Tuesday 29 December 2015

Report on Marple Area Committee Meeting 16th December 2015

A report on the Marple Area Committee meeting that took place on 16th December 2015 can be viewed HERE

Under chairman's announcements reference was made to a programme of road resurfacing in the Borough of Stockport over the next 8/9 years to be funded by a loan of approximately £100m. Included in the programme will be 61 roads in the Marple North Ward starting in 2017 (non in Marple South Ward). For more information see HERE
At the next Area Committee meeting we will request from elected members the programme of work, including timescales, for the roads in Marple affected by the work.

The meeting included a presentation on "Locality Working" as conceived by Stockport MBC.  The objective of "Locality Working" is to investigate local service provision by various means in an effort to confront problems and needs in the community.
"Locality Working" should not be confused with "Neighbourhood Planning" which is a statutory right for communities introduced through the Localism Act 2011 to allow them to shape development in their areas through the production of "Neighbourhood Development Plans"

Future Marple Area Committee Meetings

10th February 2016      

16th March 2016         
20th April 2016           
8th June 2016            
13th July 2016          
10th August 2016      
28th September 2016
9th November 2016  
14th December 2016  
8th February 2017
15th March 2017
19th April 2017

All meetings at 6.00 pm in Marple Senior Citizens Hall

Monday 28 December 2015

Greater Manchester Spatial Framework (GMSF)


The Greater Manchester Spacial Framework brings together the 10 authorities of Greater Manchester to identify future housing and land requirements.  They will produce a statutory joint Development Plan Document to manage the supply of land in Greater Manchester over the next 20 years.


As part of Stockport, one of the 10 GM authorities, Marple will undoubtedly be affected.  The Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) is consulting on the first draft of the GMSF with a closing date of 11th January 2016.  

The Civic Society is preparing a detailed response in line with our policies and charitable objectives of protecting Marple from inappropriate development.  

However we are concious that the failure of Stockport MBC to implement their Allocations plan in 2013 has left Marple vulnerable to external planning pressure.  

For further information on the GMSF see HERE

Wednesday 23 December 2015

Sunday 20 December 2015

Visit to the Mayor's Parlour

On behalf of Marple Civic Society Committee we would like to thank our members for their support in 2015 - we wish you all a happy Christmas and
                       send you our best wishes for the New
                       Year.

The Mayor and Mayoress of Stockport,
Councillor Blair, Marple South,
amd members of the Civic Society Committee
We were delighted to accept an invitation from the Mayor and Mayoress of Stockport to take tea in the Mayor's parlour. The invitation was in recognition of the society's work for Marple and concluded a busy civic year for the committee.


It was a splendid occasion and we thank the mayor and mayoress for their warm welcome and hospitality. 

Marple councillors were invited and we were pleased that Councillor Blair joined the party for tea, a tour of the council chambers and a photo to mark the occasion taken on the splendid marble staircase in Stockport Town Hall.

Friday 4 December 2015

St Martins Church Christmas Tree Festival

St Martins Church Christmas Tree Festival seems to have become the traditional start to the festive season in Marple and once again Marple Civic    
                       Society is delighted to take part.

Many thanks to member Kathryn Procter for doing a splendid job in decorating the tree. Thanks also to Arthur Procter for his assistance and photographs. 

Kathryn came up with the idea of an angel themed tree and set to work crafting handmade angels out of paper doyleys. 




If you have time to pop into St Martins Church on Brabyns Brow to see the Festival, a lovely christmas treat awaits you.


Thursday 3 December 2015

Committee Meeting Minutes 24th November 2015

Committee Meeting minutes for 24th November 2015 can be viewed HERE

Wednesday 2 December 2015

William Wragg MP becomes Vice-Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Civic Societies

Civic Voice recently held the first meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Civic Societies in Parliament. It is good news for Marple that our MP William Wragg has taken up the position as Vice-Chair particularly as the built and historic environment is the priority of the group for the year ahead. 
Craig Mackinlay MP Chair of the APPG for Civic Societies
and Vice-Chair William Wragg MP


Civic Voice, the national charity for the civic society movement, works hard to promote the work of civic societies and to influence the government agenda. One way of doing this is through a well supported APPG. The group previously had 70 members but this time round aims to increase that number to 100. 


