Civic Society minutes 15th June 2015

IMG_0273Minutes of the meeting of Brierley Hill Civic Society held on Monday 15th June 2015 at St Michael’s Church commencing at 6pm.

Present

Geoff Attwood, Janet Attwood, Beryl Biggs, Joy Cooper, Stephen Dunn, John James, Betsy Lafferty, Tim Lee, Maggie Norton, Jenny Sunter, Tim Sunter, Prue Warne, Dennis Whittaker

Apologies

Rachel Harris, Zafar Islam, John Martin, Lorna Morrison

Review of criteria for local listing of building

Jayne Pilkington and David Piper from the conservation and planning policy sections of the council addressed the meeting on proposed changes to the criteria for local listing of building.

TS explained that DMBC had kindly agreed to consider any response from the Civic Society as the date of the presentation occurred after the consultation close date. DP confirmed that he would be happy to consider any submission as long as it was received by the end of June.

The following topics were covered in the presentation and questioning:

  • It has been prompted by Historic England issuing a new set of guidance for locally listed buildings;
  • It was the first review since DMBC had helped pioneer local lists in 1996. It was felt that developers might be able to successful challenge the protections provided by the list unless the council could show the criteria were up to date;
  • The present list of criteria for local listing was rather vague and it this needed tightening;
  • Consequently the new list of criteria was much lengthier and detailed
  • Marsh Park is not designated as a war memorial park. TS to send JP details of its history.
  • It was proposed to remove local listing status from buildings within conservation areas. Conservation area status held greater protection than local listed.
  • There was some unease about the removal of such buildings from the local list as it might weaken any arguement for protection of such a building – particularly when properties in conservation areas were of varying historic and architectural merit.
  • The criterion regarding local or regionally active architects could be too restrictive. The example of the Pugin designed Catholic Church in Brierley Hill was given as an example of where the architect had national signigicance.
  • Discussion of how the list could be enforced. The recent sale of The Plough was given as an example. The new owners had not been told of its designation and when skips had turned up to enable its demolition conservation officers had had to move fast to ensure that no such demolition took place.
  • The importance of informing the conservation officer when buildings came under threat – she had not been aware of the pending auction of The Plough, for example – although society members had been.
  • The possible extension of the Conservation Area to cover The Adelaide/Talbot Street area was discussed.

At the end of the presentation the meeting thanked JP and DP for their talk.

Because of the length of the presentation the rest of the meeting was dealt with at a brisk pace.

It was agreed that TL would draft a respone on behalf of the Society.

Minutes of the previous meeting

These had been circulated in advance and were agreed. TS informed the meeting that there had been some discussion regarding the inclusion of notes from the NHR meetings and subsequent press coverage. It was agreed that at a future meeting the approach to what was included in the minutes would be discussed.

Correspondence

JS reported there was no urgent correspondence.

Treasurer’s report

DW informed the branch that has £410.43

Trees in Marsh Park

The meeting was shown pictures of damage done to trees on Marsh Park, at St Michael’s Church and at The Moor Centre, by dog being trained to attack. The police had been informed about this matter. The damage to the trees was significant and there was a high possiblity that they would consequently die.

The Society expressed its concern at this matter and offered its support to any action Friends of Marsh Park wished to take. DW to follow up.

Various items and future meetings

TS reported that:

  • It was hoped to represent the Jordan/Gibbons painting to the town at our September meeting.
  • That the flats were pressing ahead with the 50th anniversary celebrations. The next event would be an family fun day on 5th September at Lawyers Field/South Street Baptist Church. Our September meeting would also include a talk on the history of the flats and Chapel Street tenants in particular would be invited to the meeting.
  • The Black Country Bugle had published a letter regarding the Brierley Hill Pioneers who had left the town in 1854 and helped to found Nanaimo on Vancouver island. TS had written to the museum and it had been agreed that they would give a talk at our October meeting via Skype.
  • Keith Hodgkins had agreed to talk on the “Last Days of Round Oak” at our meeting in November.

Organisation Sub-Committee

TL reported on the meeting which had taken place on 3rd June at the Bull and Bladder:

  • The planters for Brierley Hill in Bloom had now been restocked including the new ones on Venture Way.
  • Plans continued to extend the planting through the town.
  • DMBC had kindly agreed to keep the plants watered.
  • Thought was being given to a guerilla gardening project for the planters outside the gym and Mecca.
  • There was a desire to build on the previous work undertaken for the Christmas Festival including the Civic Centre.
  • A follow up meeting was taking place on 3rd July at noon at the Civic Centre to take these matters further.

Visit to the archives

The next meeting of the Society would be a visit and tour of Dudley Archives. This will take place on Monday 20th July at 6pm. A charge of £4 per member would be in place. There is a maximum number of 25 that the archives can accommodate, so it was important that members indicate whether they would attend before the invitation is extended. All members present indicated that they would be attending.

Civic Society, Monday 6pm St Michael’s Church

IMG_0273You are cordially invited to the next meeting of Brierley Hill Civic Society which will take place next Monday, 15th June at St Michael’s Church, Brierley Hill. The main topic on the agenda will be the future of historic buildings in the borough.

