June 2015

Dear BCA Member,

Here is our June newsletter, bringing you news and views from the Civic Association. If you have received this newsletter in error then please accept our apologies, you can easily unsubscribe by following the instructions at the foot of the letter.

The last few months have been very busy, in addition to the normal activities we have had stalls at the Spring Fair which again was a excellent day, the Charity Bazaar which was also very busy with people were showing a lot of interestin our projects. We also had the Members meeting on 14th May to discuss the Places and Spaces project. You can read about all these and more below.

BCA is celebrating Civic Day this Saturday 20th June. We will be having general display of the projects that we are involved in but will be focusing on "Places and Spaces - telling the story of Buxton" We will have a display of where we have got to so far and will be asking people to contribute their places and spaces.So if you are in town on Saturday drop by Turners Memorial between 10 and 12 noon and see what we are up to.

PROJECTS UPDATE

Fountain on Market Street

We are still working with Buxton Wells Dressing Committee to get the Fountain on the market place restored. Currently we are negotiating a letter of understanding with HPBC and DCC. Once this is agreed we can then approach potential funding bodies to apply for grants to carry out the restoration. Of course any thing that we do will require planning permission and the approval of English Heritage, as the Fountain is grade II listed. It is in urgent need of repair though so time really is of the essence here.

Spring Gardens Canopies

We have submitted a pre application enquiry to HPBC for a proposal to restore the pavement canopies along Spring Gardens as far as the Springs entrance. We expect to get some feedback within the next month or so. If the response to the pre application enquiry is favourable then the next stage is to prepare a bid for funding the project.

Places and Spaces - Telling the Story of Buxton

There is a copy of an 1897 map of Buxton in the Library. Looking at it, one cannot but be struck by the loss of places and spaces. Where once there was a glade, a pond, a cottage or some other special place, now there are new housing estates, roads, roundabouts and all the clutter of our modern urban environment. What was there, along with the memories and stories that go with it, have gone, lost forever, buried under progress.

George Bowling, the eponymous hero of Orwell’s novel “Coming up for Air”, had a similar experience, when he visited the place of his childhood; the pool at Binfield House had gone along with the rest of the Lower Binfield he remembered, replaced by a sprawling modern town.

Everyone has places and spaces that are special to them and memories to tell their story. So here is the beginning of a strategy to make sure that in 100 years’ time someone looking at a map of Buxton in 2015 would not lament the loss of these special places.

A meeting was held on 14th May at Poole's Cavern to see which places and spaces were special to members. Initially we worked around four areas, Buildings, Landmarks, Natural Spaces and Views. Around 90 items were selected and these were noted down along with brief explanations as to why they were felt to be important. We are holding a small exhibition on Civic Day by Turners memorial (See above) and we will be giving a presentation along with the next steps for this project after the AGM.

The above is an extract from the 1897 map of Buxton. It illustrates the growth of the town and the swallowing up of woodland and buildings.

NEWS FROM THE WOODS

A green hair-streak, which was recorded last week by Steve Orridge and his team on one of their weekly butterfly transects in Grin Woods.

Butterfly Transects.

We are taking part in a Derbyshire wide butterfly survey. We are surveying the butterflies in Grin Woods. It has been organised by Steve Orridge. At the current time of writing the weather has not been kind but as summer progresses and the flowers on the glades spring to life the Steve is confident of some interesting returns. The survey is important as it helps to shed some light on the impact of global warming as butterfly species are moving northwards.

You can read the latest reports on our website here

EVENTS

SOCIAL DOG WALKS

The dog walks are held on the first Sunday of each month. They are free and open to anyone, all you need is a dog. There are a few basis common sense rules but other than that its just a good excuse to get out in to the beautiful countryside with a few friends and their dogs.

The next walk is on Sunday 5th July. The details are on the poster opposite.

MEMBERS AND NON MEMBERS TRIP TO YORKSHIRE SCULPTURE PARK AND HEPWORTH MUSEUM

We are organising a trip to Yorkshire Sculpture Park and Hepworth Gallery on 7th July. We are taking a coach and currently there are still some places available.The details were mailed to members at the end of May and there is a booking form on the reverse of the letter.

BCA AGM

Its our AGM on 22nd June at 7.00pm for drinks and light refreshments followed by the official business of the evening at 7.30pm. Afterwards Mike Wilde and Simon Fussell will give a report on the Places and Spaces project.

Stay in touch

There are lots of ways to stay in touch and keep up with what is happening. have a look at the website, follow us on twitter and of course on facebook.

And finally some food for thought. This is a short video by George Monbiot on the amazing changes that took place in the Yellowstone Park. Its an extraordinary story and makes one think about what could be.

BCA on Facebook

BCA on Twitter

BCA website