70,000 jobs in the ceramics industry, earning its moniker the Potteries.

By Antonia Charlesworth Stack

Government cut Stoke-on-Trent Council to the bone then offered 'payday loan'

In 2010 Stoke-on-Trent had central government funding of £95 million a year. That’s now £27 million. It lost £270 million as a result.

By Kevin Gopal

Six towns, one city: The changing face of Stoke-on-Trent

Stoke-on-Trent's identity as both a city and the Six Towns can be confusing for non-Stokies. Here, Sarah, who directs the Six Towns Carnival, examines those identities as the area has changed over the decades

By Sarah Chevolleau

Peter Street fire in Blackpool declared not suspicious despite speculation

Police said they want to see the update put an end to speculation and uncertainty

By Luke Beardsworth

Couple killed in Blackpool fire named with family's social media plea

“Please allow us respect as a family to grieve in peace and refrain from any further speculation on social media and to refrain from posting further pictures of Danielle and her family..."

By Luke Beardsworth

Community in Blackpool praying for 'best possible outcome' for two children caught in fire

A community waits for news on the two children caught up in the house fire in Blackpool

Two dead and two children in hospital after Blackpool house fire

A woman in her 20s was found dead at the scene and a man was pronounced dead at Blackpool Victoria Hospital

By Luke Beardsworth

Hidden prehistoric settlement unearthed at new homes site in Bispham

Experts from the University of Salford, drafted in to inspect the area, found evidence of 'low-level occupation of the landscape'

By Michael Holmes

Destitution is the great silent issue this election

Starmer has promised no return to austerity politics, but that commitment alone is not enough to heal the problem.

By Hannah Fearn

Blackpool mum-of-three dealing with damp and mould facing eviction for raising issue

A mum-of-three was hit with a Section 21 eviction notice after informing her landlord of issues with her home - Shelagh Parkinson reports from the hustings event organised by The Blackpool Lead and Blackpool Gazette

Repairing housing is key to Britain’s economic recovery

Labour’s manifesto suggests it understands how a dysfunctional housing sector destroys lives, but do the party's commitments go far enough?

By Hannah Fearn

Often hidden, often ignored: The woodland homeless of Hyndburn

Just eight were sleeping rough in Hyndburn according to an official count in the autumn. But what about those that no one notices? The Hyndburn Lead visits a woodland in Oswaldtwistle where people have been increasingly living in tents after failing to get the help they desperately need.

By Liam Milton

Sex for rent: Landlords are taking advantage of desperate tenants

The housing crisis is putting thousands of people at risk of sexual exploitation as they struggle to pay spiralling rents.

By Eleanor Hancock

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