Irby, Thurstaston and Pensby Amenity Society Established over 30 years
Volume 11, Issue 2 - September 2009
Page 2 Editorial
Page 3 Local News
Green Belt
The Grinch stole Irby’s Christmas For the last few years, Christmas in Irby village has been somewhat ‘dull’ with the absence of some good quality cheerful Christmas lights, it has been almost as if someone (or something!) stole our Christmas as other towns and villages on Wirral appeared to have their festive glisten!
Many years ago, ITPAS purchased lights for the village, which over time went into a state of disrepair Page 4 and as traders closed, the Funding Update maintenance of the lights fell to one side. Thankfully our Vice-Chairman and Research Officer (Funding), Dr Carol Porter, has been busy working on a variety of grant applications and with great pride, we bring you the news that we have been successful. A recent grant from the Page 5 Communicating Area Funding Forum has allocated with us £2,540.00 to purchase Christmas Web, email, blog, lights for Irby Village. Facebook
Page 6 Committee Diary
Each financial year the Council allocates a sum of funding to each of the eleven area forums. The funding is targeted towards meeting the needs of local people within the areas covered by each
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....and no w we want it b ack!!
forum, and “not for profit” organisations with an annual income of less than £20,000 per annum. This has now paved the way for a Christmas activity in Irby village as we had many years ago. Friday 4th December 2009 is the date to note as the scheduled event, which we hope to have a lights ‘switch on’ together with Children from local schools, traders participation and a grotto at The Shippons pub! We also intend to have a parade of Father Christmas and his helpers ably staffed by The Shippons motorbike club – ‘The Cowshed Crew’ on their motorbikes of course! Brenda and Mike Ireland who manage Irby Village Hall are paving the way through and we will have some local traders on board too. There’s lots of preparation to be getting on with and you will hear more nearer the time. Keep an eye on the ITPAS website and Facebook page for more regular updates, but please keep the evening free for what will be a great community event in Irby Village. Page 1
Irby, Thurstaston and Pensby Amenity Society Established over 30 years
keeping within the law, not losing credibility and maintaining dialogue where possible with those concerned. When the results of the Library inquest, The White’s farm appeal, The Warrens and Hillbark Marquee are announced, we may see victory for common sense. We may also be very disappointed as if one or more of these results goes against us, then the If you read our recent Newsletters and attended ramifications will be hard! our Open Meetings, you will have no doubt be familiar with the same old topics. I appreciate At the time of writing, we appear to have won it may be the same repetitive tones, but when the White’s Farm appeal, but is it over? and in there are breaches of Green Belt / Planning truth, the situation down there at Thurstaston laws at White’s Farm or anywhere else on Green (out of sight and out of mind for most!) should Belt, then we cannot just turn a blind eye, even never have been allowed to gather the if the issue is historic. We must continue to unobstructed momentum it had over the years. oppose the planning applications and appeals in respect of The Warrens until ‘they’ remove it from Green Belt, deal with the transportation However things turn out though, I personally issues, come up with a better venue and will be content that we, as a committee, never provide assurances that other trade will not be gave up the chase. As much as we wanted to affected. We must continue to oppose the change the monthly agenda, we didn’t, we dreadful situation at Hillbark whereby that persevered, we held extra meetings, we huge marquee was erected without planning researched the law, case studies, media, the permission; a retrospective application was internet, scoured high and low to make our made for it to be temporary (12 weeks / year) constructive points. We turned up at the appeal and it remains in situ for 5 years! And we must hearings - (took time off work to do so!) and of do everything we can to preserve what we have course we continued as much as possible with the other ITPAS business. and need, such as local libraries. Well if you are becoming tired of these repetitive rants, rest assured, whatever the findings, for better or for worse, we will find our demise or victory on all these topics in the very near future. For the committee though, we have thankfully not been turned off by the length of time these matters are taking to reach a conclusion. Yes we are worn out - tired of the same old Agenda, tired of feeling like the quiet minority or being accused of interfering busy bodies, tired of the confrontation, BUT we never allowed ourselves to be weak, we never gave up, we fought for the principal objectives that our Society is obliged to do so under its constitution - that’s why you joined ITPAS, yes? I also believe that we have conducted ourselves professionally over the years these matters have been ongoing. Our objections made our point in an assertive and professional manner,
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We shall continue to deal with these issues until an absolute conclusion, but we are also moving onward and forward. You may have already had a taste of what we intend to be about - a lot more is on its way. I’m confident that our team - the ITPAS Committee (or Committed!), will move us forward with many positive projects and we will rouse your interest and hopefully many of our other neighbours, from whom we shall hopefully attract support. Tim Mobbs Chairman d troughs, highs and lows, good and bad, whichever you prefer, they're all the same! Well I’m not sure whether ITPAS is in a peak or a trough at the moment, but either way, we're running at extremes. We are extremely busy with a number of local issues at the moment. Is it a good thing tongoing issues. On one hand le in WBC such as Garbutt & elwood who have helped us raise money to improve our
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Irby, Thurstaston and Pensby Amenity Society Established over 30 years
