Pennines in Bloom 2010

PENNINES IN BLOOM 2010

CONTENTS

Introduction to Pennines In Bloom Milnrow Memorial Park Hollingworth Lake & Countryside Park Littleborough Town Centre Heritage Hare Hill Park Hare Hill Allotments Pennines’ Schools Other Community Partnerships & Activities Business Partner Working Promotion & Publicity Local Community Involvement 2011 & Beyond Judges’ Itinerary

Introduction to Pennines In Bloom

The Pennines In Bloom Steering Group are proud to present the beauty and diversity of their environment within this first entry to the prestigious North West In Bloom competition.

The Pennines In Bloom area includes the villages and towns of Littleborough, Milnrow, Wardle, Newhey, Smallbridge, and Firgrove. These delightful and welcom- ing communities are interspersed with heritage, transport and water; ranging from the essential East-West railway and M62 motorway to the long established Rochdale canal and activity based centres around the hills and reservoirs of Wardle, Ogden and our “jewel in the crown” of Hollingworth Lake.

Somewhere within this complete mix of modern living, centuries of historic heritage and very diverse natural environmental beauty, the Pennines In Bloom Steering Group have tried to ensure their membership, the judges’ route and this portfolio is representative of where we proudly live, work, and play. The difficulty of showing the diversity of this area in such a short visit and document ensures we have many years’ work to fully exhibit the excellence in Pennines.

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Steering Group

Our Steering Group has been meeting monthly since April this year and benefits from previous experience of North West In Bloom entrants from Littleborough, Wardle and Rochdale Council and includes:-

• Ted Bolton - Wardle Civic Society • Jim Fitton - Friends of Milnrow Memorial Park • Sue Sutcliffe - Hollingworth Lake Visitors Centre • Malcolm McCormick - Friends of Hare Hill Park • John Stanley - Friends of Littleborough Station • Elaine Gerrard - previous Chair of Littleborough In Bloom • Andy Bentley - previous in Littleborough in Bloom • Rickie Oliver - Milnrow & District Horticultural and Allotment Society • Councillor Irene Davidson - Pennines Township (Milnrow & Newhey) • Helena Cook - Littleborough Community Primary School • Ruth Sillence - Rochdale Boroughwide Housing • John Carney - Pennines Parks Ranger, Rochdale Council • Ian Trickett - Environmental Management, Rochdale Council • Helena Kelly - Pennines Township, Rochdale Council • Iain Bentley - Pennines Township, Rochdale Council

This list is not exhaustive and the Group actively involves other parts of the community including schools, businesses and local volunteers, who we will have to work with to increase fund raising for next year beyond the Township Councillors and small business contributions received this year.

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Milnrow Memorial Park

Milnrow Memorial Park is very much the ‘People’s Park’, being loved and well used by the residents of Milnrow and Newhey, the two villages between which the park is situated. Milnrow Urban District Council first opened the Memorial Park of 4.3 acres in 1952 on the former Cliffe House site. The Memorial Gardens were constructed to relocate the Milnrow War Memorial due to road widening works and extended to 9.3 acres in 1961 to include public pleasure and recreation grounds and offers:- • Recreational opportunities to a wide range of groups and individuals, including a sensory garden • Leap Standard play area, which includes a mini cycle track for toddlers and a mini assault course • Bowling green & community base • Multi use games area • The Milnrow Giant Sculpture • Woodland walk and landscaped gardens • Newly refurbished Memorial and surrounding area.

This “Green Flag” park has a well-established and active Friends Group that promotes the park as a venue for social interaction with a passion for the park to be a place of excellence.

The Park has a 5 year Management Plan which includes considerations for :- Healthy, safe and secure environment, Sustainability, Conservation and Heritage, Community Involvement, Miscellaneous Site Improvements, Friends Group Work Programme to name a few.

Sustainability for the Park includes practices for dealing with peat, waste, recycling, refuse, pesticides, buildings.

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Hollingworth Lake & Countryside Park

Hollingworth Lake was built over 200 years ago to supply water to the Rochdale Canal and was a very popular place to visit in Victorian times. This popularity has remained and the Park has just been voted the North West’s favourite picnic site, and is the “jewel in the crown” of tourist attrac- tions around neighbouring towns.