The agenda for the meeting is:

1. Speaker and consultation of the policy of local listing of building: Jayne Pilkington and David Piper
2. Apologies
3. Notes of the previous meeting
4. Matters Arising
5. Correspondence
6. Treasurer’s report
7. 50th anniversary of the flats
8. Jordan painting re-presentation
9. Organisation Sub of 3rd June
– Brierley Hill in Bloom
– Brierley Hill Christmas Festival
10. Nanaimo link
11. Regeneration issues
12. Next meetings
– July Archives
– September – Jordan painting presentation and flats talk
– October Nanaimo link
– November – Keith Hodgkins – The Last Day of Steelmaking at Round Oak Steelworks.
13. Any other urgent business.

Minutes of the May meeting of Brierley Hill Civic Society

Minutes of the meeting of Brierley Hill Civic Society held on Monday 18th May 2015 at St Michael’s Church commencing at 6pm.

Present

Joy Cooper, Stephen Dunn, John James, Betsy Lafferty, Tim Lee, Lorna Morrison, Maggie Norton, Jenny Sunter, Tim Sunter, Dennis Whittaker, Norma Whittaker.

Apologies

Pat Cobern, Rachel Harris, Zafar Islam, John Martin

Minutes of the previous meeting

The minutes of the previous meeting had been circulated and were agreed as a true record.

Correspondence

JS gave informed the meeting of the correspondence received:
* NCVO general election briefing on the impact of the recent election on voluntary organisations
* Civic Voice weekly newsletter including details of the work on war memorials
* Information on the Community Rights pilot
* Details of NCVO workshops for volunteers

SD asked about whether Civic Voice had a website that he and other members could refer to. JS confirmed that this was the case.

Treasurer’s Report

DW gave the treasurer’s report:
* Cash in hand £53.46
* Bank account £1323.97
* Less money held on behalf of SNOW -£985.75
* Total £391.68

Organisation Sub

It had been agreed at the last meeting that an ‘organisation sub’ should meet to plan the future direction and activities of the Society. SD, TL, LM, TS, and DW had subsequently met at the Bull & Bladder (venue purely to support local industry).

Key points from the meeting were:

  • Need to have a balance in the Society’s activites between celebrating the past, action in the present and influencing the future.
  • Potential speakers with a historic perspective could be on the topics of Round Oak, Marsh & Baxter, the history of brickmaking in the area. To determine what actions the Society could take to improve Brierley Hill engagement with Dudley MBC cabinet members would be a positive step.
  • Partnership working with the public, private and voluntary/community sectors has the potential to achieve shared goals in the town.

Key actions to follow up were:
* To extend the Brierley Hill in Bloom meeting on 3rd June to involve the organisation sub and Christmas Festival team would be a good forum to start to pull partners together.
* Brierley Hill Civic Society to consider its priorities for action at its next meeting (i.e. tonight)
* Establish relationship with BHCF as there did seem to be overlapping objectives
* The chase Dudley Archives re a visit to the new facility with a chance to view materials in the Brierley Hill collection.
* To establish a programme of speakers.
* To consider whether the Society can offer any help to make the council’s forums more effective.

TS reported that following this meeting he had made contact with the archives. The Society’s meeting on Monday 20th July would now take place at the archives and we would receive a tour and then the opportunity to look at Brierley Hill materials. There would be a pass through charge from the archives of £4 and a minimum total charge of £40. It was agreed that this should be publicised as far and wide as possible to ensure maximum attendance.

Future activities

Following on from the organisation sub meeting the Society had been asked to bring ideas for future activities for the Society. The following ideas were suggested:
* Continued engagement with NHR and DMBC to try and get some regeneration activity moving in the area.
* Presentation of a replica of the Gibbons/Jordan painting for display in the town centre. Andy Gray of DCVS had indicated an interest for it to be hung in the Civic Centre.
* Restoration of the Brierley Hill war memorials
* Resolution of the difficulties with access to and use of Lawyers Field (Friends of Marsh Park are leading on this). There was talk of whether the plaque commemorating the opening was still in the park.
* Litter picking events together with anti-graffitti activities. Questions arose about the best way to go about this and advice from DMBC should be sought. The litter strewn state of canals in the area was also highlighted.
* The introduction of weight limits on roads which are being used inappropriately by heavy vehicles, North Street for example.
* Replacement trees for those that once flourished in the High Street
* The renaming of Venture Way to something more appropriately reflecting the history of the town
* A ‘blue plaque’ scheme celebrating some of the achiements of the town
* A cultural regeneration programme to attract more visitors to the town centre. A brass band playing in Marsh Park was one suggestion put forward.
* Getting the publicly visible clocks in the town working – St Michael’s and The Moor Centre were mentioned.
It was suggested that the organisation sub on 3rd June could pick up some of these ideas and put meat on the bones (thought: is there a vegetarian equivalent for this phrase?)

