Sad to hear that the the annual Stone Town Bonfire and Fireworks Display is unavailable, at least for the foreseeable future.

It seems the problem is simply space. The Town Council for the mid Staffordshire town is said to have somehow managed to redevelop the main Park in such a way that… “the area used for the bonfire will no longer be available”. Durh. It’s said that the town has no other suitable space for such a large and popular public event.

Although several options spring to mind, off the top of my head…

i) the Stone Common Plot would be an ideal site, though only for those walking the short distance from the town centre to it. There’s no car parking that I can recall, and a temporary wooden mini-bridge / ramp would have to be hoisted over the entrance stile. Still, a feature might be made of “leave your car at home” as part of the event. That might even attract some funds from a health charity, re: walking.

ii) rural places around about Stone may take up the slack. An opportunity for a nearby enterprising farmer with a big parking field, perhaps, in partnership with a trusted events company? What about Kibblestone Scout Camp, which is presumably able to cope with large roaring campfires at least — and perhaps something larger?

iii) there’s Wedgwood at nearby Barlaston, which I recall has both the parking and several big flat fields. And is used to handling public events. Trentham likewise, though that’s a bit further away and not really walk-able (Barlaston can be walked from Stone via the Common Plot and Downs Banks NT) and would likely be much more expensive and upmarket. What appears to be needed for Stone is something a bit more community-oriented.

iv) ideally there would be a giant flaming bonfire up on the ancient Bury Bank, as there probably once was, but that’s highly unlikely given the steep access problem and the huge amount of flammable bracken.