Kettering Civic Society
5 Latest News
|
Kettering Civic Society 5 Latest News |
| Home Page Programme Rose Bowl Award Local Area Publications Links & Contacts Planning Applications
|
CHAIRMAN’S REPORT 2007/2008 What a year the Society has had! Both the Civic Scene and socially. The Society continues to have a social side to keep members and friends in touch. This has two aspects; some visits relate to emerging civic changes and aim to be both inspirational and educational whilst others are simply relaxing like going to the Proms. There have been two major topics on our agenda. Firstly, ‘saving the
mosaic’ and secondly ‘Planning’ the major part of which is the Town Centre
Plan. Thank you to everyone who helped with fund raising, it has so far contributed to the successful removal and storage of the mosaic. I must at this point mention the contribution Kettering Borough Council has made. Whilst the Council was not prepared to pay for the mosaics relocation, they were kind enough to make the Society an unsecured loan. Though the Council initiated the setting up of the Society our aims of saving and preserving the town’s older buildings were at odds with the town’s ambition of having a shopping centre like most other towns. The rift which developed was at times unhelpful and it has taken several years to heal the wounds. At the Councils Executive Meeting when the loan was sanctioned the Leader of the Council commented that our relationship was the best it had ever been. Thanks must also go the BBC Look East programme and ITV’s Anglia News and Radio Northampton for their coverage of our campaign as well as the evening Telegraph and Herald and Post. Our thanks continue to go to Oliver Budd who has become our mentor and supporter. We gratefully received his book and DVD which refer to the mosaic. The Evening Telegraph are about to do an update on developments and I have suggested trying to have the mosaic relocated at the Kettering Leisure Village within the next 18 months. Thanks go to Dave Atkins for giving consent for the relocation. Considerable time has been given to Planning matters and particularly to the Town Centre Plan which Saville’s Planning and Urban Design Department are developing. We have been to several workshops and are maintaining a keen eye on any proposals for the Heritage Quarter. We were delighted that the Council agreed to our proposal that a Design Guide should be the culmination of the Plan. The aim is to produce a document similar to the Rockingham Design Guide such that it includes illustrations, maps, and photographs. We have continued to press for an identity theme to the design so that Kettering could have a unique character. The suggestion is based upon existing colours and particularly the red of Kettering bricks. The proposal is that the colour is important, not the bricks to give opportunity for the use of a variety of materials. At the beginning of the Society dedicated members campaigned hard for
the preservation of the town’s historic buildings, at the same time, a
series of books were written by members. Whilst few buildings remain, the
books live on and support some of our purpose now. There can be little
objection per say to the Council’s Town Centre Plan moving the town on but
in so doing, our Society commitment must be to seeing the next generation
Kettering emerge in such a way that it has a character which respects what
Kettering was and sees it from that background move forward. All the
efforts of our founder members must not be lost and the literature legacy
must be a reference for that. It is hoped that by the time of next years Annual General Meeting, the guide may be complete and that the whole ‘Town Centre Guide’ may be complete (That guide would span from the Northfield Avenue Co Operative to Kettering Leisure Village.) Other Planning issues have included development at Elm Bank, The Convent, Tesco’s expansion, Croft’s Way (which we continue to see retained as a pathway) Ferndale and the Market Place. Outings visits have been enjoyed again and whilst the Secretary’s report lists them it is right to mention the visit to Highgrove.The coming Civic Year will no doubt be equally as enjoyable. Through the year, there have been a range of fundraising events. The mid summer party was hardly a success despite all the effort and hours that went into promoting it but was supported by people we would not normally have seen at one of our events. Thanks to Dave Atkins for the free use of the Lakeside bar and to Bill Burton for the disco. Susie Corke’s Quilting Talk was well supported. Thank you Susie, for an informative and enjoyable evening. There have been a range of other events and I should simply like to thank everyone who helped in any way. Even humble coffee mornings keep our name and presence in the public eye. It was with sadness that we learned of the deaths of Eva Heath and Len Davies both were founder members of the Society who gave generously of their time and effort in promoting and protecting the Civic Scene, we will remember them. Our kindest thoughts go to Arthur and Doreen. Finally may I thank our committee for their loyal support in many ways,
especially thanks go to Monica for tirelessly working on our behalf as
Secretary, treasurer and organiser. Thank you, your report gives only a
brief picture. |
|
