A Bright Future for Marple Civic Society - the conclusion of a lively workshop

There is no doubt that Marple still needs a Civic Society; an independent voice to continue working for Marple. That is the view of those who wrote to us and the many who attended the recent AGM and Evening Workshop to discuss:                                      "The Future of the Civic Society"  

             The next meeting of potential volunteers 

             is on Monday 20th May 2019

             in Marple Library at 7.30pm

if you haven't yet responded or attended an event, but are interested in volunteering, please come along to the meeting - you will be most welcome

Gillian Postill - Presentation

The latest event took place on Monday 15th April. Gillian Postill opened the Evening Workshop and gave a summary presentation of the society's function with examples of projects, campaigns and other typical activities it is involved in.

You can see the presentation slides HERE

Ian Harvey - Executive Director of Civic voice

 Ian Harvey, Executive Director of Civic Voice, the National Civic Movement for England & Wales, joined us for the workshop. Ian's enthusiasm soon reassured us that we were not alone - he explained that many societies across the country had risen to   the challenge and overcome    the dilemma of leadership succession and gone on to build a better and brighter future for their civic societies. 

Ian promised to help and support Marple Civic Society in the process of transition.

     The lively workshop was led by Ian Harvey, Gillian Postill and member Geoff Green. 

Workshop session 1
Two key questions were examined:
1. Why do we need a society?
2. What does making Marple a better place mean to         you?





Workshop session 2                                               The groups discussed alternative structures and            ways of working that might work for the society in        the future





Finally, we asked for people willing to meet again with a view to discussing an action plan and volunteering to take the Civic Society forward to a bright and active future.
The response to the workshop and previous appeals for help has been heart warming - we believe the society has a bright future...........But we still need more volunteers - come along to the next meeting on Monday 20th May  2019 - see above for details

You can read a summary of the workshop HERE

View the presentation slides HERE and a summary of the workshop HERE

If you believe we still need a Civic Society in Marple, put the 20th May in your diary

see above (red text) for further details of next meeting

Invitation to Workshop Meeting - Monday 15th April re: The Future of Marple Civic Society

          

     It was the Civic Society's 57th AGM on Tuesday 26th March 2019

                       A Presentation & Discussion took place re:

                             'The Future of Marple Civic Society'  

                     This will be followed by an 

             Evening Workshop Meeting on Monday 15th April 

                  all welcome - you don't have to be a member - see further details below

Angus Yeaman retired after almost 50 years of service as a committee member in various capacities and as the society's President for the last 8 years. Although Angus was unable to attend the AGM, Arthur Procter gave him a beautiful photo which he took of 'The Roman' Packhorse Bridge and the Society had it framed to thank Angus for his outstanding contribution to the society.

Chairman Gillian Postill announces her retirement

The Chairman, Gillian Postill, announced her retirement after serving on the committee for 12 years and in the role of chairman for 9 years. She spoke of considerable community work in relation to the Town Centre and Marple Wharf and development of the Society's planning system, as significant activity during her chairmanship. She thanked committee members, past and present, for their support and hard work.

Treasurer Gordon Johnson talks about past projects

Following the Business Meeting, Gillian led a presentation to address the future of the society in light of four committee members and the membership secretary retiring this year. 

Treasurer Gordon Johnson talked about the varied projects the society has been involved in, demonstrating the wide scope of the society's work. Planning co-ordinator, David Cooper, explained how the society now works in a systematic way in dealing with planning applications. 

Gillian explained that the society was in a good position - a healthy membership,  a secure financial position and well respected for the way it functions from a knowledgable evidence base.

  

Unanimous support 

that Marple Civic Society should continue

           for the protection of Marple   

The Society is ripe for new blood to get involved to build on the past and take it forward. Those present at the AGM were in no doubt that the society should continue - but that will only happen if volunteers come forward. 

 Gillian said: "working for Marple through the Civic  Society is one of the most exciting and rewarding  things you can do - and you don't have to be a  'professional' - I'm a nurse but I love Marple and I love   people - that's all you need to succeed"

                      See minutes of 57th AGM HERE

              Thanks to Arthur Procter for the photos

 

 

Ian Harvey -
Executive Director of Civic Voice
will join us to help facilitate the meeting

  Invitation to Workshop Meeting 

     "The Future of Marple Civic Society"

          Monday 15th, April 7.30 - 9.30pm
                 Venue: Marple Library 
     Registration and refreshments from 7.15pm

          Does Marple need a Civic Society?
                   if the answer is 'yes'
                - How should it function?
                - What should it do?
                - Who will do it?

