Previous Conservation Issues
The issues listed below have been raised at meetings of the Ecclesfield Conservation Group, and do not appear to have been resolved. Readers having views on any of the issues are invited to contact the relevant authorities, or join our group, or both.
In listing the issues, the Author is reporting what was
presented to the Ecclesfield Conservation Group, not stating verified
facts. If anything below needs correction, then please email 
.
Also, apart from repeating any resolutions passed at meetings, the
Author has tried not to put forward or report any opinions. Any
opinions or attitudes imputed from what follows may therefore be at
variance with the opinions of members or even the group as a whole.
Butterthwaite Lane - Proposed wind turbines
2008-05-19 A City Council report has identified “Butterthwaite Farm” as being a possible site for a wind farm. No planning application seems to have been made for this area, but a Council presentation designates the area near the motorway as “Potential Wind Site 4”. [ For the full document and map, see … http://www.fey.org.uk/site/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=zgUIV%2B%2F5UFw%3D&tabid=233&mid=1078. For comment see http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/Storm-blowing-up-over-city39s.3747803.jp or http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/Turbines-too-near-homes-.3865520.jp ]
2008-06-23 It was mentioned that the proposed wind farm at
Westwood Country Park in High Green had been rejected by Sheffield City
Council. [ The council is inviting people to comment about this or the
search for other wind farm locations at… http://www.sheffield.gov.uk/whats-new/wind-farm-project
].
Ecclesfield Conservation Area - Possible extensions
2008-03-10 Copies of a map showing the current extent of the conservation area were passed round so we could see them. Several possible extensions to the existing area were discussed, including Ecclesfield Park and the Shrogs [ Several pictures of the Shrogs can be seen on … http://s178.photobucket.com/albums/w246/pondpump16/Ecclesfield]
2008-05-19 Several possible extensions to the conservation area were again mentioned. It was suggested we start with the rural parts of Ecclesfield, and then move on to built up areas where more people are directly impacted. Listed buildings were also mentioned, and in particular historic public houses and the Gatty Hall, which was not thought to be listed. It was suggested that it was important that everybody note any valuable wild life that they may see in the area.
2008-06-23 It was noted that the management proposals
published by Sheffield Council asked for suggestions to extend the
conservation area. Town End Farm; land to the back of the Gatty Hall;
the Cemetery; the Shrogs; Ecclesfield Park and in particular land up to
the band stand; and the pond at the back of the working men’s club were
all mentioned. The question as to whether the conservation area needed
to be contiguous, or if it could contain “islands” was raised. The
consensus was that it could contain such islands. Certain buildings not
included in the current conservation area and not declared listed
buildings, were then discussed. The Gatty Hall, the back of Mobri
bakery, the Gryphon, the White Bear, the Black Bull, the EPPiC theatre,
and the [Ex.] George & Dragon were all mentioned.
The preservation of Blackburn Brook, and in particular the portion
running alongside the path from Station Road to Nether lane was
mentioned, including the tadpoles in the adjacent pond.
Ecclesfield Road, Chapeltown - Redevelopment of the Old Jet Station
2008-05-19 To keep people informed, (rather than propose that the Conservation Society register an objection), it was pointed out that the planning applications distributed with the Agenda, showed an application to turn the old Jet Station on Ecclesfield Road, Chapeltown into flats. [The plans for this very intensive development can be seen by entering http://tinyurl.com/5c9mmz into an address bar (not a Google Search bar), or going to … [ http://planningdocs.sheffield.gov.uk/...]
2008-07-21 A petition with over 100 signatures, and 20 letters of protest have been presented to the Parish Council. The council are reported to have supported the objections. http://www.thestar.co.uk/headlines/Petrol-station-plan-protests.4119890.jp
St. Marys Church Grounds - Gate
2008-06-23 The gate which was said to have been "part missing" for the last 15 years, was thought to belong to the Church.
St. Marys Church Grounds - Seating
2008-06-23 Repairs were said to be needed to the seating in land adjacent to the Church.
St. Marys Church - Sign Post
2008-07-01 You may have seen in the local press details of a
very old sign post located outside the front wall of St Mary's Church.
It is very old but has been vandalised in a minor way. We are going to
contact local media to ask for help in locating missing bits.
St. Marys Church Grounds - Wall
2008-06-23 Repairs were said to be needed to the wall surrounding St. Marys Church. It was thought that the wall in question was on council owned land, with Street force cutting the grass on behalf of parks department or Sheffield Homes. However, street force had told one of our members that there was no money to do anything major about the walls.
TC Minimart - Sign
2008-05-19 Keith Fish told us that he had been
asked to raise the issue of the Sign above the Mini Mart, and passed
round a copy of a letter written by one of our members in a private
capacity to…
Mr Chris Neal, Enforcement Assistant, Development Control,
Sheffield City Council.
After receiving the letter, Mr Neal had emailed back to say that he had
received a phone call from the Agent to say that he was “having the
valid [planning] application submitted in the very near future”.
008-06-23 We were told that the council had still not received the required planning application for the sign above this shop. We understand that until such an application is received, then objections cannot be raised or the matter considered by the council. On the 22nd of May, the Council understood that the owner of the shop had appointed an agent, and the council is therefore expecting to receive an application. If no application is received, then unless it is possible to come to an acceptable solution, it is understood that the Council will move to enforcement.
Town End Road - Land between the road and the stream
2008-06-23 We were handed copies of a presentation suggesting
the improvement of the strip of land between Town End Road and the
adjacent stream. The presentation referred to the grassed area and
willow tree. It was explained that the land was largely overgrown but
could be improved at reasonable cost and effort. In particular, it was
suggested that a path could be created to make it easier for people to
walk along the stream.
