Rossendale Civic Trust
CIVIC ROSSENDALE The newsletter ofIssue
No. 1: Summer 2008
Introduction from Chairman, Ian Swingewood
For many years, Rossendale Civic Trust has campaigned for the highest standards within our
shared built environment. Recently, there is a
belief within Rossendale Civic Trust that positive
progress has been made.
This is particularly the case with the experienced and high
quality planning officers now working within Rossendale
Borough Council and the welcomed appointment of Mick
Nightingale as Conservation Officer.
However, this isn’t enough and we continue to campaign on
behalf of our Members and the general public to ensure that
Rossendale’s built environment is as good as it can be.
There are still key issues, such as the situation over the Valley Centre, which we are working to address at local, regional and national levels, using all our influence to acheive the
best we can.
Looking forward, the current economic situation and the influence of climate change through rising oil prices look set
to dominate all investment in the built environment over the
next few years. Rossendale is a place that has always struggled to gain investment and with building sites going quiet
all over the country, we may find that attracting the investment Rossendale needs to keep its regeneration on track
will be sorely lacking. Recognising this, we will be working
hard to strengthen our links with all community groups and
public bodies as we firmly beleive that it is only together that
we can make a difference.
However, our influence as Rossendale Civic Trust depends on
our members. The more active the membership, the more
we can do to improve the many problems we face locally. We
therefore encourage you to attend meetings or contact us to
let us know how you might be able to support out activities
or what you believe should be our focus. There is much to
do!
Fall Barn; Fame at Last?
An area at the heart of Fall Barn has just become Rossendale’s newest - 9th - Conservation Area.
Five years ago an application was made to demolish the
centrally located Cherry Tree House and replace it with five
new houses. The Trust and residents opposed the development and tried to get Cherry Tree Listed. English Heritage’s
Inspector felt that he did not have enough information to
confirm the Listing, but suggested that Conservation Area
status was justified due to the quality of the surrounding
buildings. The Council at the time compromised by permitting demolition but only allowing three new buildings. Five
years later, work had not started and the planning permission had run out. By now the housing situation had changed,
and we also had our Conservation Officer Mick Nightingale
in post, who agreed with the idea of a Conservation Area,
and with information from Trust members was able top put
together a convincing case.
Cherry Tree House was built by Richard Williams, an architect brought from London in the early 1840s by George
At Risk
Each issue, we will highlight an important local building
with an uncertain future. The first in this series is Waterside
Mill, close to the centre of Bacup.
This building was ‘Listed’ on 30th November 1984. It was
constructed around 1839 as a cotton mill by Dawson and
Haworth of Bacup. It changed hands a number of times
over coming years, being used for the manufacture of Velvet
and slippers. The building was later divided up and let to a
number of users including the Irwell Springs Band.
Associated with the Mill was its water source, a pond constructed at the same time, the footprint of which is preserved as the site of No’s 52 to 66 Burnley Road and No’s 1
to 15 Alder Street.
The Mill was operational in industrial use until relatively recently, when it was finally closed for business as with so
many Mills in the long slow decline of Britain’s textile industry.
Without a use, the building has quickly deteriorated and is
now in a very poor state of repair, with much of its roof collapsed. If a new use cannot be found soon, then there is a
very real danger that this important Listed building could
be lost.
Hardman, at the centre of what looks like an experiment in
the then fashionable model worker’s housing. Ironically,
Williams became more popular as a designer of “Mill Owners’ Mansions” including Horncliffe for the Hardmans themselves. Currently, talks are ongoing to find a way of saving
Cherry Tree House and tidying and generally enhancing the
Fall Barn Area.
Planning Focus
The planning system is complex and legalistic. In this section, we aim to highlight areas of planning law relevant to
our membership.
We would advise that anyone considering making alterations
to property in their ownership is well advised to approach
a qualified person, such as an Architect, Surveyor or Planning Consultant, or speak directly to the Council’s Planning
Department.
It may be of interest to members that planning controls
relating to domestic scale renewable energy have been relaxed. The Government recently advised that small scale solar water heating panels, electricity generating solar panels,
hydro-electric and geothermal, as long as they are installed
within certain position and scale criteria, no longer need
Planning Approval. Small scale wind turbines were excluded
from this as it was felt there are noise and vibration issues
still to be resolved. More can be read at: http://www.communities.gov.uk/news/planningandbuilding/721557
From the Weaver’s Cottage: The ‘flying shuttle’
loom
One of the most important objects cared for within the
Weavers’ Cottage is the loom illustrated above and below. It
can be found on the top floor of the ‘cottage’ where similar
looms would have been housed between the mid 1780s and
1850s. John Kay of Bury patented the ‘flying shuttle’ in
1736. He was a ‘putter out’ of wool and thread to weavers
who he employed over a wide area of the North West, and
probably saw one of them using this clever arrangement of
springs and strings to speed up his work. Being a businessman, Kay knew a good thing when he saw one and claimed
it for himself. The increased demand for thread to keep up
with this invention led spinners to invent new machinery –
and so the Industrial Revolution was born, which is the start
of a long story. Come to the Weavers’ Cottage and see some
of it for yourself!
News
Rossendale Civic Trust has had an active few months.
At our AGM in March, Ian Swingewood was elected Chairman,
with Judith Lord and Kathy Fishwick sharing the job of Secretary, Judith handling Minutes and Correspondence to leave
Kathy free to deal with the Cottage and Planning, assisted by
Stephen Anderson. Stephen has become Membership Secretary, and thanks were expressed to Heidi Dunster who held
the job for the last 24 years. Heidi remains an active member
of the Committeee, along with Brian Gilbert as Vice Chairman
and Ron Howell as Treasurer. Len Entwistle has joined the
Committee and is keeping us on our toes with council matters.
We have continued to work with Rossendale Borough Council, including meeting with the head of Planning, Linda
Fisher, to discuss the progress of the ELEVATE initiative.
At last we have a new central heating boiler and, mess over,
can think about re-arranging the displays, but we do need
more involvement from the members, to join our team and
get things done!
Rossendale Civic Trust meets on the first Friday of every
month, from 7:00pm at the Weaver’s Cottage, Rawtenstall.
Everyone is welcome to attend.
Rossendale Civic Trust also maintains and operates The
Weaver’s Cottage, open during the summer months every
weekend and Bank Holiday from 10:00am until 5:00pm.
There is normally someone on hand for informal discussions
and bi-weekly planning application reviews are held, normally on Saturday mornings from around 10:00am. Please
contact us to confirm the date of the next session.
Rossendale Civic Trust
The Weaver’s Cottage
Fallbarn Road
Bacup Road
Rawtenstall
Lancashire
BB4 7NW
[email protected]
Registered Charity No. 503616