Please join us to answer these questions and ensure that Marple Civic Society has a strong and bright future and continues to care for Marple

There is no charge for this workshop and everyone is welcome - you don't have to be a member of the society to attend - all are assured of a warm welcome..

AGM and Speaker Meeting March 2017

The society's 55th AGM took place on Tuesday 28th March 2017 in Marple Library.

Chairman Gillian Postill reported a busy year for the society and referred attendees to the Trustee's report for a summary of the society's activity throughout the year.

Chairman, President and Treasurer of Marple Civic Society

Her report focused on two key issues: Marple Wharf and the Town Centre. A planning application is imminent for the former and there are problems with the latter of lack of information and engagement by the council regarding the town centre, despite having a Neighbourhood Plan Forum in place. She concluded her report by thanking committee members and non committee members for all their hard work over the last twelve months in keeping the show on the road and achieving so much with so little!

Treasurer, Gordon Johnson, made the accounts available at the meeting. He explained that the civic society had banked for the Neighbourhood Plan Forum until they had set up as a constituted body and were in a position to open an account for themselves. The 'Reserved' column showed a number of items received on behalf of the Neighbourhood Forum during this period and then the transfer of monies to the Neighbourhood Forum and a refund of unused Locality grant. Accounts show £2,500 available for the year ahead. The treasurer thanked Mr Chourbaji for examining and agreeing the accounts this year and for agreeing to continue this role for the next year. 

The election of officers and committee members was followed by an excellent presentation by Ben Murray, from Civic Voice. 

It is the fourth year that we have had a Civic Voice member or officer to talk at our AGM and Ben, just 23 years old, was well placed to talk about engaging youger people in civic work. A thoughtful and interesting debate followed with many questions from the floor. We thanked Ben for coming to Marple to talk at our AGM with his colleague Amber-Louise Palmer. The meeting closed at 5.00pm 

Ben Murray from Civic Voice -
the national Civic Movement for England

Minutes of the meeting can be found HERE

The society's accounts for the year ending 31st December 2016 can be viewed HERE

For a summary of the society's work see the trustees report HERE

The chairman's report can be viewed HERE

More photos HERE

All photos Arthur Procter

AGM and speaker meeting Tuesday 28th March 2017

                     AGM and Speaker Meeting
             Tuesday 28th March at 3.00pm - 5.00pm
                              in Marple Library
                                  Refreshment served from 2.40pm

We hope you will join us for the society's 55th AGM and speaker meeting on Tuesday 28th March 2017 in Marple Library.

Light refreshment will be served from 2.40pm prior to the Business Meeting starting at 3.00pm. 

Ben Murray - Civic Voice

Business will be followed by a talk from Ben Murray, Communications, Events and Marketing Manager at Civic Voice, the national charity for the civic movement in England . In the two years since Ben started with Civic Voice he has made tremendous headway in organising parliamentary events and building solid, positive relationships with Members of Parliament. We'll be finding out more about Ben's role, why he joined Civic Voice and what motivated him to work for the civic movement at the young age of 23. 

We hope to set up a young people's section of the civic society and are looking to Ben for advice and inspiration on how we might do that.

We hope to see you at the meeting - family, friends and neighbours are welcome too (but only members can vote for the election and re election of officers and committee members).

 See HERE for details of further speaker meetings in 2017

War Memorials Follow-up Workshop

Last month the society hosted a War Memorials Workshop run by Civic Voice, the national charity for the Civic Movement.

The workshop was part of a national project to list and condition survey the estimated 100,000 memorials nationally.  The project is supported by Civic Voice, War Memorials Trust, Imperial War Museum and Historic England.

Last Friday (19th November) the society hosted a follow-up workshop to assess progress.  Delegates reported that 32 memorials had either been listed, or were in the process of being listed, on the national database together with survey data and photos.

Workshop in Action!

All Saint's War Memorial

Anna Wilson, Civic Voice

Civic Voice War Memorials Development Officer, Anna Wilson, informed the meeting that four freestanding memorials in Marple are probably eligible for national Grade II listing.  The four are Marple Memorial Park, All Saint's Church, St Paul's Compstall and United Reformed Church, Marple Bridge.

See more photos HERE

Photos Arthur Procter and Gillian Postill

Civic Voice AGM and Convention October 2016

The Civic Voice AGM and Convention took place this year in Chester on 21st and 22nd October. Marple Civic Society was represented by committee members Gillian and Alan Postill and Arthur Procter.