It was also suggested that the land was sometimes used by dog owners,
and that a dog bin could be useful. However, it was also noted that
this would incur costs both in providing the bin, and in maintaining it.
The land on the far side of the stream (later described as the South
bank) was also discussed, but was said to have been subject to tipping
from the industrial estate. There was an old coal yard, and several
other businesses on the far bank. It was thought that the bank was not
adequately supported and material waste, including an old garden hut,
had got pushed down the bank. Although it was suggested that the waste
could be cleaned up, comments were made indicating that this was a
large task which could not undertaken on a voluntary basis, would be
expensive to rectify, and should take second place to the improvement
of the near bank.
It was unanimously resolved that the Ecclesfield Conservation Group
supported moves for the improvement of land adjacent to Town End Road.
Traffic through Ecclesfield
2008-03-10 The problem of traffic on the high street, the difficult junction with Church Lane, the lack of traffic lights on the corner, and parking on double yellow lines were all mentioned. Attention was drawn to the timing of busses on the high street, with pairs of busses with the same route number said to appear at the same time. Concern was expressed about the smithy wood development, the original state of the ground before development, and the extra traffic which it might create. It was suggested that some of these things were dealt with by the Northern Area Panel, and we would be better concentrating on things that were being done by Street Force.
2008-06-23 The problem of traffic through the village, particularly HGVs coming through Town End Road and Church Lane at 6 O’clock in the morning was mentioned. Evidence for this was apparent from damage to verges at points along the narrow road. This traffic was thought to be aggravated by vehicles taking a short cut from Huddersfield. I.e. traffic which should come into Sheffield via M1 Junction 36 [I.e. A61], but which was thought to be using Junction 35 [Ecclesfield] instead. Singleton’s transport depot, and the bus route through Monteney was mentioned. Also mentioned was the question of traffic from Sheffield Wednesday’s Hillsborough football ground, the difficulty experienced by children living on the opposite side of the village from the school and therefore having to cross this traffic. Fears were expressed that the problem is likely to get worse. One reason for the fear was said to be the continued development of the Smithy Wood Industrial Estate. Another was the proposal for traffic calming measures in Yew Lane, which could have the result of diverting traffic elsewhere.
Possible solutions mentioned were an axel limit for traffic through the Village, a traffic calming system where traffic in one direction had to give way to oncoming traffic, and an “unsuitable for HGV” sign.
It was resolved that a letter was to be written from the group to the Highways Department, informing them of the problems caused by traffic passing through Ecclesfield and enquiring as to possible ways of ameliorating the situation. The letter was to be circulated to all members and comments collated before being sent.
Trinity Methodist Chapel or Church Hall
2008-06-23 We were told that demand for this building had reduced to the point where it had been decided to close it. This will affect both worshipers and the nursery or play group centred there. This was of concern, especially as this historic building was not thought to be listed.
Village Green
2008-06-23 It was suggested that it would be beneficial if this area be designated a “Village Green”. This would prevent the land being built on, while enabling it to be used for pageants, and encourage it to become the centre of the village.
Walks around Ecclesfield
2008-04-21 Copies of some of the Ecclesfield Parish Council walks were brought to the meeting, but were said that they did not feature points of interest within Ecclesfield itself. It was suggested that we might be able to make people aware of the Church [a grade 1 listed building], and other points of interest to form a “heritage trail”. It was suggested that it may even be possible to include times when places are open for viewing, and that such information might be particularly useful to people coming into the area.
White Bear Pub
2008-04-21 Concern was expressed at the sad state of the White Bear, which has been damaged and boarded up. The pub was previously looked after by the landlord of the Black Bull, and it was thought to be owned by Jaguar Estates. However, the landlord of the Black Bull has now left, and the future of the White Bear appears to be uncertain.
2008-05-19 The condition of the White Bear, was mentioned, with “front windows being smashed and bordered up rather than being replaced”. One of our members phoned the Urban Design and Conservation Team, and told them of the bad state of the building. The council asked whether there was broken glass near a highway, and were told that there was. Apart from that, there appeared to be little commitment to action on behalf of the council, and it was concluded that we needed to keep an eye on the problem. There was some discussion as to whose responsibility it was - Jaguar Estates, or their leaseholders - and what if anything could be done to help. Eventually, it was agreed that we would contact Jaguar Estates. It was suggested that it might be useful if Jaguar estates knew that this week was the Ecclesfield Scrubbers “Scrub-up Ecclesfield” week culminating in the litter pick on Saturday 24th May. See scrubbers.ecclesfieldgroups.com for details.
2008-06-23 We were told that Sheffield City Council had said
that the currently disused White Bear was probably in compliance with
Section 215 of the buildings act. The council could not therefore take
action to improve the appearance of the building. Some discussion took
place about the merits or otherwise of possible changes of use,
including changes that might retain the external shape or appearance of
the building. It was noted that change of use to, for instance, office
space would require a planning application, to be made and granted.
It was thought that Mr Wadsworth of Jaguar Estates had hoped to attend
one of our meetings, and it was therefore unanimously decided to give
Mr Wadsworth a written or emailed invitation to our next meeting.
Other issues
The possible re-building of Ecclesfield Pavilion is being dealt with by the "Ecclesfield Park and Pavilion Group". See www.ecclesfieldpark.org.uk for details.
Policing, Crime, and anti-social behaviour is dealt with by the "Ecclesfield Safety Forum".
Graffiti and litter is dealt with by Ecclesfield Scrubbers. See scrubbers.ecclesfieldgroups.com