Brierley Hill in Bloom

TS reported than the planters were now fixed on Venture Way; lamp post baskets were suggested for along the High Street and it was aimed to have these in place for the winter planting; the plants for the summer had been grown and it was planned to put them out early in June.

Brierley Hill Christmas Festival

TS had met with AG from DCVS. AG was keen to get involved as it was a potential project for the Civic Hall. He would be attending the meeting on 3rd June.

DMBC review of criteria for locally listed buildings

A spokesperson from the planning department had now agreed to come to the next meeting to talk through the implications of this. There were some concerns that the changing of the criteria might weaken the ability to protect historic buildings in the town.

Regeneration update including planning matters

DW updated the meeting on progress.
A date for further engagement with NHR and DMBC was awaited. At the previous meeting priorities of making a pedestrian link between the High Street and Merry Hill together with environmental improvements in the High Street had been identified. Indications had been given that funding may be available for the link but it was doubtful whether funds might be there for the High Street.
Intu were interested in development of the Daniels Land site for residential purposes whilst Rachel Harris had put forward the idea for a white water centre.
DW was also creating a planning database to keep track of proposed developments in the town. He gave an exhaustive list of live applications:
* Two applications for residential and offices adjacent to Red Peppers including the former Doug Holmes Taylors.
* The Dock and Iron in Delph Road was saved following objections to its demolition by the council as the building is on the Heritage Assetts Register. Instead the proposal has been amended to keep the pub and to use the car park as a van hire centre.
* 81 Church Street – the former Radio Shack building – application to demolish and build one dwelling.
* Housing proposals for the former RDF site. The environment agency has no objections subject to safeguards being put in place. They had also expressed they concern with respect to the site being suitable for a waste site.
* ASDA car park for a self service filling station. Members expressed their concern that this ran counter to the AAP for the area, would undermine the pedestrian link to the area and would not be appropriate to front on to the proposed public square.
* Arc Alloys building on Moor Street adjacent to Foxdale drive. Two applications had been submitted for residential but problems remained about access to the site due to the hump backed bridge.
* The Plough has a residential planning permission and was sold at auction for £57,000. Work is presently taking place on the site.
* The former Alma Pub has an application for five flats upstairs, three on the first floor and two on the second floor.
* The Cottage Spring in Mill Street has had an application to turn it into a vets passed.
* The former Black Country Stoves shop on High Street has been approved for a launderette.
* HVC supplies in Bull Street has had an application for five homes agreed. An earlier application for six homes had been rejected because of lack of parking facilities.
* The former Round Oak Pub had been approved for a home improvements store on the ground floor and one flat upstairs.
* Harts Hill bus station – adjacent to hazardous chemical plants had had an application for a supermakret withdrawn as well and an application for 45 homes withdrawn.

DW is creating a 3 year database of applications to enable further close monitoring.

Any Other Urgent Business

There was no other urgent business.

The meeting closed at 7.30pm.

Minutes Of The Latest Meeting Of Brierley Hill Civic Society

Minutes of the meeting of Brierley Hill Civic Society held on 16th September 2014 at St Michael’s Church commencing at 5.30pm

Present

Pat Cobern, Joy Cooper, Stephen Dunn, Beryl Fisher, John James, Betsy Lafferty, Lorna Morrison, Maggie Norton, Emma Shelton, Jenny Sunter, Tim Sunter, Dennis Whittaker

Apologies

Cllrs Harris, Islam, and Martin together with Lorraine Bell, Beryl Biggs, Tim Lee, Ray Norton, and Rosemary Tomkinson

Minutes of the previous meeting

The minutes of the previous meeting were agreed as a true record.

Matters arising not otherwise on the agenda

There were no matters arising which were not otherwise on the agenda.

Correspondence

JS reported that correspondence continued to be received from Civic Voice and offered to circulate this to any members who wished to receive it.

Treasurer’s report

DW reported that the Society has £40.11 cash in hand and £257.22 in the bank making a grand total of £297.22. There were not outstanding cheques for payment so this represented a true picture of the Society’s resources.

Planning Matters

Clean Power

TL could make it to the meeting as he was preparing for the public meeting to be held at 7.30pm at Hawbush Primary School. LM updated the meeting on the situation with regards to clean power.

It appeared that the environmental impact of the site could be considerably greater than had previously been anticipated. This was because it had now transpired that a condition of the use of the site was that a freight rail terminal also had to be built. This meant that even more heavy vehicles would be moving to and from the site. Additionally more waste could be brought in from around the country, so the amount of waste to be processed was likely to be considerably higher than previously stated.

It was also noted that the revised planning application had included some revised air locks to try and counter any odours from the plant, but other than that the application was substantively the same.

The local authority is revising its regeneration strategy and SNOW were advocating that the Moor Streets sites should be re designated as areas for light industry and housing. This would be in line to the wider change to residential use in the area.

The Society discussed how best to support SNOW in its opposition to the proposals and unanimously agreed to write in support of SNOW’s submissions to the planning authority.