The APPG meetings will focus this year on the impact of the loss of conservation staff, the importance of communities in local heritage listing and the impact of development on Cathedral cities.

Friday 13 November 2015

Report on Marple Area Committee Meeting 11th November 2015

A report on the Marple Area Committee meeting that took place on 11th November 2015 can be viewed HERE


Future Marple Area Committee Meetings

16th December 2015
10th February 2016      

16th March 2016        
20th April 2016           
8th June 2016               
13th July 2016            
10th August 2016         
28th September 2016   
9th November 2016     
14th December 2016    
8th February 2017 
15th March 2017
19th April 2017  

All meetings at 6.00 pm

Thursday 5 November 2015

ASDA parking signage and parking charge notices


Despite several representations over several months to ASDA, the parking notices have not been amended to reflect the covenant that allows free parking on the site after 7 o'clock in the evening and after closing hours at weekends. Last night the civic society was contacted by the manager of the Regent Cinema and two Marple residents who had each received a parking charge notice despite entering the car park after 7.00pm. We understand there are others.

It was great news to hear from Alan Jones, ASDA Senior Property Communications Manager, today to say that not only will all tickets be cancelled but the signage will be amended to reflect the 7.00pm free parking agreement and the fact that one can leave the site whilst parking there.                                         

If anyone else has been issued with a parking charge notice please let us know, email: mail@marplecivicsociety.org.uk -  If you have paid the charge you will be entitled to a refund.                

Tuesday 3 November 2015

Marple Area Committee - Extraordinary Meeting

Marple Area Committee held an  extraordinary meeting on 28th October 2015 dedicated to hearing from groups and residents in the Marple community.  Issues raised and discussed would inform future discussions at Area Committee meetings.  

The meeting was in response to a question from Marple Civic Society in June on how the committee could increase resident's participation.  
Cllr Ingham

Following a short introduction from MAC chairman Cllr. Ingham the meeting heard presentations from Paul Lawrence (SMBC Director of Place), The SMBC Community safety Unit and the neighbourhood police team.  Whilst interesting the presentations bore little relevance to the purpose of the meeting.  We understood that the meeting was called to hear issues raised by residents not to be told how safe Marple is or to be lectured on the dangers of neighbourhood Planning! 

Resident Participation

Part two of the meeting was, however, much more useful and productive.  The meeting was divided into 7 breakout groups who discussed issues around how future MAC meeting could be organised (procedures) and issues that residents felt should be discussed (issues).  Each table presented their findings which were admirably summarised by Steve Fox of Democratic Services. 


The findings will be discussed by councillors and officers over the next 6 to 8 weeks and proposals presented at a future MAC meeting.  

We look forward to receiving
from SMBC a summary of the meeting, in particular the procedures and issues raised, commitments and timescales agreed.

Friday 30 October 2015

Civic Voice AGM and Convention 2015

Over 130 delegates descended on Bristol last Friday 23rd October for the 6th Civic Voice Convention and AGM. 

After a comfortable first day with interesting tours around the town it was a quick freshen up and off to the conference dinner where two mayors welcomed the delegates. First the Elected Mayor George Ferguson, whose inspirational address encouraged us all to get involved in shaping our towns, followed by the Lord Mayor Cllr Clare Campion-Smith who welcomed us to the city and wished us an interesting and  successful conference. 

The theme of the conference centered around planning, placemaking and street design, with several workshops concluding that local people, passion and participation are crucial to successful places and development.  

Gillian receves her Marsh award
A highlight for Marple Civic Society was the Marsh Civic Volunteer Award 2015 to our chairman Gillian for her contribution to the civic movement.   

Colin Davies of the ‘Public Realm Information and Advice Network’ drew attention to the  fundamental change in attitudes to street design taking place amongst transport planners. He stressed that much could be done relatively cheaply by taking a staged approach and involving the community.  See HERE to view the guidance document "Street Design for All".