There are numerous activities on and around the lake including the Visitor Centre, Water Activity Centre, boat trips and hire, fishing, walks and cycle hire, bird watching, and sports clubs, dining and refreshment establishments are all nearby. It is one of the most visited locations by all sectors of the community, so balancing this popularity with wildlife conservation and protecting the biodiversity is difficult, and why the Friends of Hollingworth Lake and supporting agencies take their role very seriously.

The Visitor Centre is the key location of activities, exhibitions and education programmes for the Lake and its related subjects around wildlife, fauna and flora, maintenance, conservation, biodiversity, and environmental management. Many classes of school children visit the Centre to learn, create and develop an interest and appreciation of the annual cycle of the life of the Lake and its surroundings.

For some years there has been a demand from the public for an area to stimulate all the senses of visitors to the Centre. A Sensory Garden was proposed by the Friends Group and with partners it became a reality three years ago. It is a key facility for both children and adult educational classes and for those visitors who wish to freely roam and experience the specifically chosen aroma, colours and textures.

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Littleborough Town Centre Heritage

Railway Stations

The Friends of Littleborough Stations have operated for many years to conserve and maintain these key facilities which have existed in the towns for over 160 years. Four years ago some of the Members started an annual planting cycle and purchased hanging baskets and six planting barrels for the platforms and three for the turning circle outside the station. Two of the platform barrels contain culinary herbs from which visitors can take cuttings, and four contain a variety of flowering plants whose colours complement the railway colours, including yellow begonias. These have been sponsored by Fothergill Engineering Fabrics, and the turning circle barrels by Kilpatrick Funeral Services.

The Friends’ Group also look after Smithy Bridge Station and work with the ladies of the local Methodist Church who have sponsored extra planters for the platform. Donations and plants are contributed by the general public and the Members complete the planting. In Autumn Smithy Bridge is planted up with winter pansies, and Littleborough with bulbs of crocus and daffodils. Plans for 2011 are in hand to continue the twice yearly planting cycle and use pelargonium's in Littleborough, whilst increasing the planters at Smithy Bridge from fifteen to twenty one.

Littleborough War Memorial

The War Memorial on Railway Street was dedicated in 1922 and holds 336 servicemen’s names from the First and Second World Wars. Behind the obelisk is a semi-circular wall of York stone with 27 granolite name panels. In front of the obelisk is a semi-circular open garden area consisting of grassed areas with flower beds, and hedges behind the public benches. These gardens are in a prime town centre location of which the local community is very proud, and are regularly maintained and improved by Rochdale Council.

The Coach House

The Coach House (of the nearby Falcon Inn) is a grade 2 listed building that lies a short walk from the grade 2 listed railway arches built by George Stephenson in 1839, and is located opposite Holy Trinity Parish Church another Listed structure whose historic documentation dates back over 500 years. The Coach House by the late 1970’s had become semi-derelict and fallen into disrepair. The Littleborough Civic Society and its partners lobbied to save the building and conversion into a multi- purpose community building. Ten years later the refurbishment was completed and includes a Heritage Centre, restaurant and meeting rooms. The operation and management of thee building, its grounds, gardens and planting are on a self-sufficient basis. PENNINES IN BLOOM 2010

Hare Hill Park

Hare Hill Park is the main recreational open space to the community of Littleborough. It is a beauti- ful Victorian “Green Flag” park dating from 1900, with many original heritage features that have recently been restored. After years of continuous improvements to both the horticulture and the facilities, Hare Hill Park now provides a safe and inviting green space which is well used and highly valued by the local community. It is a well maintained and clean public park, offering facilities to enable a variety of recreational activities to a diverse range of groups and individuals. Hare Hill Park benefits from having two play areas, a new Skateboard facility, two bowling greens, ornamental gardens and a bandstand that is a focal point for many events which include summer ‘Band in the Park’, Carol Service, annual ‘Rushbearing Festival’ to name a few.

The park has a well-established and active Friends Group that promotes the park as a venue for events and activities as well as hosting their own events. The Friends have a passion for the park that has been an essential component in achieving the many improvements over recent years. The Friends are involved in decision making via the Park Warden and as Milnrow Memorial Park, are an integral part of the 5 year Management Plan to continue to improve Hare Hill Park even further by utilising: • Pesticides use • Use of Materials • Resource Conservation, Waste and Recycling • Horticultural and Arboriculture Management • Pollution Reduction • Water Management & Energy Efficiency • Air Quality • Education & Marketing

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Hare Hill Allotments

The Hare Hill Allotments Society operate as a self - managed site of their Council owned allotments. Each plot is fully cultivated so the only available space is used for accessibility.