Waste aggregation site adjacent of Buckpool nature reserve

TS read out a letter from Angela Wasely who is a leading member of the Fens Pool and Buckpool Wildlife Group. A planning application had been received to develop a site on the Leys Industrial Site for aggregate waste. Further investigation had revealed that initially local authority officers had failed to identify the high risk of noise and dust from the site. In the event the applicant had commenced operations before receiving planning consent and the negative consequences had been demonstrated. There was now a recommendation to oppose the application.

It was agreed that the Society should also oppose the application.

A more general discussion took place regarding the number of applications for development in the area which would adversely affect the amenity of local residents. It was felt the Society had a role in having a watching brief on planning matters and DW kindly agreed to monitor applications on a weekly basis and raise any issues which would be of concern. The offer was gratefully accepted by the meeting.

Preserving Brierley Hill War Memorial

TS and DW spoke about a meeting which had taken place in August with officers of the local authority regarding the condition of the memorial. James Ball of Wordsley School had joined the meeting. The school had indicated that it had wanted to adopt the memorial as part of its World War One centary activities.

The memorial is generally in good condition. The most vulnerable material was the Sicilian marble which was used to depict a scene on each side of the memorial, for the statue of the soldier, and for the decorative pillars on each corner. The western facing marble was eroded quite badly, whilst parts of the soldiers helmet had disappeared.

There were various options on how to go forward. The marble could be coated to prevent further deterioration; or the most eroded scene could be replace (but what would happen to the original); or interprative information could be supplied. Each of these raised issues in themselves and a futher question was who should decide what should be done.

When the memorial had first been mooted Brierley Hill had held a town meeting so that all residents had an opportunity to contribute their ideas. The memorial itself had been built by public subscription.

It was therefore felt that a ‘town meeting’ should be organised to try and get a wider opinion on which option to take. The meeting needed to be well publicised. TS agreed to make the arrangements.

Lights on Church Hill wall

DW reported that the council’s engineers had now identified funding to enable the lights on the wall fronting Church Hill adjacent to the memorial to be restored as part of the ongoing repair work.

Brierley Hill in Bloom

TS gave a progress report. A further bid has been submitted to Community First to expand the scheme further along the High Street. However, the fund is now over subscribed so it may be that other sources of funds such as Ibstock Corey will need to be approached. The present plants will be removed in early November, new plants will be put in place and will grow in situ. Hopefully another splendid display will be achieved for next year.

Discussions are taking place regarding the council’ planters outside Mecca Bingo. These are in a very poor state. It was pointed out that no other town centre in the borough had been neglected like this and there was a strong feeling at the meeting that Brierley Hill should be treated on the same basis as other towns.

JC reported that substantial bulb planting will take place at the Church Street side of the church. Some 3600 bulbs will be planted as part of St Michael’s 250th anniversary.

Nomination for an award of the former Royal Brierley buildings

Unfortunately it had not been possible to arrange for the meeting to be hold at the former Royal Brierley Buildings as the conversion to homes was nearing completion and access would be difficult.

The Society welcomed the preservation of the buildings and the new use which had been found for them. It was agreed to investigate architectural awards which are available and to nominate this scheme for one accordingly. If nothing suitable could be found the. Thought could be given to created our own award.

Membership of West Midlands MASA

The West Midlands MASA had invited the Society to take advantage of free membership. MASA is recognise by Civic Voice and enables Civic Societies to coordinate activity and information on a regional basis. It was agreed to join MASA.

Christmas Festival

JS reported on the emerging arrangements for the Christmas Festival which will take place in 6th December. JC informed the meeting if the excellent news that the Christmas Tree festival would be launched in the same day and St Michael’s would also be holding a drop in event on the same morning. JS commented on how well this complemented the other plans for the day.

Marsh Park and Lawyers Field

Concerns was expressed about possible reductions in the council’s maintenance budget for Marsh Park – especially sensitive in the centenary of the Great War for which the park formed part of the memorial.

SD raised the issue of the state of repair of Lawyers Field and the blocking off of access from the Church Street end for ‘health and safety’ reasons.

The feeling of the meeting was that Brierley Hill seemed to be suffering disproportionately from the cutbacks compared to other town centres. It was agreed to invite councillors to go on a walk to identify key issues which needed to be addressed.

In a more positive note, DW report reported that further planting work will take place through Friends of Marsh Park. JC told the meeting that St Michael’s had won funding to plant 3600 daffodils at the Church Street side of the church yard as part of the 250 the anniversary celebrations in 2015.

Any other urgent business

The meeting discussed rumours circulating in the town with respect to ASDA.

Brierley Hill Civic Society – Monday 15 Sep 1730 – St Michael’s Church – All Welcome

You are cordially invited to the next meeting of Brierley Hill Civic Society which will take place on Monday, 15th September 2014, at 5.30pm at St Michael’s Church.

The Brierley Hill SNOW group – has organised a public meeting for 7.30pm at Hawbush School – so the agenda for this meeting will comprise of business matters rather than having a speaker.

