Great Hucklow, Grindlow, Windmill, Little Hucklow and Coplowdale Parish Council Newsletter – December 2018
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Great Hucklow, Grindlow, Windmill, Little Hucklow and Coplowdale Parish Council Newsletter – December 2018 MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL OUR READERS!!! PARISH COUNCIL MEETING DATES The next Parish Council meeting be held on Monday the 21st of January 2019 at 8.00pm in the Old Methodist Chapel. All parishoners are welcome to attend. Copies of the minutes of all previous meetings are now available to view on our website at http://www.hucklow-pc.gov.uk/. PUBLIC MEETING – SURFACE COLLAPSES SILENCE HERITAGE SITE AND ROAD SUBSIDENCE ON BRETTON EDGE The public meeting planned for November had to be cancelled due to non-availability of some of the officials who had been invited to attend to answer villagers' questions. The meeting will be re-scheduled in the New Year. SHEFFIELD HALLAM UNIVERSITY Last week, several geologists and specialists in ground mechanics from Sheffield Hallam University visited SHS with a view to helping with investigations into how the surface is moving and whether further collapses can be predicted. They will be returning in January with ground penetrating radar to see if they can detect any further underground voids. The initial focus will be on SHS but if the approach can be proven to work, the investigation may be expanded to cover more of the Parish. CONTINUING SUBSIDENCE AT SILENCE HERITAGE SITE In the meanwhile, the large collapse at SHS which took place in August has, as predicted, continued to move. The overhanging walls have collapsed into the hole which is now about twice its original area and comes up right to the edge of the footpath. SHS Trustees continue to monitor the site but it remains very dangerous so please respect the closure signs for the site and surrounding footpaths and stay well away. BRETTON EDGE ROAD TO REMAIN CLOSED Feedback from Derbyshire County Council's Roads department is that a full investigation of the cause and possible corrective actions for the subsidence of the road along Bretton Edge would be very expensive and they currently do not have the funds available. There is therefore currently no plan for re- opening the road. NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN - UPDATE FROM COUNCILLOR MARTIN BEER The Peak District National Park Authority Planning Committee designated the area of the Joint Parish Council and Foolow as a new neighbourhood planning area at its meeting in October. The Parish Council is the sponsor and it has set up a sub-committee, of which I am the Chair, to manage the process. This will allow us to take control of various aspects of the planning process which have hitherto been the sole responsibility of the National Park. Unfortunately, a number of areas of particular concern to villagers are excluded by law, including mineral extraction, and transport (including roads). Both these are reserved for the County. Once adopted, the neighbourhood plan becomes part of the planning process and must be considered when determining planning applications. This will make it much clearer whether an application falls within the policies adopted and should lead to a clearer and more transparent process. A spokesperson for the National Park Authority said that: “Neighbourhood planning is about bringing people together to influence their places. The next step will be for a local plan to be developed. This is an important community-led document that carries legal weight and is part of the statutory development plan for the National Park.” The committee's first tasks are to collect basic information and obtain funding to develop the plan. We are aiming to distribute a newsletter outlining the process of developing the plan and have a first open meeting early in the New Year to help us to identify and prioritise the issues the villages wish to address. We shall probably also need to review the Conservation Areas, the description of which are very old and conduct an up-to-date housing needs survey. In the meantime, if you would like to help us develop the plan please get in touch. Many thanks Martin Beer [email protected] 01298 872809 GREAT HUCKLOW XMAS LIGHTS – DERBYSHIRE LIFE ARTICLE The following was included in a recent article in Derbyshire Life about Christmas lights in our area. "Not to be outdone by the larger village of Castleton, the residents of the little settlement of Great Hucklow have been staging their own ambitious annual festival of illuminated Christmas trees ever since 1987. Organised by a voluntary organisation with the apt name of ‘Community Spirit’, the display entails virtually every building in the village being fronted by a large, brightly illuminated Christmas tree, with the addition of further trees on the village green. According to tradition, the top of each tree in the village is marked by a red light. Not content with turning the picturesque main street of Great Hucklow into a dazzling ribbon of light, the group also arranges for two illuminated trees to be placed in each of the neighbouring villages of