Minutes of the Conservation meeting of 2013-03-18 (AGM) at 19:30 in the Stocks

[last amended on 2013-04-15. Numbers in square brackets refer to items in the corresponding Agenda]

 

[a] Chair: John Ellis (JE) opened the meeting, and Ian Deans  took over, following his appointment as our new Chairman.

[b] Attendance: 16 people signed into the meeting (JE, ME, ID, MQ, RT, MD, MM, SP, JP, KM, KF, LS, AM, PB, BS, JM). KG, JB, VB sent apologies. Including these, a total of 36 people currently receive emailed agendas and minutes.

Ongoing matters, or "things still to be done"

[z] Next meeting. The next meeting of the Ecclesfield Conservation and Local History Group will be on Monday April 15th, at 19:30 in “The Stocks”.

[1] Since this was our AGM, JE first invited MM to present the accounts for the year. MM distributed copies of these, saying that some of the problems we had had with the Royal Bank of Scotland, concerning statements and names and addresses of the signatories to the account had been sorted out. She also had ready the forms to change of name of the account to “Ecclesfield Conservation and Local History Group”. MM asked the group whether we wanted the accounts audited. PB replied that we had not done this in the past, but AM added that the accounts of her Parks Group were audited. MM said that although she realised that this is not ideal, a relative of hers might be willing to audit our accounts. Nobody at the meeting asked for the accounts to be audited, so it was left for MM to decide whether to get the accounts audited.

[1] The following officers were proposed, seconded and voted in. In each case, there was only one nominee, who was voted in unanimously …

Chair:           Ian Deans

Vice Chair:  Roger Tordoff

Secretary:     Jim Percival

Treasurer:    Margaret Myers

JE suggested that ID chaired the remainder of the meeting. ID took the Chair and thanked JE for serving over the past two years, and having worked so hard on a number of projects and fronts. JE in turn, thanked members for their support over that period and paid particular tribute to his wife Mo.

JP suggested that there was a need for volunteers to keep copies of the passwords needed to control our web site, and keep a backup of the Ecclesfield Village Archive itself. Since nobody at the meeting volunteered, ID said he would accept the passwords and asked how large the archive was [The archive is currently 10G Bytes, or 1% of a typical 1TB hard disk, and can be seen at 4conservation.ecclesfieldgroups.com. Anybody who wants to discuss means of holding a backup of this, please contact ].

[2] ID and RT reported on their attendance at the Ecclesfield Parish Council Local History Archive Meeting. David Morton, Clerk to the Council had received representations from a number of groups, including Professor Jones of the High Green Archive. Mr Morton explained that the Council were trying to get a feel for what the local history groups in the Parish wanted, and also to involve local schools in such projects. He said that a lot of information was available. Some of this was organised, but other information was not so organised. Some of the groups suggested applying for lottery funding, but the general view was that any project should start small, and develop gradually. It was thought important that any archive include Audio. A lot more work was needed, including the preparation of business plans. The parish are happy to assist in this, for example, by acting as banker, or organising exhibitions. The next step was probably for the Parish to map out what organisations had what information. He asked that the groups go back and seek feedback from their members as to what was wanted. RT said that the Parish Council already had equipment available which could be useful for archiving information.

The meeting then discussed our Ecclesfield Village Archive. LQ brought up the question of who owns the archive, and should the photographs etc. be watermarked, like those in the Bradfield Archive. Other questions asked (but not answered) were how the documents are to be received, and how they are to be managed. Since it was not obvious which was the best way to proceed, it was decided that for the time being we would accept material under whatever conditions the donor was prepared to give it to us.

It was reported that Ecclesfield Library did not know of any Local History Groups in Ecclesfield, so the meeting decided that ID and JP would go into the library and tell them of the Archive, and our change of name to include the words “Local History”.

[3] PB noted the Planter/Ecclesfield Signs which the “in-Bloom” group had placed in front of St. Mary’s Church, and wondered if we should do something like this as an alternative to the boundary stones for Chapeltown Rd. and Town End Rd. which had been suggested at our previous meetings. RT suggested that anything we did should be low-maintenance.

[3] ID brought up the quotation we had received of £845 for 3,000 industrial heritage leaflets (1,000 of each type). It was decided that we could apply for a grant for these, (plus the cost of extra leaflet dispensers at cost), at the next Parish Council Meeting. We would be prepared to put £100 of our own money towards this printing.

[y] KF brought up the state of the public footpath running from Priory Lane to Shrogs Wood. The rain had made this difficult to traverse without for instance loosing a shoe. ID was asked to enquire further about this.

 

[y] AM mentioned the bird scarer behind her house. It is automatic, making a noise every 5 minutes from 7:30 in the morning to 18:30 at night. ID was asked to enquire further about this.

 

Completed matters or "things we have now done"

[c] Minutes: The minutes of the previous meeting were accepted for publication. [A copy of these can now be found at... http://conservation.ecclesfieldgroups.com/minutes/2013-02-18.minutes.html   - JP]

 

[x] Planning

ID brought up the Governments proposed route for the second phase of HS2 via Meadowhall. He said that it was planned to go between the M1 and Green Lane, along the line of the disused railway. It would skirt Butterthwaite Farm, and go through Smithy Wood, and the site of the Hesley Wood tip, probably in a cutting. ID said that there were a lot of formal consultation steps that would have to be gone through, and these developments might be 25 years away, but we should start thinking about them now. LQ asked whether the route was in the green belt, but it was suggested that this could not be avoided.

 

[x] ID also pointed out the Coal Recovery and Restoration Scheme at Hesley Wood, (indicated in the agenda under “Planning Applications Granted”), saying that 39 conditions had been attached to the grant.

 

[x] JP brought up the application for change of use from D2 (club) to A4 “Drinking Establishment” at the Players Lounge. Several members reported being disturbed by activities outside the club on numerous occasions. Of especial concern was the presence of the Eva Ratcliffe House directly opposite the site. Because of this, the meeting unanimously decided to object to the change of use.

[Our objection can be seen, and other comments added, by clicking on http://publicaccess.sheffield.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=neighbourComments&keyVal=MIIF31NY09I00 ].

Concerned members may also want to email general.licensing@sheffield.gov.uk by 4th April, in time for the licence review called by the Police after the recent stabbing at the Club.]

 

[x] The application for increased hours at the new Aldi, and the possibility that neighbours would be bothered was mentioned.

 

[y] The new magazine called “Pulse” covering Chapeltown, Ecclesfield, Grenoside, and High Green was mentioned was said to be looking for stories. [You can see a copy at … http://edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk/launch.aspx?pbid=da80dae2-1d54-4720-bff0-bbba5662eb7b  ]

 

[y] KF told members that the in Bloom group was close to applying for Village Green status for the land between St. Mary’s Church and Priory Lane.

 

[y] The Parish Council had re-printed their series of walks, some of which were passed round for members to take home.

 

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