USK CIVIC SOCIETY(FOUNDED 1973)
USK CIVIC SOCIETY NEWSLETTER
September 2003: Issue 30
A Decision at Last
It’s good to be able to report that the appeal by Bovis Homes against the refusal of their application to build 280 houses at Woodside has been turned down. For the details see the Planning News insert from which it will be clear that we can’t relax completely.
Awards
One of the objectives of the Society is the encouragement and recognition of building and other initiatives by private citizens, commercial concerns or public bodies which demonstrate good design and contribute in the process to their setting and surroundings. The practical and outward recognition of success in this is achieved by the Society awarding a Certificate of Merit to those responsible. Not only is the nature of the construction itself, which may be a totality from scratch or an extension or alteration to that existing but also the thinking behind the concept, taken into account.
Although such awards have been made in the past, e.g., the extension to Glenyrafon House Hotel which harmonises so well with the original house, the Committee thinks there must be several more recent projects worthy of recognition and would welcome suggestions (preferably in writing with a brief reasoning) from members, and so that the idea can be taken forward, by 31st October 2003, thus allowing for assessment and shortlisting if need be. To demonstrate the broad range of possibilities, the Memorial garden in front of the Memorial Hall and even the Civic Amenities Site off the car park have already been suggested.
In a slightly similar context, but based on very different requirements, the Society also aims to reactivate an earlier scheme of fixing, subject to owner’s consent, informative or commemorative plaques of an appropriate design on sites or buildings of historical significance stemming from their physical nature or events or activities occurring there. Because of the cost, the Society is seeking a grant as an Article 33 Project, for implementation in 2004-5. Over a dozen possible sites have been identified and members may wish to suggest others.
Peter Rennie
The Welsh Assembly’s Article 33 programme will have funds available for communities in Monmouthshire from 2004-2006. The Society is seeking funding under Article 33 for displaying plaques on buildings and sites of architectural and historic interest in Usk. These plaques will be associated with a new town guidebook giving fuller information. This project will contribute to the encouragement of tourism, the conservation of heritage and, if it proves possible to have the plaques made locally, to the advancement of craft activity.
The bid has been prepared by our secretary, John Barrow, and has the support of Usk Town Council. If successful, the grant will cover 80% of the cost of the scheme so 20% will need to be raised locally. Some of the sites and buildings suggested for plaques are: the establishment of the first castle, the date and builder of the stone Usk bridge with a reference to the earlier wooden bridge and the sites of the first Town Hall on the north side of Twyn Square, the medieval hospital, the first prison and the battle of Usk. Plaques could also give the date and brief account of several Inns and Hostelries.
I took over as Chairman from Geoff Mein at the AGM with some trepidation as his formidable knowledge of Usk and the Civic Society makes him a hard act to follow. I must thank him for all his helpful suggestions and ideas, particularly in compiling this Newsletter. Membership remains steady and we have a new leaflet for potential members: if you know anyone who might like to join do ask our Membership Secretary, Geoff Mein, for some of the leaflets. I recently met a young woman from Usk who had never heard of the Society and expressed a keen interest in our programme of meetings, so there are potential members out there!
We had an enjoyable and successful summer party at the Castle, thanks to Rosie and Henry Humphreys for providing such a pleasant venue and to Nora Evans and her band of helpers and to the Committee members for all their hard work. It was nice for me to meet some members for the first time.
The Society has been invited to join Greenweb which provides organisations with a website on which we could publish our constitution, programme and newsletter, together with topical items about planning. If you have expertise in this area and would like to help, please get in touch with our secretary John Barrow (johnfrancis.barrow@virgin.net). Also if you would like to take a more active part in the Society by joining the Committee please contact one of the officers, listed on the back of your membership card.
Stella Collard
Welsh Assembly Government and the Voluntary Sector: Summary of the Report by GAVO, March 2003.
Usk Civic Society has links with many organisations in Usk, and GAVO – the Gwent Association of Voluntary Organisations – with its offices in the Sessions House, has underpinned many projects for the people of Usk. In March, GAVO organised a seminar to gather from voluntary organisations those matters that people want most to bring to the Welsh Assembly Government (now known as WAG).
