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Editorial
The Editorial in the issue of Autumn 2008 led with the debate over The Warrens Medical Centre. The Society has just submitted another, very detailed, very well presented objection compiled by our Planning Consultant, Dennis Clegg. We await further developments.
That issue also featured the proposed, re-modelled ex-KwikSave Building. Sadly this, too, seems to be a prospect rather than a reality. At least we have moved forward in our efforts to protect our Open Spaces with the setting up of a"Friends of Heswall Open Spaces" full report on page 7. We also now have an active Local History Section led by Dr Roger Lane.- page 2. Both of these activities are not just for Committee Members but anyone who shares these interests to
become more active and join!
Chairman's Letter: Autumn 2009. John Pyke
This letter must begin with the matter that currently concerns us and probably most Heswall residents, the greater cause for concern: the possible closures of Alexander Hall and Heswall Hall.
Immediate Past Chairman Stuart, Honorary Treasurer Graham and I have attended all the open meetings that have been held and I am pleased to report that Graham, together with Heswall Society member Stephen Ross, are members of a Steering Group which is examining the viability of a community based group taking over the management of, and responsibility for, either or both Halls.
We are extremely grateful to all members of the Steering Group, who represent a number of local Societies. It is an onerous task, and whilst much work has already been done, a great deal remains before they report to the User Groups on the 2nd October. It would be entirely wrong to anticipate the results of their deliberations; however, it would be remiss of me not to mention the formidable difficulties they face mainly financial ones.
We understand that total income is only around 27.5% of total expenditure including depreciation. Some savings can clearly be made, but can the Steering Group come up with a potential solution to bridge the large difference that would remain? We wish them well in their task.
Moving on, we shall again be dividing our meetings between Heswall Hall and St. Peter's Centre. John Billington has arranged a distinguished list of Speakers, so do make a note of the dates and venues in your diaries.
Discussion of Planning matters still forms a major part of the Committee's discussions, and I cannot emphasis too strongly the amount of time, dedication and expertise that Dennis Clegg devotes to these issues.
The History Section, our most recent sub-committee, under the guidance of Roger Lane, has hit the ground running! Roger reports elsewhere in this Newsletter and we look forward in due course to both reading and looking at the fruits of their endeavours.
Finally, a heartfelt thanks to each and every member of the Committee, who work willingly and tirelessly to further the objectives for which the Society was founded.
Heswall Local History Group Roger Lane
The newly formed History sub-group comprises a group of enthusiastic amateurs with an interest in researching and capturing the fascinating history of Heswall. We have held our first two meetings and agreed our future goals. We wish, ultimately, to produce a book providing an authoritative account of the history of Heswall from its earliest beginnings up to the 19th and 20th centuries when so much happened to shape and transform Heswall from a small isolated village to the busy and prosperous town we know today. This will form a rich tapestry of events and influences ranging from Viking and Norman invaders, agriculture, religion, railway, shipping, commerce and local government. This is definitely a longer term project and whilst we are finding our feet we would like to produce a simpler book depicting "Heswall - then and now" with photographs which will help in our more serious researches. An example can be seen on www.heswall.com. We are currently busy reviewing the sources of information available to us, constructing a Heswall timeline of dates and agreeing an outline for the chapter headings.
Watch out for our articles in the new Heswall magazine which has just been launched.
We are really appreciative of the archive material which has already been made available to us with particular thanks to Peter Connah, the son of the famous local historian, Harry Connah, and Steven Fletcher, a previous chairman of the Society. We would love to have sight of any old photos, postcards, documents, books, newspapers, maps, or other memorabilia and to hear memories relating to the history of Heswall. The Heswall Society website is being enhanced to allow information and queries to be shared. We invite any members of the Society wishing to join in our researches to contact Roger Lane on 342 9269 (late evening or week-ends) or roger.m.lane@btinternet.com especially if they have specialist knowledge on any particular aspect.
Programme 2009-10: John Billington
Our series of talks this year begins with a summary of the modern Army and looks at its position in our defence. The speaker is Colonel Martin Amlot who commanded a battalion of the King's Regiment and is the regimental secretary of the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment. He will be asking the question "What is the role of today's Army and how is it being supported by the Government?" These are questions that reflect current anxieties so his talk will be of great interest.
Carol Singing with the Port Sunlight Lyceum Brass Band will again be held outside the gates of St. Peter's Church on Wednesday 9th December at 7.15pm. All are welcome.
After Christmas our next talk is entitled "Exciting Gemstones" and will be given by Nicholas Wainwright. Nicholas is a jeweller, lives in Heswall and heads the well known and long established family company of Boodle and Dunthorne, with branches in Liverpool, London and elsewhere. He is an expert in his field and his talk is sure to be fascinating.
Our February talk is entitled "Law and Disorder" and will be given by His Honour Judge John Roberts who lives in Prenton and is a District Judge on the Liverpool Circuit. He is also a popular after-dinner speaker so his talk promises to be both interesting and entertaining!