Grindlow, Windmill and Little Hucklow. The bright lights of the trees contrast with the dazzle that often emanates from stellar displays in the dark skies above the plateau where the villages are located. Explaining how the Christmas display is funded, John Hilton, the Chair of Community Spirit, said: ‘We use proceeds from a 100 Club and from an August Gala Day. We even manage to make donations each year to various charities, which have included Derbyshire Air Ambulance, Edale Mountain Rescue and ‘Send a Child to Hucklow’, a charity that provides holidays in the Peak District for inner city children. When the villagers gather on the village green alongside Father Christmas for the switching on of the lights on the first Saturday in December, they can enjoy their mulled wine and mince pies and feel proud that their community effort not only raises the profile of their village but also supports worthwhile charities." You can read the full article here: https://www.derbyshirelife.co.uk/home/christmas/festival-of-trees-1- 5789517 DERBYSHIRE DALES DISTRICT COUNCIL CHRISTMAS & NEW YEAR WASTE AND RECYCLING COLLECTIONS 2018/19 Christmas/New Year collection days: Monday 24 December (Blue bin) Monday 31 December (Grey bin) Monday 7th January (Blue bin) Details of which containers to put out and a downloadable calendar are online at: www.derbyshiredales.gov.uk/mycollection • Garden waste collections will be suspended from Saturday 22 December to Saturday 5 January inclusive • Food waste will be collected weekly Please note we are not able to collect any additional household waste. Make sure your household waste is contained in your grey bin or in four black sacks if you are on a sack collection. Our administrative offices are closed during Christmas week. Report missed collections online at www.derbyshiredales.gov.uk/missedbin Recycle your real Christmas tree. Place at the edge of your property on your green/recycling day between 7 January and 1 February PEAK DISTRICT NATIONAL PARK SCOOPS ACCESSIBILITY AWARD FOR MILES WITHOUT STILES A Peak District National Park initiative to help people with limited mobility to enjoy the countryside has been honoured by Accessible Derbyshire. Miles without Stiles – which creates and promotes easy to use routes – was named Large Project of the Year in the Accessible Derbyshire Awards, held at Chatsworth. The project – partly funded by sponsorship from Yorkshire Water – highlights accessible routes which can be enjoyed by everyone, including those with limited mobility, wheelchair users, families with children in pushchairs, visually impaired people and disabled rambler groups. Miles without Stiles routes are well surfaced and free from stiles, steps, narrow gates and steep gradients which are barriers for people with mobility issues. Peak District National Park access officer Sue Smith said: “We’re delighted to receive this award, in recognition of the work that has gone - and is still going - into Miles without Stiles. Our routes showcase the best of the Peak District. We want everyone to have the opportunity to enjoy our beautiful landscapes and to explore with ease and confidence. “Miles without Stiles is a collective initiative among UK National Parks and will help National Parks to be accessible for everyone to enjoy.” Accessible Derbyshire’s Gillian Scotford said: “For people of all ages, one of the greatest things in life is the simple act of going out on a walk and breathing fresh air. It boosts wellbeing and health. Miles without Stiles makes the Peak District even more accessible, allowing more people to get out and about into our beautiful National Park. “Sue Smith and the Peak District National Park team, with support from Yorkshire Water, have worked really hard, selecting and publicising routes and making accessibility improvements. And this is just the beginning.” Yorkshire Water catchment and recreation manager, Geoff Lomas, added: “We are pleased to be involved with the Miles without Stiles initiative and to receive this recognition for the work we have achieved together. Making our beautiful countryside as accessible as possible for everyone to enjoy is extremely important to us and we will continue to work in partnership and invest in this important area of countryside access.” A number of Miles without Stiles routes can already be seen on our website at www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/mws - with more to come as Peak District National Park staff work with Accessible Derbyshire, the Local Access Forum, disabled groups, landowners and Highway Authorities to explore ways to improve access. This is the second award the Peak District National Park has received from Accessible Derbyshire. In 2016 we were named Organisation of the Year in recognition of our work to provide opportunities for people with disabilities to experience the National Park. £100k CYCLE TOURISM GRANT BOOST TO DOZENS OF PEAK DISTRCT BUSINESSES Pedal Peak for Business, a joint project by the Peak District National Park Authority and Derbyshire Dales District Council, has offered grants totalling £104,000 to nearly 50 local businesses since launching in 2017.