The agenda will therefore be:

  1. Apologies
  2. Minutes of the previous meeting
  3. Matters arising not otherwise on the agenda
  4. Correspondence
  5. Treasurer’s report
  6. Planning Matters
    1. Clean Power
    2. Waste aggregation site adjacent of Buckpool nature reserve
  7. Preserving Brierley Hill War Memorial
  8. Lights on Church Hill wall
  9. Brierley Hill in Bloom
  10. Nomination for an award of the former Royal Brierley buildings
  11. Membership of West Midlands MASA
  12. Christmas Festival
  13. Marsh Park and Lawyers Field
  14. Any other urgent business

I do hope you will be able to attend the meeting and look forward to seeing you there.

Kind regards,
Tim Sunter

***

Minutes of the meeting of Brierley Hill Civic Society held on Monday 21st July 2014 at St Michaels Church, Bell Street South, Brierley Hill.

Minutes of the previous meeting

The previous meeting had consisted of Jayne Pilkington’s talk of preserving local buildings

Clean Power

Tim Lee updated the meeting on Clean Power.

  • The deadline for the consultation on the Evironmental Permit had now closed.
  • 707 residents had voiced objections.
  • The SNOW website has been updated to include comments and information on the Permit application.
  • DMBC will put in their application once they see the full picture.
  • A new planning application is likely to be submitted should Clean Power successfully obtain an Environmental Permit.
  • Review of regeneration corridors being undertaken by the local authority still had the area zoned for industrial use whereas the local consensus would be for housing. Discussions were taking place with councillors re this matter.

Comment were made by members regarding the laying down of conditions to minimise the potential detrimentail effects of any development which may take place.

Brierley Hill in Bloom

TS gave an update on Brierley Hill in Bloom.

Despite considerable pesimism amongst members of the public when the plants were put out, only a small amount of vandalism had taken place – mainly following England football games. In view of this an extra 5% of plants would be grown for planting in the autumn to enable rapid replacement should any be disturbed.

The informal steering group had set some new objectives which were to have a new set of plants ready for October in the existing planters; to extend the scheme to infront of the College and the Health Centre; to extend further along the High Street utilising hanging baskets and vertical planters. This was dependent of sponsorship and applications for grant funding.

Discussion took place regarding the state of the local authority planters in front of the former bowling alley. The council had indicated that insufficient funds were available to put bedding plants here. A suggestion had been made that possibly these could be turfed over with a small border for bedding plants. This was being investigated. JS pointed out that previous initiatives to plant shrubs elsewhere in the borough had demonstrated the potential of these to become litter traps.

Whilst there was disappointment regarding the local authority planters the council had been extremely helpful in ensuring that the Brierley Hill in Bloom planters continued to be watered by scheduling the Scaramanda Road Sweeper to water the plants three days each week. This had reduced the burden on organisers to find volunteers enormously.

The Plough

TS reported back on his visit inside The Plough. It had been very sad as it still contained remnants of its life as a pub and it was very atmospheric.

The good news was that a planning application had been received to convert the building into residential accommodation whilst maintaining its historic aspect.

The planning application was enthusiastically supported by members present and it was agreed a letter of support should be sent to the planners.

Royal Brierley Crystal

TL reported on a visit he and the chair had recently made to view the works which were taking place to convert this Grade II listed building into 17 flats and 10 townhouses.

The scheme was impressive and a great deal of attempt had been made to preserve historic features such as the internal pulleys which had driven the machinary. It was noted that such a development in other parts of the country would attract very high prices for the accommodation.

It was agreed to write to the developer asking if the Society could visit the site as part of its September meeting.

Brierley Hill’s Great War

The main item on the agenda was a talk on Brierley Hill’s Great War. This covered:

  • The methodology for collecting information
  • Wordsley School’s interest in raising funds to restore Brierley Hill war memorial
  • Brierley Hill War Memorial; those named on it, the regiments they belonged to, the key engagements (such as the Hohenzollern Redbout), where they are burried or have a memorial (many have no known burial place).
  • The St Michael’s Church and Delph Church memorials
  • Brierley Hill on the outbreak of war
  • The role of local scouts in the campaign
  • Rolls of honour, including the two rediscovered during renovation works at St Michael’s last week
  • The Quarry Bank riots in protest at food rises as the beginning of the war
  • The Stoubridge Military Hospital, the convoys of wounded from Stourbridge Town station and the intriguing way in which The Talbot Hotel supported patients
  • Local aliens, spies and pigeon restrictions
  • How to protect agains Zeppelin attack
  • Food shortages and rationing – including an unsual ‘baby loan’ system for jumping queues
  • Restrictred water supplies.

Date of Next Meeting

There will be no August meeting. The next meeting will be held on Monday 15th September 2014 at 5.30pm.

The meeting closed at 7.30pm.

Read the Civic Society minutes: Clean Power, Bloom, The Plough, Royal Brierley and the Great War

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Minutes of the meeting of Brierley Hill Civic Society held on Monday 21st July 2014 at St Michaels Church, Bell Street South, Brierley Hill.

Minutes of the previous meeting

The previous meeting had consisted of Jayne Pilkington’s talk of preserving local buildings

Clean Power

Tim Lee updated the meeting on Clean Power.