These are popular allotment plots with people travelling from neighbouring villages to maintain and develop their plants. Each plot owner is left to grow their own preferred crops, encouraging each person to develop their own pride in their efforts and keep their plot well maintained. This in turn encourages wildlife such as butterflies, birds, foxes and badgers to visit the site.

The Society feel they are helping their members to stay healthy through enabling their regular exer- cise, which also encourages them to grow and eat healthy food. By sharing experiences with their neighbours they learn new skills as they progress. There are close links with neighbouring and not-so-near primary schools, who attend on a regular basis for their pupils to learn about the plants and growth cycles to encourage the children to understand the healthy eating and natural proc- esses.

The Society operate a site shop which provides sundries for the plot owners and general public, such as compost and sells produce which is then reinvested into the maintenance of the whole site.

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Pennines’ Schools

Schools’ Competition

The schools within Pennines have a close working relationship with different sectors of the community, and are an essential part of the Pennines In Bloom activities. Not only are the children the future generations of gardeners, grocers, and environmental specialists, but also future mums and dads who need to educate and inform their future families, passing on the knowledge between generations.

The Pennines In Bloom Group have initiated for the first time this year two competitions to create interest amongst the local primary schools.

Recycled Garden Competition Using recycled materials the children designed and planted a garden within a chosen theme. Entries were returned which included “A Flush of Colour”, “Growing Your Own Shopping”, and a reused school desk, but the winner was the unusual “Exploring Pennines” from Hamer Primary School.

Acrostic Poem Competition By using “Pennine In Bloom” the children had to write a poem. With over 100 entrants it was a difficult choice for the Steering Group, but the decision was unanimous for a pupil from St James’ Primary School.

Awards were given to the best entry from each school. The Steering Group are very keen to pursue these competitions again next year, using this year’s success to develop more publicity.

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Eco-School Programme

Rochdale’s schools are continuing to work towards Eco-School status, with currently 67% of all schools in the borough with an accreditation. In Pennines we currently have 13 of the 14 schools registered for Eco-Schools, with 4 holding a Bronze Award, 4 Silver and 3 Green Flag schools – St Andrews, Milnrow Parish and St James who have just achieved their second Green Flag. St James Primary is one of Rochdale Borough’s ‘flagship’ Eco-Schools and during their recent re- assessment were praised for their unique approach.

Many schools have active gardening clubs and grow food as well as flowers; this improves the environment and also encourages more children to eat healthily. Some schools are actively involved in encouraging walking and cycling to schools as part of school travel initiatives to reduce car journeys and improve the local environment, reducing the number of car journeys to school. The schools recently had the opportunity to get involved in a Fairtrade competition, designing a logo for Rochdale’s Fairtrade Forum, with the winning design being adopted by the forum.

As 2010 is the International Year of Biodiversity there are a number of activities around this topic forthcoming activities schools can get involved with include ‘Wild About Rochdale’ – looking at local wildlife and biodiversity. PENNINES IN BLOOM 2010

Other Community Partnerships & Activities

Wardle Memorial & Gardens Working jointly between The Wardle Civic Society and Rochdale Council a regeneration of the Memorial and Gardens has been recently completed. Over the years the gardens had deteriorated as resources and support were moved to other areas. Due to local demand work was agreed with the Council and the polished grey marble monument and the adjacent gardens were re- designed and re-planted in a sympathetic style which has given the Gardens a new lease of life and a pride returned to the local community.

Milnrow Library This popular Library is located in the centre of town, on the main through road which al- lows minimal space for any activity. Yet in the small courtyard to the entrance door, the senior Librarian in her own time with her own resources has grown from seed the many plants that adorn this area and generate much conversation and interest from visitors and passers by.

Milnrow and District Horticultural and Allotments Society The Society started in 1977 and are well established with over 100 members and are heav- ily involved with the local community. They participate in school educational days and digging allotments at the local primary schools, and in giving talks to adult audiences on related horticultural subjects to improve people’s enjoyment and achievement from their efforts. As members of the Royal Botanical Society they are well placed to give advice, and their experience enables their Spring (April) and Summer (August) Shows to be very successful with over 100 competitive sections covering flowers, vegetables, floral art, handicrafts, baking and separate children’s sections. They have wide ranging links with the business community, receiving sponsorship over many years, from the large companies such as Marshalls and J W Lees to the very small local shops who continue to support the Society’s activities.