‘English Heritage’ – issues we have yet to clarify or otherwise. Whilst we are on Green Belt matters, it came to our attention this summer that land owners of Green Belt fields bordering residential property around Irby and possibly Pensby are offering for sale sections of their land. The article implies that homeowners would benefit, yet the reality is that there is no benefit whatsoever. Anyone who agrees to purchase a section of Green Belt, even if it is an extension of their garden, will not be able to cultivate We will therefore not repeat all the detail the grass, grow plants or place a garden shed. here, but we do have changing news on some of Please be cautious about entering into agreements in respect of this if you live the issues:against Green Belt. White’s Farm appeal has been lost, which we Some of our members maybe querying why we hope draws this matter of many years to a did not object to the planning application for close. The owner has to remove the veranda, the erection of a barn on fields at the rear wooden decking and large car parking area off of ‘The Shippons’ and houses along Irby Station Road, none of which had planning Road. Such a building, providing it is for permission in the first place. Whilst this may agricultural use, is deemed permitted We have had previous seem a victory for ITPAS and Green Belt development. issues, it has been somewhat of an anti-climax applications by this landowner to build an for us. The owner has been allowed to get away access track to the fields from various with so much more from what started out as a locations. Initially we were concerned about ‘shed’ to store PYO fruit! The lessons learned the ancient furrows, which in law, have very however are that we (including YOU!) must be little protection. The landowner has already more vigilant as to changes of use once what agreed with us to change the access point of seems an innocent planning application has the track and to divert it around the ‘furrows’. been approved and WE need to do more at a We are told at a national and international level, very early stage. Enough said for now hopefully. that crops are essential to the food chain and the UK is not producing sufficient to meet Hillbark House Marquee is another matter demands. If true, then it is difficult for us to been ongoing for years not months! Now object to any form of agricultural before the Planning Inspectorate for a final development within Green Belt, especially in decision, ITPAS has been a long time objector view of the more serious breaches we have had of what again is a structure erected without to deal with in the last few years. planning permission, un-enforced against by the local Planning Department and left in situ At the time of writing, we were trying to for many years when in fact the retrospective ascertain when the work would start at application was for only 12 weeks / year! The Thurstaston Crossroads. You may be aware appellant has also stated that their application that land acquisitions have already taken place is supported by ‘Wirral Green Belt Council’ and at neighbouring properties, but there has been You will no doubt be aware of some of the ongoing issues we have been facing since our last Newsletter, some of which have now been ongoing for years not months! New members should have received a copy of our last newsletter which has more detail or you can view our website, but if you did not receive your May edition of our Newsletter, please let us know.
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Irby, Thurstaston and Pensby Amenity Society Established over 30 years
little progress. As we go to press, we are informed that work started on 14th Area Forum Funding - ‘Funds for You’ September and will last for 31 weeks, so by the time you read this the disruption will have Each financial year the Council allocates a sum of Community Initiatives Funds (CIF) already commenced.
As we go to press the application to turn The Warrens into a polyclinic/superstructure has been approved by WBC. As a final attempt to block this move, ITPAS and other concerned groups are writing to the Government Office for the North West of England with our representations about relaxing Green Belt policies, Transport links with the proposed site, Traffic issues with the proposed site, the fact WBC and the PCT have failed to seriously consider other ‘brown field’ sites and of course the ramifications for local trade in Irby Village. Finally, another long outstanding issue is Irby library. We were assured of a decision by the end of July, but for whatever reason, this has been delayed. We are unable to predict this outcome and we can only hope that enough was done to get our message across at the public enquiry, which we attended and submitted a comprehensive report to. We cannot help but feel that the proposed Polyclinic at The Warrens has potential to double up as a ‘community’ centre, which could potentially include a local library and public consultation rooms for local forums etc. We have no evidence that this will be the case, but such use is not unheard of elsewhere. The ramifications for our traditional communities are massive if such development were allowed!
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(incorporating Community Safety and Local Agenda 21 funds) to each of the eleven area forums throughout the Wirral. The funding is targeted towards meeting the needs of local people within the areas covered by each forum Traditionally, assessment panels have met to consider area forum funding applications, and decided which groups should receive funding. However, this round of funding has adopted a new way on who should make the funding decisions. Therefore, ITPAS was invited to present our funding applications to other community groups who had also applied for funding. Tim Mobbs and Carol Porter both did presentations, Tim gave his presentation at Wallasey Town Hall for the Heswall / Pensby & Thingwall Forum to seek funding for a display cabinet in Pensby Park. Carol presented at the Greasby Methodist Church for the Greasby, Frankby, Irby, Upton & Woodchurch Forum to ask for funding for a notice board for Irby Park and for some Christmas lights for Irby Village. From these area forums as previously mentioned ITPAS has applied for funding to purchase 2 new community display cabinets to provide information for our community, one for Ridgeway Park in Pensby and one for the park in Irby. We have been liaising with Wirral Borough Council who provided us with an estimate of £800 for each cabinet. ITPAS was successful with this funding, and hopes to achieve more community participation with other groups such as Brownies, Guides and Scouts so they can utilise the notice boards by advertising on going events. ITPAS has also applied for additional funding from the area forums of £2,540 to erect Christmas lighting for Irby village. Again, ITPAS was successful with this funding, and this will be an opportunity for everyone in the community to benefit. The development of the Christmas lighting will enhance Irby village and help lift the spirits of the community during the festive period. ITPAS was recently awarded £1,100 to purchase some much-required equipment. Thanks to Grassroots grants we can now purchase a Data Projector and a Laptop PC, kit we have had to borrow in the past. This will be used to display photos and text from the PC to the full-size
screen at our open meetings and AGM, as well as other day to day uses. Page 4
Irby, Thurstaston and Pensby Amenity Society Established over 30 years
Email, Web, Blogs and now ‘Facebook’!!!
