Meetings | Projects | Tourism

Hurst Lane wharf re-development

Waterhouse mill site redevelopment

Hall Hill fields On Watch!

See our wide variety of activities!

Forthcoming events - please join us, everyone very welcome!
 

 
We provide a very interesting line up of meetings for you to participate in and enjoy!

Everyone is welcome to attend Civic Society meetings including non-members who will be asked to make a small voluntary contribution. This is redeemable against a subscription if you join on the night.

All members with email addresses are sent a reminder a few days before each meeting. If you would also like a reminder please send an email now and we will send you a memory jogger too.

The Society holds monthly meetings from September to May (but not in December) each year to provide maximum opportunities to discuss matters of direct concern to Bollington. If there is a particular subject you would like considered at a future meeting then please email the committee.

Meetings in 2013:

Monday 20th May Bollington Matters - members' opportunity to raise any matter for discussion.

Bollington Civic Society meets indoors from September to May (but not December) each year. All our meetings are open to non-members. Additional meetings, usually outdoor, are arranged for summer evenings and weekends. Programme leaflet.

Bollington Civic Society joins Civic Voice!

Bollington Civic Society is pleased to join the new (17 April 2010) Civic Voice, launched with the support of Restoration presenter Griff Rhys Jones to represent the interests of civic societies across the country to government, national bodies and local councils. We hope this body will be successful in raising the profile of civic societies and the work that these bands of concerned volunteers do, and gain a position of influence so that the concerns of civic minded groups like ours will get a better hearing from government, local councils and authorities in general. Our conservation areas, in particular, are under threat from inappropriate developments, householder 'improvements' and the general clutter of modern life such as too many road signs, yellow lines and so on. We need a national body that can raise awareness where it matters to get more consideration for the community built into public decision making and to raise the public's awareness of what they, the community, are at risk of losing.

Officers and Committee

Graham Hibbert was elected chairman at the 2012 AGM.

Chairman: Graham Hibbert
Vice Chairman: Chris Kettlety
Secretary:
Treasurer: Barry Matthews
Membership Secretary: Kate Gooding
Committee: Graham Barrow, Ted Clunn, Sandra Edwards

A sub-committee chaired by Graham Hibbert is responsible to the main committee for the management of the Discovery Centre.

Tim Boddington retired from the committee in November 2011 after more than ten years as chairman or vice chairman.

Civic Society activities

Your Civic Society is involved in a number of important aspects of Bollington life:

Waterhouse mill site redevelopment

The Civic Society was commissioned by Bollington Town Council to conduct a public consultation to determine what the community would like to happen to this very large redundant industrial site. See the page devoted to this.

Cumberland Drive development appeal

We strongly contested the appeal made by H Cumberbirch & Son Ltd against the rejection of their plan to build on the Red Lion car park. Happily we won our case and their appeal was rejected. They subsequently submitted a further application for four three story houses on Cumberland Drive. We contested this at planning committee and won our case again. Unfortunately we lost at the subsequent appeal. See the page on this.

They consulted us about the site opposite the Red Lion. They subsequently submitted an application answering all of our main comments and we decided not to contest it. This was approved.

St John's Church

A plan was put to the Church authorities by a local developer, Simply Group, and they agreed to sell on that basis. The Civic Society was concerned on a number of matters but since seeing the full plans and heard the developers intentions we withdrew our objections. The full plans were approved and development is going ahead. A page is devoted to this.

Town Plan

The Civic Society supports and is involved in the further development of the Town Plan. This is particularly important in 2010 and on because of the imminent closure of Kay Metzeler's Waterhouse Mill site (history). We are acutely concerned about the future re-development of the site.

Bollington Tourism - Destination Bollington!

There were concerns that tourism was not developing sufficiently well but that is now changing with the development outside the Civic Society (although members are involved) of the Destination Bollington project! Have a look at the page.