Chester Cathedral

After registration on Friday delegates were treated to tours of Chester including the historic "Rows", the Cathedral, Racecourse and canals.

The conference dinner was held at the Racecourse conference suite followed by a tour of local pubs.

Saturday's business meeting and workshops continued at the racecourse.

Delegates enjoyed a splendid dinner
in the Racecourse conference suite

This has been a year of change for Civic Voice with the appointment of five new trustees, replacing those who have come to the end of their period of office, and the creation of four vice presidents. Joan Humble becomes chair of trustees.

See HERE for details.

Retiring chair Freddie Gick, Gillian Postill, new chair Joan Humble
and Executive Director Ian Harvey

Freddie Gick becomes one of the four newly created vice presidents, the other three are Architect Sir Terry Farrell, Baroness Andrews, former chair of English Heritage and Laura Sandys former chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Civic Societies.

Griff Rhys Jones continues as Civic Voice President.



More photos HERE

All Photos Arthur Procter

Civic Society Host War Memorials Workshop

On Friday 14th October the Society hosted a War Memorials Workshop in Marple library run by Civic Voice, the national charity for the Civic Movement.

The workshop is part of a national project which aims to list and condition survey the estimated 100,000 memorials nationally to protect them for the future.  The project is supported by Civic Voice, War Memorials Trust, Imperial War Museum and Historic England. Further details HERE

The well attended workshop drew delegates from Marple, Stockport and neighbouring towns.  The workshop included a practical session to learn how to survey a war memorial and add it to the national database of war memorials.

Wm Wragg MP, Anna Wilson (Civic Voice),
Gillian Postill (Marple Civic Society),  Joan Humble (Civic Voice Trustee)

Delegates at Work

Workshop delegates visit the memorial in Marple Memorial Park

More photo can be viewed HERE

All photos Arthur Procter

All Party Parliamentary Groups (APPG's) Meet to Discuss Planning System

Alan and Gillian Postill represented Marple Civic Society at a joint session between the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Civic Societies and the APPG for Local Democracy in a debate                            on the National Planning Policy framework.

The session was co-chaired by Craig Mackinley MP (chair APPG for Civic Societies), and Scott Mann MP (Vice-chair APPG on Local Democracy); the speakers on the panel were: Clive Betts MP (chair Local Government Select Committee), Baroness Parminter (Lib-Dem. Lords Principal spokesperson for Environment, Food and Rural affairs), Lord Porter (chairman of the Local Government Association).

The session explored the efficiency of the Planning System and how communities can be given a greater voice in the existing planning policy.

Key points of the debate were:

Panel chair Craig Mackinley MP with
panel members Clive Betts MP, and Baroness Parminter 

• Neighbourhood Planning is being pushed up the political agenda.  However, in spite of powerful lobbying by Civic Voice and others, with cross party support, a right of appeal against planning decisions contrary to Neighbourhood Plans was not included in the recent Housing and Planning Bill.   Baroness Parminter said that Government has agreed to review the update process and her campaign for a right of appeal would continue.

• Lord Porter said that he strongly approved of the NPPF and suggested that it should put local communities at the heart of local government.  He pointed out that the UK needs 250,000 new homes each year just to keep up with growth - a target that no government has achieved without direct intervention.
• Clive Betts commented that Planning is frequently seen as an obstacle to growth, this is not true.  As an example he cited that there are 470,000 planning consents in place in England and Wales.  It was suggested that frequently it is not in the developers interest to build more houses since it could force down prices.
• Clive Betts commented that Planning should not be seen as an obstacle but as a way for communities to shape their area.
• John Walker (Civic Voice Trustee) suggested that "Collaborative Planning" as proposed in the Civic Voice manifesto would speed up the planning process.

A short video (4 minutes) of edited highlights from the debate can be seen HERE

AGM Tuesday 22nd March, starting at 3.00pm in Marple Library

Join us for the Civic Society AGM in Marple Library tomorrow at 3.00pm,
The Business will be followed by the speaker meeting at 4.00pm - 5.00pm.

  Everyone Welcome - Open to the Public and Free of Charge

David Tittle
Civic Voice Trustee

For the third year running we have a speaker from the National Civic Movement, Civic Voice. David Tittle, who is a Civic Voice trustee, is interested in the Built Environment and Placemaking. He is responsible to Civic Voice for Policy and Planning matters and is an excellent and passionate speaker. He is also pro Neighbourhood Planning and has written and spoken on this and other planning matters including giving evidence at the House of Lords Select Committee Inquiry for the Built Environment. The inquiry was concerned with how better design could be achieved in the built environment. 

