The Campaign to save one of Wilnecote best loved buildings took a knock last week at the news by English Heritage that they had decided that the building was not worthy of Grade II listing.

In a letter from English Heritage it states that The Secretary of State, after consulting- English Heritage, the Government's statutory adviser, have decided that the building is not of special architectural or historic interest and should not be listed. The reasons are as follows:

The Wilnecote Youth Centre was built as an infants' school which was subsequently extended. It is a brick building of one and two storeys with gabled tiled roofs. Some original windows survived while others are modern replacements or boarded up. It is not known who the architect Of the original buildings was but it is believed to have been built c1883.

The building retains some early features including staircases, fireplaces and offices. A building is shown on the site on the 1884 OS map which was either extended or rebuilt by 1903. The building's footprint then remained largely unaltered until c1937, with the addition of a separate block immediately to the north. The building has been extended to the north and West between c1937 and the present.

Large numbers of surviving schools were built following the 1870 Education Act. Selectivity is therefore required to identify those which merit listing, focusing particularly on architectural quality, planning, date, preservation and intactness.

The best parts of the buildings at the Wilnecote Youth Centre are in a style which owes its origins to a 19th century appreciation of English vernacular building. They are fairly standard for their type. The original buildings have been enlarged and altered considerably and many of the additions are of little interest in themselves and detract from the appreciation of the earliest parts.

Cllr Lee Bates said “This is disappointing news that a much loved building of character and historic value to Wilnecote has not been considered worthy by English Heritage for listing.  We understood that the rules for listings have got stricter in recent years and feel this has gone against us this time around.”

A letter of appeal will now be submitted on the grounds that the building is part of the original village of Wilnecote and part of a cluster of buildings already listed in the area which hasn’t been highlighted in the response by English Heritage.

“The fight continues to keep the centre open however and we are pleased at the news that the centre are still taking bookings up to October this year past the original deadline for closure so this has only got to be positive, however we are calling on the County to make known their plans for the centre and not to keep residents hanging on for a decision over its future.” Cllr Bates added

I would like to note a personal thank you to Staffordshire County Council for recognising the Historic routs of the new Torc vocational centre not only keeping its well known name but also identifying its symbol as the historic Glascote Torc which is an important part of Tamworth’s great history and my grandfather discovered.  The Torc has also recently been immortalised at Tamworth Castle with a replica put on display by the Friends of Tamworth Castle.

The Glascote torc was found c. 1943 in a boat-building yard close to the Coventry Canal between Glascote and Amington, half a mile south of Tamworth. However it was not reported to any authority until February 1970 after the wife of one of the finders Grace Bates read about the discovery of gold torcs at Ipswich in 1968. Her husband Sydney Bates then wrote to Ipswich Museum and subsequently sent the torc there. Ipswich Museum passed it on to the British Museum who reported it to the coroner as possible Treasure Trove. An inquest was held at Tamworth in May 1970 where the jury found it to be Treasure Trove and the rest is history as they say.

The Torc Vocational centre itself will I’m sure make history when it opens as a centre of excellence for vocational skills and qualifications which are much needed in our town and I wish the centre all the best for the future.

I would recommend anyone to go to Tamworth Castle and see the Torc and learn of its history which makes for another excellent addition to the Castle collection, we are a town with such great local and national history which all generations should be proud of.

The Town Wall Project made its mark this week by erecting its first notice board on the site to officially make residents aware of the group’s plans to develop the area into a place for conservation and for the community to enjoy.

The notice board has information informing the public of the group’s activities and contact details for those who wish to join and will become the meeting point for the group who will be starting work on site on 24^th August 2008 10.30am – 1pm. It was made by local resident and conservation group member Richard Heathcock.

Cllr Lee Bates said “This marks the beginning of an exciting project which will encourage conservation and wild life to the area but also make good the public footpaths on site which are well used.   We have already had our first grant awarded by Staffordshire County Council and other applications are also being put in to support the project.”

“The great thing about Town Wall is there is so much that can be done on the site that there is something for everyone with a keen interest in Wild Life, Gardening or local historical interest we are inviting a archaeologist at our September meeting and carrying out a dig on site as the area used to be a dumping ground for local pottery makers” Cllr Bates added

Anyone wishing to get involved can contact Cllr Lee Bates on 07794049312 or join us at the notice board on Sunday 24^th August 2008.  

TOWN WALL CONSERVATION GROUP AWARDED £1103 FROM COUNTY COUNCIL

The Town Wall Conservation was granted their first community grant from Staffordshire County Council this week.   A total of £1103 was awarded to the group to aide them in buying equipment to help with the work of developing Town Wall into a conservation community area for the Wilnecote community.

The grant was awarded as part of the Community Paths Initiative fund from Staffordshire County Council and will go a long way in helping the group with the work ahead.  Chairman of the Town Wall Conservation Group Cllr Lee Bates said “We are naturally delighted and would like to thank the public rights of way team at Staffordshire County Council who has been very supportive of our aims for Town Wall.  This is our first grant to be awarded to the group and we passed a vote of thanks to the county at our last committee meeting on Thursday 17^th July.”

A community survey is currently going around the local area asking residents what they want to see on the site and so far a good response has been received and it is pleasing that people in Wilnecote want a conservation area and remember some of the Town Walls rich history as well.   The group have also been working closely with the Staffordshire Wild Life Trust who have been offering help advice and support along with Staffs County and Tamworth Borough Council.

“The project is about encouraging conservation to the area and improving the well used public footpaths on the site.  It is also about community involvement and we will be anyone who wants to get involved with the project to come along.” Lee Bates added.

The first work morning is scheduled for Sunday 24^th August at 10.30am – 1.30pm meeting at the Town Wall Conservation Group notice board.  All welcome anyone wishing to find out more can contact Cllr Lee Bates on 07794049312 or e-mail – lee-bates@tamworth.gov.uk.

End Release.

The sun was shining brightly this month for the Friends of Wilnecote Litter Pickers who took to the streets on their monthly pick.   This month saw the group go down Shelton Street, up the Watling Street, down Hockley Road, and through the Peel Heights Estate.

6 Bags of Rubbish where collected in total and everyone had a good social time chatting along the way in the lovely weather.

Cllr Lee Bates said “It’s a fun social way residents of Wilnecote come together and help keep our streets clean and tidy, it’s not just about picking litter but community pride.  It was nice that the sun was out for us and we got to say hello to allot of residents who were also out and about enjoying the lovely weather.”

Cllr Lee Bates is calling for the youth of Wilnecote to come forward with constructive suggestions and ideas for youth facilities in the Wilnecote area.  A survey has been put together to find out what the youth would like to see in the area.

With the concerns over youth provision in the area and possible impending closure of the Wilnecote Youth Centre, Cllr Bates is looking to work with a group of youth representatives from the community to come up with an idea or project that they would like to work towards.  A youth survey has gone out in the area and to groups using the existing Wilnecote Youth Centre, a meeting is also being arranged to meet with youth council representatives at Wilnecote High School.

“It would be great to have a team of young people from the area come forward with a project to get them involved in putting together ideas and suggestions to which they can apply for external funding for and really take ownership off to get a facility that they would like to see in the area instead of adults imposing facilities upon them.     It could be a great opportunity to also break down barriers in the local community about the stigma that unfortunately gets attached to the youth of today by getting involved in something constructive like a youth project.”

Anyone wishing to take part in the Wilnecote Youth Survey can either  download a copy from Cllr Lee Bates Website – www.leebates.co.uk , or e-mail lee-bates@tamworth.gov.uk or simply call 01827 285296 leaving your contact details and one will be posted out to you