Finally on the occasion of our Annual General Meeting we are delighted that the Lord Lieutenant of Liverpool, Dame Lorna Muirhead, DBE has found time to come to speak to us. Dame Lorna is in constant demand, carrying out many duties throughout each year and is immensely hard working. It will be an honour to welcome her to Heswall and to hear what she has to say about her role as Her Majesty the Queen's representative in Merseyside.
For time and venues see the Programme enclosed.
Planning: Dennis Clegg
Although planning applications for work on private dwellings remain at a low level we have raised concerns about eight such applications since the AGM, mainly in or on the edge of the Conservation Areas or in Green Belt.
Turning to commercial premises, last year Wirral Council granted Marks and Spencer a temporary, trial relaxation of the conditions governing delivery arrangements. This year the store sought to make the relaxation permanent. We supported local people in their arguments that the new arrangements had not been satisfactory. The Council has refused the application so the company must revert to the conditions imposed when the store was built. The Society also objected to an application to extend the opening hours at Valentino's Pizza, 62, Telegraph Road which, at the time of writing, is still to be determined. The Ravenscroft has sought permission for an external seating area at the rear. We did not object to this but requested a condition that external use of the front of the premises should cease. Permission has now been granted but without such a condition.
The project to replace the Cleaver Residential Home with a new Care Home with twice the footprint has been approved at Appeal. Although standing in designated "Urban Greenspace" the Inspector was not persuaded by our arguments. This reflects the fact that Urban Greenspace land in private ownership is afforded lesser protection than "Green Belt" land.
We have objected to the application to build a Primary Care Centre in the Green Belt on the old "greenhouse site" at "The Warrens". The Wirral Green Belt, which separates the various conurbations, is subject to continual threats of development and is particularly vulnerable at this location because of its narrow width (it is only one kilometre from the proposed site to the Arrowe Park junction at Woodchurch). Because it would be in the Green Belt the applicant must show that there are "very special circumstances" to justify this development. The PCT argue that they should be allowed to build in the Green Belt because, after many years' search they have not been able to locate any suitable site. However, in their search, they set a minimum size of 2 acres (0.81Ha) which any site would have to exceed. By comparison, their proposed footprint is only one seventh of this, 0.11Ha, and the proposed total area taken up by buildings, parking and access roads at The Warrens is 0.45Ha. We maintain that their imposition of a 0.81Ha minimum for their search was an unnecessary limitation which left only Greenbelt sites for consideration. We argue that a small urban site should have been sought, that the claim of lack of other sites falls and, therefore, there are "no very special circumstances to warrant development in the Green Belt". Our detailed submission covers many planning issues and runs to several pages. Copies will be available at the next meeting or on the internet beforehand at: www.danddclegg@ waitrose.com
A view from Westminster: Ben Chapman MP
As I write, it is the parliamentary summer recess, which means that I am able to spend more time in the constituency than usual. I can meet constituents face to face at surgeries, by knocking on doors, or by formal visits to individual organisations. I try to get around as much as possible whilst I am in Wirral.
My current exchanges with the Society include the issue of the PCT and West Wirral Group Practice pursuing its application for the development of a One Shop Primary Care Centre on land at the Warren Nurseries. As with many issues, the Society and I are united here. I believe the applicants have focused on the Warrens site and the Warrens site alone. Other sites have become or will become available but the proponents do not even want to consider these and in my opinion have made their particular view of perfection the enemy of the good. I have let both the PCT and Council know my feelings about this.
In a piece for this Newsletter last year, I wrote briefly about the North West Regional Spatial Strategy and how it has been good for Heswall. I was pleased to learn from the Council recently that it had no plans to lift its current restrictions on new housing development. I think this is positive news.
Nobody, of course, wants to see the vital Heswall Hall and Alexander Hall close. The decisions made in the Council's Strategic Asset Review were taken very quickly. Furthermore, from the outset, the concept of community transfer was not, in my opinion, effectively communicated. I recently met David Ball and Ian Brand from the local authority to work through and ask a number of questions about how transfers would work and what support would be given to groups. At a time when vital facilities in Heswall, as in the rest of Wirral, face an uncertain future, it is important that the local community unites. The Society does an excellent job in bringing it together and I remain happy to help whenever I can.
Newsletter from Councillor Peter Johnson
My Newsletter is dominated by planning applications which have taken place in Heswall. The new Medical Centre that was proposed opposite Tesco was refused after the members of the Planning Committee made a site visit, and saw at first hand the impact on traffic that a new and bigger Centre would have. There has now been an appeal lodged against the decision. Another application to build a care home, twice the size of the now disused Cleaver Residential Home in Oldfield Road was refused by the Planning Committee. The applicant appealed, and was successful, so there will be plenty of activity on that site for a year or more. Marks and Spencer applied to have their extended deliver time made permanent, but this was refused due to the noise and disturbance they created, upsetting the local residents and not keeping to the proper deliver times.