                   AGM and Speaker Meeting - Marple Library

                       3pm - 5pm - Tuesday, 22nd March 2016

                              Refreshments served at 2.45 pm

                      AGM Business meeting 3.00pm - 3.40pm

                                 Speaker meeting 4pm - 5pm

Government Consultation on NPPF - Civic Voice Response

The Government is consulting on the National Planning Policy Framework with a view to updating the legislation later in the year.  Civic Voice is responding on behalf of the Civic Movement and has asked for our views on the proposals.   
In particular it is interested in our views on starter homes, use of brownfield                              sites and use of the Green Belt land.

Our response can be viewed HERE

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.

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

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)

Assets of Community Value - Marple Case Study

Since Marple Civic Society put forward a campaign for Civic Voice to urge every civic society to nominate at least one "Asset of Community Value" Civic Voice has been championing and promoting "Assets of Community Value".

In the past few months, since the start of the campaign, many groups around the country, working with Civic Voice, have developed action plans to nominate "Assets".  Not content with nominating one, many groups have nominated dozens! 

Civic Voice have chosen Marple Civic Society as a case study to demonstrate the different powers available to communities through the Localism Act.

To view the Civic Voice case study on Marple Civic Society see HERE

AGM and Speaker Meeting March 2015

The society's 53rd AGM took place on Tuesday 24th March at Marple library.

Minutes of the meeting can be found HERE

Chairman Gillian Postill reported a busy year for the society both locally and nationally.  She reminded members that the society's most effective tools are its membership and its communication processes.

Members and Friends 

Her report focussed on two key aspects of the society's work: preserving community assets and finding an appropriate regeneration scheme to ensure a viable and vibrant Marple for the future.

The two means identified to achieve this are listing "Assets of Community Value" (ACV's) and "Neighbourhood Planning".  Both these community powers were created by the Localism Act of 2011. 

An ACV can be anything that is valued by the local community - open spaces, public buildings, libraries, pubs etc.  The first three listings of ACV's are now in place with more in the pipeline.  The three main political parties are committed to ACV's and, following lobbying by Civic Voice, it seems likely that the next government will strengthen the legislation, adding greater protection to ACV's.

Regarding planning, she said that despite running numerous workshops and public consultations showing substantial support from residents, our call for an independent urban design study to develop a strategy to guide the development of the town centre has met with resistance from decision makers. Last year the society learned that the council's local plan for Marple (the Allocations DPD) has been put on indefinite hold leaving Marple hugely vulnerable.

In view of this, she reported that the society has set up a steering group to examine Neighbourhood Planning and to carry out preparatory work with a view to implementing a Neighbourhood Plan.

A Neighbourhood Plan allows local residents and businesses to have their own planning policies that reflect their priorities, deliver tangible local benefits and have real weight in planning decisions.

Read Gillians report in full HERE

Treasurer Gordon Johnson presented the annual accounts.  Gordon reported that we had a surplus for the year of £76.46 (compared to £190.47 last year) and the balance of the society's funds is £2480.92 (compared to £2404.46 last year) which is sufficient to fund the society's activities throughout 2015.
 He paid tribute to Mike Kinder, our honorary examiner for many years, and confirmed that Mike has agreed to continue for the coming year.

The society's accounts for the year ending 31st December 2014 can be viewed HERE

For a summary of the society's work during 2014 see the Trustees Annual Report HERE

The election of officers and committee members was followed by a talk by Ian Harvey, Director of Civic Voice.

Ian Harvey, Director Civic Voice

In an inspiring, and frequently amusing, talk Ian spoke about the history of the Civic Movement and his recollections of the formation of Civic Voice five years ago following the demise of the Civic Trust.

He went on to talk about the Civic Voice manifesto (Localism for Real), the first in the Civic Movements history, which proposes measures to achieve real local input to the shaping of our towns and villages, and collaborative planning (Collaborative Planning for All) to bring collaborative processes into mainstream planning.

He emphasised the grassroots approach of Civic Voice using the example of the campaign to register "Assets of Community Value".  This campaign was proposed by Marple Civic Society at the Civic Voice AGM in November 2014 and was subsequently adopted by Civic Voice.  Since then the campaign has led to a huge surge in registrations nationally.

Finally, he praised the local work of Marple Civic Society and encouraged us to press forward with our listing of Marple's "Assets of Community Value" and our preparatory work for a Neighbourhood Plan.  For more details of Ian's talk see HERE

Photos by Arthur Procter, more here