  • The deadline for the consultation on the Evironmental Permit had now closed.
  • 707 residents had voiced objections.
  • The SNOW website has been updated to include comments and information on the Permit application.
  • DMBC will put in their application once they see the full picture.
  • A new planning application is likely to be submitted should Clean Power successfully obtain an Environmental Permit.
  • Review of regeneration corridors being undertaken by the local authority still had the area zoned for industrial use whereas the local consensus would be for housing. Discussions were taking place with councillors re this matter.

Comment were made by members regarding the laying down of conditions to minimise the potential detrimentail effects of any development which may take place.

Brierley Hill in Bloom

TS gave an update on Brierley Hill in Bloom.

Despite considerable pesimism amongst members of the public when the plants were put out, only a small amount of vandalism had taken place – mainly following England football games. In view of this an extra 5% of plants would be grown for planting in the autumn to enable rapid replacement should any be disturbed.

The informal steering group had set some new objectives which were to have a new set of plants ready for October in the existing planters; to extend the scheme to infront of the College and the Health Centre; to extend further along the High Street utilising hanging baskets and vertical planters. This was dependent of sponsorship and applications for grant funding.

Discussion took place regarding the state of the local authority planters in front of the former bowling alley. The council had indicated that insufficient funds were available to put bedding plants here. A suggestion had been made that possibly these could be turfed over with a small border for bedding plants. This was being investigated. JS pointed out that previous initiatives to plant shrubs elsewhere in the borough had demonstrated the potential of these to become litter traps.

Whilst there was disappointment regarding the local authority planters the council had been extremely helpful in ensuring that the Brierley Hill in Bloom planters continued to be watered by scheduling the Scaramanda Road Sweeper to water the plants three days each week. This had reduced the burden on organisers to find volunteers enormously.

The Plough

TS reported back on his visit inside The Plough. It had been very sad as it still contained remnants of its life as a pub and it was very atmospheric.

The good news was that a planning application had been received to convert the building into residential accommodation whilst maintaining its historic aspect.

The planning application was enthusiastically supported by members present and it was agreed a letter of support should be sent to the planners.

Royal Brierley Crystal

TL reported on a visit he and the chair had recently made to view the works which were taking place to convert this Grade II listed building into 17 flats and 10 townhouses.

The scheme was impressive and a great deal of attempt had been made to preserve historic features such as the internal pulleys which had driven the machinary. It was noted that such a development in other parts of the country would attract very high prices for the accommodation.

It was agreed to write to the developer asking if the Society could visit the site as part of its September meeting.

Brierley Hill’s Great War

The main item on the agenda was a talk on Brierley Hill’s Great War. This covered:

  • The methodology for collecting information
  • Wordsley School’s interest in raising funds to restore Brierley Hill war memorial
  • Brierley Hill War Memorial; those named on it, the regiments they belonged to, the key engagements (such as the Hohenzollern Redbout), where they are burried or have a memorial (many have no known burial place).
  • The St Michael’s Church and Delph Church memorials
  • Brierley Hill on the outbreak of war
  • The role of local scouts in the campaign
  • Rolls of honour, including the two rediscovered during renovation works at St Michael’s last week
  • The Quarry Bank riots in protest at food rises as the beginning of the war
  • The Stoubridge Military Hospital, the convoys of wounded from Stourbridge Town station and the intriguing way in which The Talbot Hotel supported patients
  • Local aliens, spies and pigeon restrictions
  • How to protect agains Zeppelin attack
  • Food shortages and rationing – including an unsual ‘baby loan’ system for jumping queues
  • Restrictred water supplies.

Date of Next Meeting

There will be no August meeting. The next meeting will be held on Monday 15th September 2014 at 5.30pm.

The meeting closed at 7.30pm.

Brierley Hill’s Great War – Civic Society talk, Monday 21st, 5.30pm, St Michaels. All welcome.

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The next meeting of Brieley Hill Civic Society will take place next Monday, 21st July at 5.30pm. All are welcome to attend.

Plans have been submitted to convert The Plough into four residential units, and there will be a report back on a visit Tim Lee and I made to the former Royal Brierley Crystal building. There will a chance to talk about these initiatives during the meeting.

The main time on the agenda will be a talk by your’s truly on Brierley Hill’s Great War.

I will be unlocking the secrets of Brierley Hill’s war memorial, telling the stories of some of the soldiers who never came home, and looking at the home front including recruitment, rationing, women’s employment, aliens and spies, the Quarry Bank riot and how to protect against Zeppelin attacks.

Hopefully you will find it enjoyable.

The agenda for the meeting is as follows:

  1. Apologies
  2. Minutes of the previous meeting – noting that the last meeting consisted of Jayne Pilkington’s talk.
  3. Matters Arising
  4. Treasurers report
  5. Clean Power
  6. The Plough
  7. Royal Brierley
  8. Talk: Brierley Hill’s Great War
  9. Bloom
  10. Future programme of work
  11. Any Other urgent business

Please note that we do not meet in August, and so our next meeting will be in September.