Civic Voice Trustees

Civic Voice is working with Historic England, Imperial War Museum and the War Memorials Trust to support communities that want to conserve, protect and learn more about their local war memorial. Civic Voice’s Anna Wilson ran a workshop to discuss the conservation issues faced by memorials and to inform delegates how they can be involved in war memorial conservation projects.  Further information can be found HERE .

Executive Director Ian Harvey and the Civic Voice team






The final workshop considered five topics to prioritise Civic Voice projects for 2016. Placemaking ranked no.1 so we can expect a series of talks, workshops, debates and lobbying at government level in the coming year about all aspects of placemaking. 






More photos by Arthur Procter can be viewed HERE

Wednesday 28 October 2015

Newsletter October 2015 - Edition 9

The society's October 2015 Newsletter is now available.

See front page below for details of contents.

To view the full Newsletter click HERE

Sunday 18 October 2015

Planning Application DC/059185 - Garden House, Lakes Road, Marple

The society's planning team has sent a response to Stockport MBC's Planning Department to recommend the refusal of planning application DC/059185 - Garden House, Lakes Road, Marple.

To view the application documents see SMBC planning portal HERE

To view the society's response in full see HERE

Saturday 17 October 2015

Marple Lime Kilns Community Archaeological Dig

The first community dig at the Lime Kilns, as part of the  Revealing Oldknow's Legacy project, starts on Monday 19th October. The top soil has been removed in preparation and cabins set up for school children visits and volunteers to take part in the dig over the next two weeks.

         If you would like to take part in the dig you can book a place via the website www.oldknows.com - or call 07825 044 379 
Free - No experience necessary - For more details see poster below.

At the end of the dig we'll be exploring what's been uncovered at the Tramway Open Day on 1st November - for one day only. With a special guest from the past, this is an event not to be missed. Guided tours will take place throughout the afternoon around the Lime Kilns and site of the dig and Sarah Cattell - the archaeologist leading the dig - will be on hand to chat to.

Further information on these events and more is on the website www.oldknows.com 


Thursday 15 October 2015

ASDA Meets Marple Residents


A meeting with ASDA was arranged by the civic society and took place in Marple's Senior Citizens Hall on Tuesday 13th October 2015. Alan Jones, senior property manager and Wayne Gleeson, general store manager were joined by Jenny, the community life champion and Andrew Lester from Hardhat, consultants for ASDA.

The meeting started with ASDA representatives introducing themselves, explaining their roles and a short presentation based on questions handed to them from the civic society. A Question and Answer session followed with both pre submitted questions and questions from the floor.
Wayne Gleeson - General Store Manager

See meeting notes for further details HERE 

Alan Jones, Wayne Gleeson, Jenny, Andrew Lester



Sunday 11 October 2015

Free National Trust Pass for Civic Society Members

FREE National Trust passes!

       Don't miss out on your opportunity to receive a FREE National Trust Pass. If you are a member of Marple Civic Society you are eligible for one of these passes. Simply send a stamped addressed envelope to 60 Duke Street, L1 5AA  to request your pass.

If you are not a member of the civic society why not join us and apply for your free National Trust Pass too, which entitles you to a single visit to a National Trust Property. Download a membership form HERE   
                                                                      
                               £6 for one year’s Individual Membership
                               £9 for one year’s Household Membership  
                               (or £5 & £8 if paying by standing order)

Saturday 10 October 2015

Anthony Burton talks about 'Marple's Architecture' at Civic Society Social Evening

The society's annual social evening took place on Thursday, 8th October 2015 in Marple Library. It was great to see so many friends                          and to welcome newcomers.




Speaker Anthony Burton gave a fascinating presentation about Marple's architecture.  The talk concentrated on domestic buildings from 17th century farms, early industrial houses to commuter villas and 20th century overspill estates. 

Anthony drew particular attention to the architecture of Samuel Oldknow, an interesting mix of styles referred to by our speaker                                                                                              as "Oldknow Vernacular"

The talk was followed by an interesting discussion about our architectural heritage, what we can learn from the past and how we manage the sometimes difficult relationship between architects and planners, in order to achieve satisfactory design and development outcomes for society.

