Event details: Lights switch-on 2pm, 1 December, West End Village, Stoke. Reporters and photographers are welcome to attend.   

Stoke City legend Denis Smith and award winning BBC presenter Pete Morgan will flick the switch to light up Christmas at a Stoke-on-Trent older people’s village. 

The duo are guests of honour at the West End Village Christmas Market in Stoke on Thursday, 1 December. 

The event, which is open to the general public, gets underway at 2pm. 

There will be a wide variety of craft stalls at the Christmas fair.  Staffordshire Housing Association, which developed and run the West End Village, have had a fantastic response to an appeal for stallholders. 

“We offered local arts and crafts people a stall in exchange for donations to the residents’ activities and wellbeing fund,” said Community Development worker, Jo Ingleston. 

“The response has been fantastic – it promises to be a great event.” 

Visitors to the event will also be joined by Father Christmas. Seasonal food and drink, including mulled wine and hot chestnuts, will be on offer in the village cafe. 

Denis Smith played over 400 times for his home town club during their glory days in the 1970s and helped the Potters to win their only major trophy, the League Cup in 1972. 

BBC Radio Stoke’s Pete Morgan recently won an award for the best BBC local radio breakfast show. 

The West End Village, developed at a cost of £18 million, was opened in 2011 and has 100 one and two bedroom apartments for older people from the North Staffordshire area. 

ENDS 

For media enquiries contact Sandra Barber on 01782 744533.

Notes to Editors:

Staffordshire Housing Group is a housing association committed to building a better future for local communities.  Established in 1984, SHA provide a huge range of tenant services including maintenance, tenancy support, estate management and gardening, as well as essential guidance on income management, money advice and benefits assessments. They are committed to improving live in Staffordshire through regeneration, supported housing, older people’s villages, key worker homes and a rolling programme of home improvements. Their subsidiary company, Blue Mountain Housing Association, also work closely with refugee and local BME communities to provide essential support with healthcare, education, training and employment as well as access to quality housing.