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Cedar Lane Allotments: A primary example of the Society’s success is when they refurbished these Council allotments start- ing over twenty years ago. From a barren wasteland of 13 abandoned, unproductive allotments the Society continually invested their time and efforts to renovate and re- vitalise the area. They re-established the individual allotments, attracted £10,000 of new fencing, and set up a central community shed and patio area which encouraged the owners to meet to- gether, enjoy the camaraderie, and share knowledge and experiences as “one big happy family”. The Society run a store that supplies the local community with local produce and garden supplies, and the surplus generated is reinvested into the Society and its Shows.

PRESS CUTTINGS FROM PAST SHOWS

Japanese Knotweed & Himalayan Balsam A major issue for Pennines has been the invasion of the alien species of Japanese Knotweed and Himalayan Balsam. Over 50% of the cases identified by Rochdale Council were located in the Pen- nines area, and an urgent two year programme was started in 2008, costing £21,000. Depending on the size of the issue in the locality and the sensitivity of the neighbouring areas, four control techniques have been used:- • Spraying with hazard free Glyphosate Herbicide • Spraying with controlled droplet application hazard free Glyphosate Herbicide • Stem injecting Glyphosate with JK injection gun • Mowing / Strimming Himalayan Balsam before flowering / seed setting These works are nearing the end of this current phase and have been very successful in combating the spread of these plants, and resolving the immediate issues facing the Pennines green spaces. PENNINES IN BLOOM 2010

Business Partner working

Business involvement has been important and will continue to be a key part of the future plans. Not only have they a direct contribution to the villages but also via their employees and visitors perceptions promoting healthy activities and spreading the messages of Pennines In Bloom.

Bar Wizard in Littleborough and the town centre businesses are contributing directly to the presentation and wellbeing of the townspeople. This is repeated in other villages every year by other small businesses such as Newhey Taxis whose self-generated displays are always a highlight.

Larger businesses such as Holroyds and the Co-op in Milnrow make small yet valuable contribution to their localities, whilst Gordon Riggs Garden centres have agreed to sponsor some planting and provide the prizes for the schoolchildren this year. One of the largest examples of private invest- ment is a local Civil Engineering business, The Casey Group, contributing annually for a whole major roundabout to be landscaped.

Promotion & Publicity

The Pennines In Bloom work has benefitted from the previous years experience of “In Bloom” gained at both a local and Borough level. This year however has still provided difficulties as the local population identify more with their own villages than the collective of “Pennines”. It has been essential therefore to provide a balance and ensure individual identity has been maintained whilst benefitting from the greater availability of combined resources.

Promotion of Pennines in Bloom this year has been targeted at all the local schools through the competitions, community groups involved with local features, and by direct mailing to key local partners whether public, private or voluntary sector.

We have sent various mailshots, both physical and electronic, phone calls and banners to promote activities and encourage participation. We are developing relations with the nearest newspaper (based in Manches- ter) to some success, but have then used our local mailshots and newsletters to promote activities. As work has progressed we find word of mouth is by far the most successful with local people commenting and com- plimenting the work done for the Pennines In Bloom entry.

For next year we are looking to change the judges’ route to include the other villages, and increase the business participation and sponsorship; greater publicity will be fundamental to this. Community groups and more schools will also be a key target to increase next year, and so publicity and activities will start in Sep- tember to ensure our Group becomes more sustainable. PENNINES IN BLOOM 2010

Local Community Involvement

There have been numerous ways the community has been encouraged to be involved in the Penni- nes works over a number of years; taking pride in where they live and working towards a cleaner, greener environment:-

Borough in Bloom A Rochdale Council led competition, Borough In Bloom celebrates the horticultural efforts and achievements by local people, schools and businesses which contribute to making the Rochdale borough a cleaner, greener place for people to live, work and visit. Last year Pennines hosted a winning residents from Littleborough and Smallbridge.

Rochdale Boroughwide Housing Garden Competition A competition for Council tenants to develop and improve their gardens, patios, balcony, and/or communal area. There are 8 categories for people to enter and has successfully run for 3 years. It also runs under the Borough In Bloom competition but is separately organised by RBH, the Council’s social landlord, to improve the areas and develop relations with their tenants.

