Free Online at www.coastalviewandmoornews.co.uk The Community Newspaper for the Towns and Villages of East Cleveland, Redcar & North York Moors, telling the real news and views of the people of our region
Issue 90 June - July 2018
Coastal View’s 8th Birthday Issue •• This month 26,300 copies ••
From a tiny acorn, a mighty oak tree grows
F
rom a tiny acorn, a mighty oak tree grows and in the case of Brotton Improvement Group (BIG) that oak tree provided the village with beautiful badgers. I have to stress, at this point that no oak tree was hurt in the production of the badgers – they were made from oak, which was provided by Squire Anthony Wharton of Skelton Castle, which had come to the end of its life. On Thursday, 24th May we had the official unveiling of the badger carvings which are now placed around the village. The event was attended by people representing the various bodies who
were involved with the introduction of the badgers. It was also attended by Simon Clarke, the local MP and it was the first event for Cllr Dennis Teasdale who is the new Mayor of Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council. Simon Clarke MP said: “From start to finish this has been a fantastic project and I hope these beautiful badgers quickly become an iconic part of the villages identity. “All the team from the Brotton Improvement Group deserve special thanks for their fundraising to make this possible, and thanks must also go to Father Jonathan from St Margaret’s Church in
Brotton for hosting everyone. “I’ve had a great morning meeting so many of the people involved including children from St Peters, Badger Hill and KTS academy, not to mention being able to support the Boroughs New Mayor on his first official engagement.” So, how did the Brotton Improvement Group come about? In 2012, a small group of people decided that
not enough was being done for Brotton and they created the Brotton Improvement Group, forming a constitution for guidance of the group. The objective of the group was, and still is, to improve the environment for people living and working in the area of benefit. The main aim of the group is “to take the lead in identifying, promoting and planning activities for the benefit of all residents to bring about positive change for Brotton”. In 2013, a member of BIG, Brian Hogg, suggested we should have badgers around the village. I believe that this idea stemmed from the fact that many people believe the translation of Brotton to mean Badger Hill. BIG met with the three local councillors on Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council and urged them to work with BIG to help this idea come to fruition. It’s fair to say that the tenacious effort of this group of people resulted in the project receiving funding from the Public Realm through Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council. Further funding was donated by Skelton & Brotton Parish Council and, also, monies were raised by BIG holding various fund-raising events. With the financial backing in place, BIG commissioned Steve Iredale to carve badgers for each approach road into Brotton. They also commissioned Steve’s partner, Kate Rider to work with the Brotton schools to create bunting to adorn the badgers. It was felt that, by including the schools, there was an opportunity to involve all ages in the exercise and, also, promote a stronger community spirit within the village. Pupils from Freebrough created the printing blocks to be used on the bunting. The blocks were then used by pupils at Badger Hill Academy, St Peter’s C of E school and attendees at KTS Plus to produce the pictures on the individual flags. Continued on page 6 ►►►
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