Again and again delegates emphasised the need for Partnership between WAG, Local Authorities, and the Voluntary Sectors. The Health and Social Care Workshop drew WAG’s attention to the difficulty of establishing joint commissioned services when Healthcare is free and Social Services are charged for; but still pressed for effective partnership because it will lead to so many benefits for all.
Monmouthshire’s rural communities are not receiving the support they deserve. Village Schools, Post Offices, Village Halls, Housing and Transport, need financial support if the rural communities are not to wither away. Already there is an imbalance in the age-range in many villages because the young cannot afford to live there. Once more we ask WAG to listen to local people and to guarantee long-term funding for projects identified by Communities.
While WAG’s intentions may be good, there is a wide gap in communication between WAG and local groups. There is still little appreciation by the Voluntary Sector of the general direction being taken by the Welsh Assembly Government. There needs to be a much greater effort from WAG to create a network of communication and involvement: and much better publicity for the positive schemes WAG is putting in place. How many people know about “Farmers Connect” or “Home Buy”?
Ruth Stride
Obituary
This year we regret to record the loss of yet another long‑time member of the Society and indeed a very sad loss to Usk's many other groups and varied activities for Dorothy Guy, who died at the nowadays early age of 71, was still actively following her many interests. A valued supporter of the Civic Society for many years along with David her husband she will perhaps be best remembered by most of us for her sterling work with Usk in Bloom which she led and galvanised for years. She is mourned by an extensive family of brothers, sons and grandchildren as well as by David with whom we share his feeling of loss and to whom we offer our sincere condolences.
Geoff Mein represents the Society on the Monmouth County Branch of the Council for the Protection of Rural Wales (CPRW). Our representation on that committee is mutually worthwhile as it provides for cooperation in planning matters, such as barn conversions, farm workers' houses, the construction of dwelling houses in previously open rural areas, the removal of hedges and the growing problem of sport vehicle access and damage to country paths and bye ways. The latest apprehended planning application is for the building of some expensive houses on part of one of the local golf courses, the one near Chain Bridge, perhaps rather like developments or attempted developments at the Rolls golf course north of Monmouth. Work has started on the Monnow Bridge downstream of the historic medieval bridge to Overmonnow and has already caused chaos in Monmouth town by the closing of the large car park alongside the river and therefore the overloading of the town centre car park. The good thing about the new bridge is its position, which is in the place suggested by CPRW county branch and some distance away from the medieval bridge rather than right alongside it as wanted by the county council !
Footpaths, Trees and Hedges
The Chairman is a member of the Local Access Forum which is concerned with the improvement of public rights of way for which the Monmouthshire Countryside Service is currently drawing up its plans. This should result in fewer difficult-to-use footpaths. At the moment 60% of our footpaths are considered satisfactory, 11% are inconvenient and 29% are unusable. On a more optimistic note the long-awaited new guide to the important Usk Valley walk will be launched at the Glanyrafon House Hotel on 24th September by Carwyn Jones AM, Minister for Environment, Planning and Countryside.
Last January it was noticed that thirty metres of ancient hedgerow had been grubbed out unnecessarily by the developers at Penyrheol near Wentwood (see Planning News). The site has been visited by an officer of the Countryside Department and an order made for re-instatement.
A ginkgo biloba tree at the Helmaen development was being undermined by builders. Luckily this was noticed by one of our Committee and hopefully, following a visit from another officer, the tree is now being protected.
If you notice any damage to trees or hedges it’s important to report it to the Countryside Section of the County Council or to a Civic Society Committee member.
Consultation documents.
The Welsh Assembly issued a consultation document on the Review of the Historical Environment in Wales. The Committee read the document and made comments, including a call for greater consultation with bodies such as the Civic Society, to CADW which is in process of analysing the responses and will let us know the results in due course. If you would like to read our comments you can get a copy from the Chairman.