Following the Council's decision to transfer Heswall Hall to a Community Trust or close it I have arranged a number of meetings, and following on from them a Steering Group has been formed to investigate the transfer to a Community Trust. The Group meets on a regular basis and has held several meetings with Council Officers to assist them with, hopefully, a transfer of The Hall to the community. I take this opportunity to ask members of the User Groups of the Hall, and other people, to carry on using this facility in order that the Hall, in the event of a transfer, can be run as a viable asset for use by the Heswall Community. There is still a great deal of work to be done.
Hospitals in Heswall ; Jenny McRonald
It is hard for us in the 21st Century to imagine a hospital in Heswall but for many years there were two. The laying of the foundation stone for Heswall Cleaver, or the West Derby, Liverpool and Toxteth Park Joint Hospital, as it was originally known, took place on October 25th 1901. The hospital was situated in Oldfield Road and it remained in service as a hospital until it closed in 1974. The other hospital was originally known as The Royal Liverpool Country Hospital for Children - later The Royal Children's Hospital. This was situated in Telegraph Road on the present site of Tesco. The foundation stone for this hospital was laid on April 21st 1905 and it continued as a hospital until its closure in 1985.
Cleaver Hospital
This hospital opened officially on the 20th October 1902. By the 1920's it was known as Cleaver Sanatorium after Mr HP Cleaver who was the inspiration behind its founding. From 1913 until 1930 the hospital was used for children only. In 1939 the children were evacuated to Rhuddlan and adults were then admitted.
The name of the hospital was changed again to Cleaver Hospital instead of Sanatorium in 1950. After closure in 1974 the land was sold in 1988 for £2.5m, the hospital buildings demolished and Oldfield Garden built on the site. The nurses' home still remains as Cleaver Residential Home. The foundation stone was laid by the Rt. Hon. Walter H Long M.P. In 1924 extensions were added and a tablet commemorating this was unveiled on September 8th 1924 by William Roberts J.P. who was the chairman of the Sanatorium Committee. A chapel attached to the hospital was dedicated in the 1960's and a hospital school was also based there for some years. Being a sanatorium it was sited on the edge of the River Dee because the air was reputed to be pure which helped to restore the health of the tubercular patients.
In an article written by a young patient in 1957 the daily routine was described as beginning at 6.30am, bed at 8.30pm with meals and school in between. Those patients on 'hours' were allowed to walk around the grounds in the afternoon. Visiting days were Wednesday and Saturday when bus services were laid on to the hospital. A fund raising committee know as The Cleaver League of Friends held fairs each year which were popular with Heswall residents. Whist Drives were held there during the 40's and 50's. The Home Guard and the fire service used the hospital during WW2.
The Royal Liverpool Children's Hospital
The foundation stone for this hospital on Telegraph Road was laid on 21st April 1905 in a 9 acre site bought for £2,500 in 1900. The tower and clock were completed in 1911. On Feb.15th 1909 the hospital was ready for its first patients. The open air wards were a feature of the hospital, assuming once more that the clean air of the area would be beneficial to its patients. These wards were opened in 1930. During the air raid of May 1941 several people lost their lives when incendiary bombs were dropped in Heswall. One incendiary device fell through the roof of the matron's car. Unfortunately the car was destroyed by the time the AFS had finished hosing it. Patients came from a wide area and many of the children would only have a visitor once a week. Many of the cases were long stay patients with hip problems. In 1963 the League of Friends was formed and in succeeding years raised over £20,000. The largest expenditure was the adventure playground, a landscaped area with paved paths enabling the children in wheelchairs to explore it.
In 1912, under the leadership of Mrs Chaplin, a special school was formed, which is believed to be one of the first of such schools in the Country, and continued until the 80's. On 29th January 1910 Edward VII granted the hospital the right to call itself Royal. The hospital was the dream of Dr Charles MacAlister and Mr Robert Jones (who, later in life, was to be knighted and would become a world famous physician), to build the long stay residential hospital in Heswall. Wards in the hospital were named after them. The hospital was closed in 1985 because of changes in care. Many of the diseases treated in the hospital had, thankfully, been conquered but nevertheless it was sad to see such a fine building go.
Jenny McRonald 2009
Friends of Heswall Open Spaces
At the inaugural Meeting on the 13th June it was agreed to set up the "Friends" as a sub-division of The Heswall Society rather than as a separate organisation.
The benefits of this are that it could operate within the structural constitution of the Society without the need for separate officers, finance etc.
It would be open to anyone interested, not just Heswall Society Members and it will cover the following Open Spaces:
Rangers' Responsibilities
Heswall Dales
The Beacons
Wirral Way
& Dee Cliffs
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Covered by
Wirral Country Park Friends
Poll Hill
Whitfield Common
Parks and Gardens
Dawstone Park
Gayton Pinewoods
Feather Lane Woodlands
(Tesco)
Puddydale
Gayton Playing Fields
There are Management Plans from Parks and Gardens Dept. for Puddydale, Gayton Pinewoods and Feather Lane Woodlands; and an overall Plan for Heswall Dales. Still needed are plans for The Beacons and Whitfield Common.
The next meeting will be at the end of September to define future action.
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