Clarence footbridge over the canal

The Civic Society, represented by Graham Barrow, were at the forefront of the campaign to construct the new footbridge over the canal at Clarence Mill to enable canal users on the towpath to access the mill, its businesses and facilities, particularly the café and our own Discovery Centre, and to enable those who live in and around the mill to access the towpath and the Recreation Ground for their recreational purposes. To break an impasse we even agreed to own the finished structure! The opening of the bridge at the end of August 2009 has resulted in very significant increases in the numbers of visitors to both the café and the Discovery Centre. See the bridge page for the full story.

The Discovery Centre Project

We developed a Discovery Centre at Clarence Mill which opened on 14th May 2005. It is on the canal side at Clarence Mill by the great generosity of the owners Clarence Mill Properties Ltd. We obtained grants for its development from the Heritage Lottery Fund, Cheshire Rural Recovery, Macclesfield Borough Council, Bollington Town Council and other private donors. It provides information and exhibitions designed to show the past, present and future of Bollington, its industries and its people.

Historic Picture Collection

The Discovery Centre houses the very popular historic picture collection which contains over 5,000 pictures of Bollington and its people going back well over a century. This project began in the 1980s when the late Dr John Coope MBE urged his patients to get out their old family albums and lend him the pictures for copying. The collection was scanned into digital images as part of the Discovery Centre project in 2004/5 and we have been cataloguing the collection ever since in order to make all the pictures available to the public in a structured manner.

We continue to collect pictures and documents to be added to the collection. The database went online in 2009 and can be accessed at http://bollingtonphotos.co.uk/ .

Bollington Carbon Revolution project

This project was established in late 2006 and has done much good work over the years. In early 2013 the group decided they should merge with a Macclesfield group 'go-lo'. 'go-lo' have taken over the re-development of the toilet block at the bottom of Shrigley Road, having been able to obtain the resources necessary to carry out the work.

Conservation Areas

We are taking a closer interest in the changes that take place in the four Conservation Areas (CA) in Bollington. These are described in full on separate pages.

We were very pleased that Cllr Ken Edwards (Bollington Town Council) supported the society with the specific responsibility for Conservation Areas. One of his primary interests is in establishing a further CA at Lowerhouse and discussions have been taking place with CEC.

We have also discussed with the CEC Highway Authority their compliance with Conservation Area guidelines while maintaining our roads.

Development planning (ongoing)

We watch planning applications, discuss them with those having an interest and make representations to Councilors and CEC planners where we wish to challenge proposals. If you are concerned about a proposal and would like to discuss it with the Civic Society please email Vice Chairman Tim Boddington who takes a special interest in planning matters for the society.

History and heritage (ongoing)

A group of historians and their helpers have assembled a very large collection of photographs showing Bollington and its population through the past 100+ years - our oldest picture dates from about 1860, before the railway was built! They continue to research the history of the town, its industries and the people who made it what it is today. The Discovery Centre provides public access to the collection for the first time. The collection is also now available online - go to the Discovery Centre pages. We have re-published two of the well known books about Bollington and further publications are planned.

The Kerridge Ridge & Ingersley Vale Countryside & Heritage Project

The Society was involved in the historical survey which formed an early part of this project. More on this. We are also acutely interested in what development takes place in the Vale. The KRIV project finished in summer 2010.

Bollington Live!

The Civic Society originally founded Bollington Live! and has remained as a sponsor since it became independent. The village magazine is published three times each year and delivered free to every home. Several of our members are involved in the writing, editing, selling of advertising, and delivery of the magazine.

Future projects

The Civic Society supports a Friends of the Rec project to create a footpath through Swinerood Wood between the canal towpath opposite Clarence Mill and the Recreation Ground.

A number of other projects are in the backs of our minds but yet to be formally launched. These include canal towpath refurbishment and a Middlewood Way conservation area.

If you would like to be involved in any of these interests please email the chairman now telling me what you would like to know more about and I will introduce you to the relevant member.