A consultation document being dealt with by Geoff Mein, as it is clearly his subject, relates to a strategy for the management of and access to collections of archaeological material in Welsh museums. This is a problem only too apparent to anyone engaged in excavation, such as Geoff and his friends at Trostrey or to landowners who have interesting sites on their land and from which they have personally built up a private collection of material of general interest. There also arises the problem encountered 20 years ago by our late vice‑president Rudge Humphreys, of ever managing to get out of a museum, however temporarily and for whatever good reason, anything which one has deposited there 'on loan' ‑ in Rudge's case the fine 'stag cup' from the 17th/18thcentury Gwehelog pottery kilns on the Humphreys' land alongside the fine Iron Age hill-fort.
Thoughts from the retiring Chairman
Changes in the businesses of Usk include the disappearance of the pleasant arty bits and pieces shop and the movement out of Twyn Square and into Bridge Street of the hairdressers and the movement across the square of our flower shop to a much less obvious and visually pleasing spot. This follows the regretted but understandable closure a few years ago of Thelma Morgan's lovely shop and the personal view of some of us is that this shift of the commerce of the town is a bad thing as the square was after all the original focus of trade in the town and around which the whole of the planned, medieval 'new town' was designed. The square is becoming very largely comprised of houses and this is seen again by some of us as potentially contributing to the decline of available shopping in the town generally. We have lost over the years two very good antique shops and a tiny but popular 'village store' from the square or area around the old town hall, now the Royal British Legion Club in New Market Street, and now Twyn Square is going the same way. Usk, like Monmouth, Ross, Brecon and other towns, has enough trouble as it is maintaining a balance of shops available to the resident and visiting public without a redevelopment in the Twyn which replaces small shops with houses. Additionally we now see that the high quality art goods shop in Bunning's buildings in Bridge Street is giving up the struggle and we are in danger of losing the well patronised green grocery which used to be known as Bowyer's. If there is still such a thing as the Usk chamber of trade it might be an idea for them to study what has happened in the past few years in Shrewsbury where a remarkably diverse variety of small niche shops now occupies the main shopping street and by their very diversity and specialisation is attracting interest from the passers‑by. Certainly Shrewsbury has a much larger population but the principle remains the same. At least think about it.
Happily the work on the rebuilding of the fine Elizabethan mansion Allt y Bela is progressing well and the Society can properly claim the credit for this being done at all. It is some 25 years since we started to try to save it and at long last our efforts are bearing fruit. Lastly let us again congratulate the committees and voluntary workers who make such a success of the Usk Gardens Open Day and of Usk in Bloom who yet again won our category. The Usk Civic Society continues to give an award for one of the categories of houses competing each year ‑ ours being for the best house in the town without a front garden. The show put on this year throughout the town has been really spectacular despite the heat and the drought which continues as we write, so out with the watering cans and keep the flowers blooming.
Geoff Mein
We meet on the second Wednesday of the month, from October to April, at 8pm in the Royal British Legion Club. Details of the programme are printed on the inside of your membership card. Thanks to Geoff Mein for organising a varied and interesting programme and we look forward to seeing you there along with your friends and relations. Do please help Geoff with suggestions as to future lecturers ‑ provided always that you have heard them and they are good. He has been doing the job now for over 25 years.
Don’t miss our first meeting on Wednesday the 8th of October when Bob Trett will be giving a talk on “The Gwent Boats”: a survey of some of the ancient boats discovered on this side of the Severn and in particular on the recently discovered Newport boat and its history.
Contact details:
The Officers of the Society for 2009-10
John Barrow
Chairman Tel: 01291 673623
Ann Morse Vice Chairman Tel: 01291 673233
Rita Evans Treasurer; 27 New
Market Street, Usk, Monmouthshire NP15 1AU
Tel:01291 672672
Kath
Collis
Lectures Secretary Tel: 01291 672774
Angela Bowyer Events Secretary Tel: 01633
430919
Stella Collard Membership Secretary;
Penywrwlod, Llantrisant,
Usk. 01291 673655