The Big Clean

The Pennines area is a wide and varied environment which also applies to its population; this means there will always be extra work in cleaning up “Grot Spots”. The Big Clean is one way where Rochdale Council take requests directly from any resident or community group, all ideas are considered against resources, and schemes agreed for implementation. These can range from ti- dying up communal areas, to repairs of equipment and facilities, and from very small works to much larger schemes. This year six schemes in Pennines have included :- • Clearing fly tipping from allotments and treating knotweed in Milnrow, • Cutting back shrubs and litter picking in Newhey, • Clearing rubbish, cutting shrubs, and repairing fencing in Smallbridge. We are looking to build on this sense of pride on completed works to encourage a greater participation in environmental competitions, such as increasing local and regional “In Bloom” entries.

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Green Volunteer Scheme

The Green Volunteer scheme was set up by Rochdale Council in December 2008 with the aim of enabling people to volunteer to improve their local environment. It started with just 12 volunteers at- tending a weekly Countryside volunteer activity; now it has expanded the number of volunteers to 109 and the number of activities to 3 a week. It has also diversified the range of activities to include horticultural improvement projects in parks. As well as the “on the job” learning for the Green Volunteers, there are also formal training days. As part of Rochdale Council efforts towards “2010: International Year of Biodiversity”, it has provided 6 training days on Identifying different types of wildlife, including bird, butterflies & moths and wild- flowers. Volunteers will carry out wildlife surveys from July 2010 onwards to provide better informa- tion on biodiversity and therefore help to manage land effectively for wildlife.

In 2009 / 2010 in Littleborough, the Green Volunteers have worked on the following projects: • Practical Countryside and woodland management programmes in Hollingworth Lake Nature Re serve. Including woodland management and footpath improvements at Ealees Wood to sup port the education events held by Countryside Rangers, hedge-laying and cleaning out the sluice system for the wetland habitats at Hollingworth Lake Nature Reserve. • Assisting the Hollingworth Lake Rangers to update their local countryside heritage photograph archive, which is used to mount displays at the Visitor Centre. • Supporting events run by the Countryside Rangers at Hollingworth Lake Nature Reserve, in cluding the Junior Helpers Club – environmental activities for youngsters, a bat & moth identi fi cation night event and the Woodland Festival event held every summer. • Dry stone walling at Watergrove Reservoir, in conjunction with United Utilities. • Wildlife identification and survey in Ealees Valley as part of the International Year of Biodiversity efforts and to inform the long term management of the valley.

Dry Stone walling at Watergrove Reservoir near PENNINES IN BLOOM 2010

2011 & Beyond

After our first year entry as Pennines in Bloom, the Steering Group are willing to learn from past and current experiences and help in the preparations for 2011. During these last few months as a Group we have already been considering how we will address a number of areas within our community and with all our potential partners. Some of the ideas already being considered include:-

• Developing a new judging route to include the villages who could not be included this year due to time constraints, • Devise an annual theme for the judging visit (e.g. recycling, transport, anniversaries) • Formalise policies with our partners for managing empty spaces & premises, • Extend the schools competitions possibly into practical experiences, • Increase publicity and promotions to increase sponsorship and partnerships, • Increase allotments’ involvement • Initiate an “Open gardens of excellence” tour, offering afternoon teas to raise funds for charity (need to compare against the Yellow Book (National Garden Scheme)).

The Pennines Township and their Council colleagues are looking to develop strategies for Tourism and Green Infrastructure; the aim is to focus plans and future investments in a co-ordinated manner to improve the environmental quality and accessibility for the local and visiting populations. We already have numerous activities in developing an interest and pride in where we live, and so we will continue to work with our partners and communities in preserving our natural and man-made heritage and resources, improving the quality of our environment, and conserving and protecting our wildlife.

Arrival Location Time Meet in Bowling Pavilion, Milnrow Memorial Park – 09:30 Reception, introduction & short presentation

09:40 Milnrow Memorial Park

10:15 Hollingworth Lake Visitors Centre - Sensory Garden

10:45 Littleborough Town Centre Heritage (Short Walk)

11:00 Holy Trinity Primary School

11:25 Hare Hill Park

11:50 Hare Hill Allotments

12:15 Hare Hill Bowling Club - Summary and close

12:30 Lunch (30 minutes)

Thank you for visiting Pennines In Bloom Promoting the Natural Beauty in Our Community