Friday 9 October 2015

Committee Meeting Minutes for 29th September 2015

Committee meeting minutes for 29th September 2015 can be viewed HERE

Thursday 8 October 2015

Mellor Mill Painting - Handover to Stockport MBC

Marple Civic Society formally handed over their painting of Mellor Mill, painted by Joseph Parry c.1800, to Stockport MBC on long term loan for display in the Staircase House Museum. The Mayor and Mayoress of Stockport accepted the painting on behalf of Stockport MBC from the society's president, Angus                                  Yeaman. 

Civic Society President Angus Yeaman hands over the painting
to the Mayor and Mayoress of Stockport
The painting was donated to Marple Civic Society by member Mrs Barbara Sexton, wife of Basil Sexton, a founder member of the Civic Society in the 1960's. We are very grateful to Mrs Sexton for her kind and generous donation.

The painting was purchased by Mrs Sexton in 1958 from an auction sale at Abney Hall in Cheadle. Abney Hall was purchased in 1850 by cotton magnate Sir James Watts and remained in the Watts family for several generations until 1958 when it was sold. The painting was listed for insurances purposes by the Watts family in 1912 but it is possible that the painting belonged to the Watts family going back to the 19th century.

The gathering at the hand over of Mellor Mill Painting
It wasn’t unusual for artists of the time to be commissioned to paint more than one painting of the same subject but what is extraordinary is that two paintings of Mellor Mill, by the same artist and painted around the same time, should find their way back to Marple within 10 months of each other more than 200 years after they were painted and at a time when a £1.5 million Heritage Lottery funded 3 year project is being undertaken. 

One of the three sites of the Revealing Oldknow’s Legacy project is the Mellor Mill site and Marple now has two paintings to link to this important Marple project. The painting owned by Mellor Archaeological Trust hangs locally in Marple Library and this one belonging to Marple Civic Society  will hang in Stockport’s Staircase House Museum in the newly created industrial period section of the  museum.

More photos can be seen HERE

All photos by Arthur Procter

Sunday 4 October 2015

Marple Civic Society's Social Evening - 8th October 2015


The society's annual social evening will take place this Thursday, 8th October 2015 at 7.30pm in Marple Library.


Our speaker for the evening is Anthony Burton, formerly a curator at the Victoria & Albert Museum, who will talk about 'Marple's Architecture'

Aqueduct House - built 1812
In 1993 the civic society arranged a photographic exhibition of Marple's listed buildings: this talk aims to update, extend and contextualise this survey. It deals almost entirely with domestic buildings (there are few public buildings in Marple), ranging from seventeenth-century farms, through housing in the industrial period (for bosses and workers), and commuter villas spreading with the railways, to recent estates.  


Join us for a glass of wine, a fascinating presentation and a congenial evening.

Social Evening - Marple's Architecture
Speaker Anthony Burton
Venue : Marple Library - upstairs meeting room - lift available
         Date: Thursday 8th October 2015 - 7.30 - 9.30pm

All speaker meetings are open to members of the public and are free of charge  
bring your friends, neighbours and relatives - they will be most welcome.

Thursday 17 September 2015

ASDA - public meeting 13th October 2015

Public Meeting with ASDA - Tuesday 13th October 2014 
Venue: Senior Citizens Hall - Marple Memorial Park - 7.00 - 8.30pm


Marple Civic Society has invited ASDA to address the residents of Marple at a public meeting on Tuesday 13th October. The subject is "ASDA's Plans for Marple" and Alan Jones, senior property communications manager and Wayne Gleeson, general store manager will be joined by speakers from the company's Community Life Team and from HardHat, consultants for ASDA.

The evening will start with a presentation from ASDA followed by a question and answer session. Questions can emailed to the civic society in advance of the meeting. Your questions will be sent to ASDA so that they can prepare a response for the meeting but questions will also be taken from the floor during the Q&A session. 

Everyone is welcome - you don't have to be a member of the civic society - just turn up on the night - but please note that seating is limited to 150 places on a first come first served basis.

We look forward to seeing you
Email questions to: Marple Civic Society