GROT SPOT
Once again we ask for your email addresses if you have one. Just send an email to membership@itpas.org.uk so we can update our records. This can help if we need assistance with an ongoing issue or just need urgent contact. We will not disclose your email address to anyone else Throughout the ITPAS area there are several and it will be hidden from all other recipients. places which aren’t up to the standard of the At the time of writing, our website is fast approaching 10,000 individual hits. For a local community website, we think this is great news and shows how popular we are. Whilst it is not possible to update the website all the time with latest news, we do our best, so its worth adding to your favourites or even set it as your homepage! Some of you will have visited the new ‘Chairmans Blog’. This is an opportunity for our Chairman to have a ‘rant’ and whether you agree with his views or otherwise it is a good opportunity to have some insight as to how he is thinking and how that is transferred to ITPAS matters. You can sign up to the blog to add your own views if you wish, just visit the link in the right margin of our website.
rest of the area. These ‘GrotSpots’ could be around a litterbin, behind some garages, a waste patch of land etc and they are a blot on the landscape! Nominate your worst one and we will list them on the website. Then we will set to and find ways of solving the problem. A simple letter or email may be required, a Council department may need getting into action or there may be legislation we can activate. Whatever, ITPAS will try to resolve the issue as soon as possible. We may even turn up and sort it ourselves! Eventually, working together like this, we can all be proud of ALL corners of our community.
A quiet corner of Irby Heath
Finally, our latest addition to our technology front is a ‘Facebook’ page. We feel this may be an opportunity to attract more and younger members as ‘Social Networking’ in the UK has taken off beyond all expectations. If you have a Facebook account already, please become a ‘fan’ of ITPAS. If not you can simply view the pages by clicking the link in the right margin of our website. You can view our ‘wall’ where we update a brief note on ITPAS matters. Click on the ‘events’ tab to view forthcoming meetings and the ‘discussions’ tab to post a message about current issues. Of course, as a fan, you can still post to our ‘wall’, so pay our Facebook page a visit. Member Records
Finally, please don’t think our Newsletter is fading away. In spite of all this technology, this is still favoured by most members as our means of communication. Unfortunately, cost prevents us from sending more of them out to you. This is something that is currently being addressed by the Committee.
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When you received this Newsletter, did you check the mailing label to ensure we have your correct details. We need every bit of information to be accurate to comply with the law in respect of holding personal details about people, so please tell us if its incorrect, even if its just your initial or title, please check and let us know. Phone 648 6780 or email membership@itpas.org.uk
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Irby, Thurstaston and Pensby Amenity Society Established over 30 years
Chairman Tim Mobbs – chairman@itpas.org.uk
Y R DIA All talks at
at 7.30 pm
Autumn Talk 2009 - October 7th Stuart Wood Retired (June 09) Chief Pilot
Vice Chairperson Dr Carol Porter – 648 6736 vice-chair@itpas.org.uk
“Liverpool Pilots”
Secretary Melanie Walker – 648 6780 secretary@itpas.org.uk Treasurer Joe Lacey – 648 8163 Planning Ian Chalmers - 648-5619 planning@itpas.org.uk Membership Tim Mobbs – membership@itpas.org.uk Greenbelt greenbelt@itpas.org.uk
Winter Talk 2010 - January 27th Malcolm Ingham - Wirral Head Ranger
“Owls, Red Squirrels & Wildcats”
(Position vacant from June 2009)
Rights of Way Barbara Lacey – 648 8163 Newsletter Roy Fisher – 648 7671 newsletter@itpas.org.uk Researcher (Funding) Dr Carol Porter – 648 6736 funding@itpas.org.uk
Spring Talk 2010 - March 24th Mrs. Norma Walmsley
“The King and I” Irby Traders Representative TBC
Life as a Governess to the family of the Sultan of Brunei
Website Tim Mobbs webmaster@itpas.org.uk Researcher (Local History) Position Vacant
Summer Talk 2010 - June 9th ITPAS A.G.M. Including a talk by Mr. Gavin Hunter - Local Historian
General Committee Positions Vacant
enquiries@itpas.org.uk
© ITPAS – Contact the Newsletter editor, details on this page, if you wish to extract information from this Newsletter. For externally drafted articles, contact the copyright holder or author direct (details will be shown). We are more than happy to receive articles, comments, letters or suggestions though they may or may not be included in our forthcoming Newsletters or on the ITPAS website. Any such articles may also be edited at the discretion of the Committee. ITPAS committee members can be contacted by phone or email as detailed above.
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