Well Summer is here and we
have had a mixed bag of weather so far so, if you’ve been holidaying in this
country, I expect you might have had to dodge a few showers. Hopefully you’ve seen a bit of the sun as
well though and that it might continue until at least September!
GRANTS
The committee has met three
times since I last wrote in April and a quick glance through the Minutes shows
that we received grants from both Sprotbrough & Cusworth and Warmsworth
Parish Councils towards our Public Liability Insurance. We are always grateful that we can ensure our
conservation volunteers are covered whilst working on our behalf.
CONSERVATION VOLUNTEERS
A regular group are now
meeting on alternate Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout the year and, whilst
still working with Yorkshire Wildlife through the Summer, are continuing to
work on the historic wall near the fish pass.
The next dates for anyone wishing to join the group are Tuesday 16 July
and Thursday 25 July.
CO-OP STAFF DAY
We are very pleased to be
able to host a group of staff to help with Balsam Bashing on Wednesday next 17
July. Our efforts towards eliminating
this invasive species seem to be progressing well, with areas of grass appearing
in place of the dreaded weed. It will be
necessary to keep on top of it throughout the year, though, to stop it seeding
again and, hopefully, there will be no flooding this Summer to carry seeds down
the river to land on our shores again.
STEPS & FOOTPATH TO VILLAGE FROM NURSERY LANE
I had an enquiry from a group
of walkers who asked whether a handrail might be erected at the side of the
fairly steep steps, just beyond the Travellers’ site, which join a footpath
leading to Cadeby Road just before the school.
This set in motion quite an investigation, but it has now been
established that it is on land belonging to DMBC and is the responsibility of
the Asset department. As it is not
registered as a Public Right of Way (PROW), however, we have registered an interest
in making it one and hope to hear something in the not too distant future. In the meantime, our original request has
been passed to the Asset department to see if they can provide a handrail. Who could have imagined what a hornet’s nest
such a request would have provoked. We
continue to live in hope.
CUCKOO BRIDGE, NURSERY LANE
A similar investigation
ensued regarding a notice of works being carried out on the Cuckoo Bridge on
Nursery Lane on 25 April. So far, I have
failed to confirm who was responsible for it, but think it must be Highways
England (Historical Railways Estate), but I have yet to receive a reply from
them since writing in April and again in May.
It would appear, however, that the rail track itself is privately owned.
PROPOSED CAR PARK, NURSERY LANE
Most of our energies, both
physical and nervous have been employed in decision-making about the proposed
car park on Nursery Lane. We have been
talking to our solicitor, but discover this will entail more funding than
expected. So far, most of the owners
have very kindly agreed to either donate or sell 22 of the plots and, having
come this far, we are loath to give up at the final hurdle.
For those not aware of our
hope for a larger car park in the Gorge, the land in question, comprising 27
individual plots, is ideal for a car park as it already has a concrete base and
would also provide space for other educational activities by interested
groups. The 19 owners concerned
purchased the land in the 1980s in order to protect it from other developments,
so this makes it very difficult to talk to them altogether, as a number of them
have moved away from Sprotbrough and now live in other parts of the
country.
Some people have suggested
that another car park is unnecessary as it will only attract more people to the
area and spoil it, but this argument seems counter-productive, as people will
still continue to come as it is a free, open area. People have visited the Gorge for two
hundred years at least, when there were few buses and no cars, so there is no
reason to expect them not to come in greater numbers now and in future. The
number of vehicles passing through the Gorge has vastly increased over the past
15-20 years, and similarly the number of people wanting to stop off here for an
hour or two. The increase in the number
of cyclists on the greatly-improved Trans-Pennine Trail also brings vehicles
carrying cycles so that families can ride the trail from here.
Another argument put forward
against it is that people will not want to walk down Nursery Lane to the
river. However, there are many beautiful
places in this country that can only be reached by walking so, if the only way
to protect the Don Gorge is to encourage that, then surely that is what should
happen. It is already possible to see
how the grass verge on Nursery Lane has been degraded by the parking of
vehicles on it to the detriment of wild flowers. It is also dangerous for pushchairs and
wheelchair users when vehicles park on the footpath on the bend near the Boat
Inn, making them have to walk into the bend in the middle of the road. Parking on the private road which prevents
emergency access to the river bank as well as the cottages, is also
unacceptable. If we are successful, people
would be able to walk directly into the woodland and there is also a chance
that a woodland walk can be created from the car park towards the Boat Inn.
An application has been made
to the Co-op Community Fund to become one of the three charities to be
supported by them. If we are successful,
we would not receive anything until the end of next year but, if successful, it
could help with the creation of the car park.
If anyone has any other good fundraising ideas, they would be welcome.
I therefore appeal to you, as
the Friends of the Don Gorge, to support our intention to preserve the Gorge in
a natural state for future generations.
Any comments, for or against,
this scheme would still be very useful and should be addressed to me.
SCARECROW FESTIVAL - 7/8 September 2019
This is being run again this
year and our group has entered. Our
scarecrow is to be made by our conservation volunteers and will be sited in the
Well at Lower Sprotbrough so I hope everyone will come and have a look at it. I understand programmes with a map of sites
will be on sale nearer the time. It is
in aid of the Children’s Society and Action for Children.
SPROTBROUGH ORAL HISTORY GROUP
We have been successful in
obtaining two small grants for this project, £300 as seed funding from DMBC and
£500 from Healthwatch, for which we are very grateful as it will help us to pay
for room hire. We have also been able to
receive a recorder for interviews and other stationery items. It is hoped to produce a plan of the village
as well as a book by next Spring. We
have just been encouraged to apply to the South Yorkshire Community Foundation
for a grant for the latter.
I have decided to send this
Newsletter to the Friends of the Don Gorge and those of the Sprotbrough Oral
History group so, if you receive it twice, I hope you will forgive me and just
delete one of them.
Have a great Summer.
Liz Reeve, Secretary
Tel: 01302 313030
Sprotbrough Oral History
Project Manager