Secretary’s Report 2007 Arthur Heath resigned from his position as Senior Vice Chairman due to ill health and this year the Committee was saddened to learn of the loss of Eva his wife who had, with Arthur, worked tirelessly for the Society during ‘Arthur’s Years’. Len Davies a founder member of the Society and former Treasurer died early in 2008 as did Fred Blount another long standing member who actively supported the Society from its’ beginning. They will all be remembered with great fondness and we shall sadly miss them. At the Annual General Meeting Dorothy Knibbs was once again welcomed onto the Committee as Events Secretary and we thank her for all her hard work in organising the 2007 events. In September Sandra Clipstone resigned from the Committee but continued to support the Society at events and by organising successful Quiz evenings in Geddington. Eleanor Patrick joined the Committee in May and has been a welcome link with Toller Church assisting on Saturday Coffee Mornings. We continued to promote the aims of the Society and gave talks about our campaigns to the Mother’s Union at St Michael’s Church and to the Trefold Guild. The Society’s web site continued to be an excellent medium for keeping people informed and providing an opportunity for communicating with people from all over world. We thank Roger Payne for the maintenance of the site. It would be true to say that 2007 was the most time consuming in terms of ‘Secretary and Chairman hours’ in the Society’s 38 year history, even more so than the years when the steam train trips to York and Bristol took place. This was mainly to do with rescuing the mosaic. The figure for first 6 months calculated for match funding towards sponsorship was in the region of £7,000. A great deal of the time was taken dealing with the huge amount of correspondence, many meetings and telephone conversations that took place locally and nationally; not to mention being interviewed in the very early hours of the morning on the site of the mosaic by radio and television, all in the hope of finding sponsorship. Kettering Evening Telegraph and the Herald & Post were constantly being reminded of the campaign and 4 Locals magazine gave the Society free space. We thank Chris Hole of Tresham Institute for acting as go-between and being so accommodating throughout the saga of the Mosaic. Correspondence was exchanged with The Public Monuments & Sculpture Association, English Heritage, Men of the Stone, Peterborough Civic Society, EMACS, Lahnstein Twinning Committee and Bob Dillon, who donated his book and DVD, ‘Proud of Kettering’ to the Society. Dianne Bulley and Tim Collier were regular correspondents. Letters were exchanged between Kettering Borough Council Planning Department, Tresham Institute, and Northamptonshire Highways. Over 200 letters appealing for sponsorship for the mosaic were sent. The Mosaic campaign generated the need for publicity, and leaflets, flyers, banners and posters were designed and produced. Bishop Stopford School reprographics department continued to assist the Society with photocopying. A huge amount of effort was put into holding a raffle to support fundraising. The window at Kettering Tourist Information Office was a welcome spot to display the advertising of the mosaic campaign and promote the Mid Summer barbeque. Members of the Committee were dedicated to raising funds and all played their part. Suzie Corke gave a most interesting talk and amazing show of her quilts. The Chairman of the Wicksteed Trust, Oliver Wicksteed, generously offered St George’s Suite as the venue for the evening. Bill Burton generously supplied his disco and Dave Atkinson of Kettering Leisure Village sponsored the use of the Lakeside Bar for the Mid Summer Barbeque. Members and friends of the Society worked hard to make the Mid Summer party a success. This was to replace the Annual Dinner as all energies were put into campaigning at the beginning of the year. By the end of February £2,000 had been raised through sponsorship, which was a tremendous feat. A successful fundraising event was held at the Corn Market Hall in February when Oliver Budd gave a lecture and slides of the Mosaics that he and his father had created. He donated two copies of his newly published book, ‘Budd Mosaics the Public Art Mosaics of Kenneth & Oliver Budd’ towards fundraising efforts. However, sufficient funds could not be raised by July to remove the mosaic, and at the eleventh hour, all the hard work that the Chairman had put into building relations with Kettering Borough Council had paid off when they offered a £15,000 interest free loan to pay for the removal of the mosaic. This was a milestone in the Society’s connections with the Council. The mosaic was successfully removed and transported to Oliver Budd’s workshop in Kent where it would be stored (free of charge) in pieces until further funds could be raised to rebuild it onto the wall of the Kettering Leisure Village building. In January the Society hosted a meeting of the East Midlands Association of Civic Societies at the Corn Market Hall. After the meeting the Committee served a three course meal to some 20 members and then the Chairman took the group on a guided tour of the Heritage Quarter and followed the Blue Plaque trail around the town. There were no new building developments or civic causes in the town worthy of the Rose Bowl in 2007. The social calendar was one of the best the Society had experienced beginning in March, with a visit to the newly refurbished Derngate Theatre in Northampton to see Joseph and His Technicolour Dreamcoat. The annual visit to the Royal Albert Hall for the Proms was enjoyable as usual. A special visit to Highgrove was definitely the highlight of the year and we returned to that part of England in the autumn to visit Gloucester and explore the wonders of Westonbirt Arboretum witnessing the amazing colours of Maple trees. Finally a cosy Dickensian evening was spent at Barton Seagrave Church House when Richard Oberman and David Wilson entertained us with ‘An Evening with Mr Dickens’. The successful year ended with a toast of mulled and mince pies. |
|
|
Links to articles from previous
newsletters |