I do hope you will be able to make it on Monday.

Kind regards,
Tim

Conserving the Heritage Assets of the Borough – a talk by Jayne Pilkington Brierley Hill Civic Society – Monday 16th June – all welcome

Brierley Hill Civic Society

I am writing to invite you to the next meeting of Brierley Hill Civic Society which will take place on Monday, 16th June 2014 at St Michael’s Church, Bell Street South, Brierley Hill commencing at 5.30pm.

Our main speaker this meeting is Jayne Pilkington who will be talking on:

“Conserving the Heritage Assets of the Borough: a Conservation Officer’s Perspective”.

Jayne is the remaining member of the Conservation team in Dudley and I am sure that she will have lots of interesting things to say.

The agenda for the meeting will therefore be:

  1. Apologies
  2. Minutes of the previous meeting (see below)
  3. Matters Arising
  4. Treasurer’s report
  5. Brierley Hill in Bloom
  6. Clean Power
  7. Regeneration issues
    1. Intu
    2. Car parking
    3. Other
  8. Christmas festival
  9. English Heritage
  10. Brierley Hill Community Forum
  11. Information exchange
  12. Any other urgent business
  13. Date of next meeting:
  14. 19th July 2014 – “Brierley Hill’s Great War” – Tim Sunter

Continue reading Conserving the Heritage Assets of the Borough – a talk by Jayne Pilkington Brierley Hill Civic Society – Monday 16th June – all welcome

Brierley Hill Civic Society, Monday 19th May, 5.30pm, St Michael’s Church – all welcome

Brierley Hill celebration flyer

 

 

 

 

 

Brierley Hill Civic Society and Brierley Hill Celebration 2014

I am writing to invite you to the next meeting of the Civic Society which will take place on Monday 19th May, 2014, commencing at 5.30pm, at St Michael’s Church.

In a change to our scheduled speaker, I am pleased to say that we have teamed up with Brierley Hill Neighbourhood Learning Centre for the “Brierley Hill Celebration 2014” activities.

This facilitated session will be aimed at collecting and sharing memories and stories of Brierley Hill with the aim of building a pride for a community and a resource for future generation.

As an added bonus, you are welcome to attend “Brierley Hill into the First World War” on the previous Monday, 12th May where workshops and presentations of the impact of the declaration of war on Brierley Hill and on Food and Recipes of the First World War will take place. This session starts at 6pm and is also at St. Michael’s.

I look forward to seeing you on 19th May for the Civic Society meeting and, for those coming to the first session of Brierley Hill Celebration 2014, next Monday too.

Civic Society Agenda – NB: 5.30 pm start.

  1. Apologies

  2. Minutes of the previous meeting (click to read)

  3. Matters arising not otherwise on the agenda

  4. Correspondence

  5. Clean Power planning appeal update

  6. Brierley Hill in Bloom

  7. Workshop: Brierley Hill Celebration 2014

  8. Christmas Festival 2014

  9. Community Forum Update

  10. The Crossways Centre

  11. Information Exchange

  12. Any other business

  13. Date of next meeting: Monday 16th June 2014

 

Read the minutes of Brierley Hill Civic Society – 17th March

Brierley Hill Civic Society
Brierley Hill Civic Society

Minutes of the meeting of Brierley Hill Civic Society held at St Michael’s Church, Bell Street South, on 17th March 2014 commencing at 5.30pm.

Present

Shane Bastock, Beryl Biggs, Ruth Childs, Joy Cooper, Beryl Fisher, Robert Franklin, John Heathcock, John James, Betsy Lafferty, Tim Lee, Brad Jones, Andrew Mann-Ray, Lorna Morrison, Maggie Norton, Jenny Sunter, Tim Sunter, Rosemary Tomkinson, Dennis Whittaker

Apologies

Judy Foster, Rachel Harris, Peter Hobbs, Zafar Islam, Ray Norton

Minutes of the previous meeting

The minutes of the previous meeting had been circulated and were agreed as a true record.

Matters Arising

Rosemary Tomkinson asked for clarification on the role of Dudley Council in the Brierley Hill in Bloom project. TS explained that it had been agreed to purchase and the punters through the council to achieve cost savings. SB enlarged on this point by explaining that the management of risk and therefore liability would remain with the local authority which afforded protection to organisers of the scheme.

Correspondence

JS informed the meeting of the correspondence received since February.

Membership dues to Civic Voice were now due. This amounted to £1.50 per member. So far between 10 and 15 members had renewed. The Civic Voice membership came with the benefit of free entry to a National Trust facility. It was noted that it was on the agenda for discussion later.

A leaflet had been received from Dudley Council concerning the Dudley Trail taking place on May 4th.

Civic Voice were also organising a national Civic Day on June 21. It was suggested that this might be something the Society would be interested in for future years.

Treasurer’s Report

DW reported that at the last meeting the Society has £36.71 cash in hand, and £741.22 in the bank. £65 had been paid in membership fees on 17 February, and £15 was contributed as the room collection. This brought the cash in hand to £116.71. £100 has thus been banked. This meant that the society has a total of £841.22 in its account. Two cheques totalling £110 remained to show in the accounts, meaning effectively this society has £731.22 available in the bank.

TS reported that some of the funding had been achieved as a result of the Community First grant. £200 of this was to pay towards a pull up display. The rest was to cover the cost of speakers and room hire. This money would need to be accounted for in the near future. It was agreed that TS and DW would discuss how much of the grant had been spent to date such action could be taken appropriately on any remaining funds.

Future Plans

A discussion ensued on how to cover the cost of speakers for future meetings. The society had been paying £15 for room hire and a £50 fee for each speaker. However, this had been funded through a grant from Community First. The amount of income from room collections was not, if it remains the same, cover the cost of speakers. RT said that it was important that those who attended the speakers events were aware of the expected level of donation. It was agreed:
To apply for a further grant from Community First
To ask members to pay 2 pounds and nonmembers 3 pounds for each speaking event
To explore fundraising activities to create a resource for funding speakers.

Members requested that information regarding meetings be displayed on the noticeboard at Marsh Park, in Farm Foods, and elsewhere through the town. Notices of meetings should also be sent to the local press.

BJ and TL raised the issue of how a greater awareness of cultural issues could be raised in schools. The meeting felt that this was one of the key objectives of the Civic Society. It was agreed that BJ, TL, SB and TS would liaise to explore how this could best be achieved. TS agreed to set the ball rolling by email. BJ intimated that with the correct program funding may be available directly from schools.

The offer by Civic Voice of free entry to a National Trust property was noted by the meeting. A number of members indicated that they would be interested in taking advantage of the offer as a group. It was agreed to conduct a small survey to see which property members would like to visit and when.

It was agreed that the next three meetings would consist of Cllr Judy Foster and officials talking about regeneration issues in May, a talk on the conservation of the town’s buildings in June, and TS would talk of his research into Brierley Hill’s Great War in July. The Society does not need in August, but the following five meetings should consist of speakers with historic interests.

RH offered to facilitate speakers with a health interest should the Society so wish.

Brierley Hill SNOW

TL updated the meeting on the opposition to the Clean Power appeal. Over 900 letters have been delivered to the Planning Inspectorate opposing the plan. In addition to this a petition had gathered many signatures, a Facebook site and twitter account established, a website had been created and there has been extensive media coverage.

The SNOW campaign was hoping that the planning inspector would allow representation at the enquiry which is expected in mid June. If this was agreed a statement would be filed and spokespeople would be identified to put the case for local residents.

TL thanked Brierley Hill market for allowing them to have a stall for three days. The response had been overwhelmingly against Clean Power. One or two people had spoken in support of the employment opportunity, and one person had commented on whether the site would be suitable for residential development.

TS commented at how effective the campaign had been in mobilising public opinion. This was greatly to the credit of TL and his team. Following the last meeting the Society had written to the Planning Inspectorate to object to the proposals. A copy of the letter was available at the meeting for anyone who wished to read it.

Brierley Hill Christmas Festival

JS reported that the Christmas lights turn on will take place on 6th December.

Insight House was on board, the Santa Joggle was being supported by Birmingham Metropolitan College and DMBC were going to manage the lights switch onCommunity First funding may be available to support the project depending on the panel meeting due to take place on 18th March.

JS is keen to increase the participation of schools in the event. BJ and JS agreed to have a conversation on how this could best be achieved.

The meeting was appreciative of JS for her continuing work on this project.

Brierley Hill in Bloom

TS updated the meeting. £7500 of funding has been achieved through Community First, Brierley Hill Traders Association, and a legitimate anonymous donor.

The planters were on order and Birmingham Metropolitan College students were growing the plants.

It was hoped that individuals, community groups and schools would help to maintain the plants once they were in situ. This would require access to water within the town centre. The informal steering group were aware of this and working on plans accordingly.

It was agreed that the Civic Society would adopt some of the planters, and TS agreed to explore a rotor arrangements for members to look after them.

Information Exchange

SB and TS has met with New Heritage Regeneration at its request to talk about Brierley Hill. The meeting has been positive and discussions regarding ERDF funding has taken place. It was proposed to create an informal “doers” group to establish an action plan to press ahead with regeneration in Brierley Hill. SB and TS felt it was very important after this to succeed the local authority needed to view it as more than an exercise in ticking boxes.

The meeting discussed its disappointment that the momentum in the regeneration of Brierley Hill has been lost in recent years. It was hoped that the new initiative would enable some ground to be regained. It is aimed for the first “doers” meeting to take place by the end of April. Thereafter it would be possible to report back to the Society.

AMR reported on the proposed Celebrate Brierley Hill event which was taking place at Brierley Methodist Church on Tuesday, March 25. This builds on the success of last years Round Oak Memorial event. It was hoped to have speakers on Brierley Hill’s past, present and future. DW agreed to liaise with AMR regarding Brierley Hill’s past.

Any Other Urgent Business

There was no other urgent business. The meeting closed at 7pm.