Conservation of surviving buildings and features of the town and area has been a major objective and we carefully monitor any plans for re-development or alterations of old buildings which include some Grade II listed. The town centre is a conservation area and there are also conservation areas at Dronfield Woodhouse and Coal Aston.

PLANNING/CONSERVATION

• September 2005 - Summerley Coke Ovens – following the consolidation and tree felling carried out by English Heritage, there have been a couple of meetings of interested parties including the ODS and North East Derbyshire Industrial Archaeology Society to look at the way forward for this historic monument.  English Heritage are working with the owners to extend for a limited period and modify the agreement they have had, to enable some maintenance and monitoring of the site to prevent deterioration of the improvement that has already taken place.

  Objections were raised to the construction of a Domino’s Pizza in the High Street, but permission was granted.  However, some modifications to the original plans have been made.  The building is now nearing completion and time will tell as to how much of a problem litter and parking prove to be.

  NEDDC 10 year plan – after a public enquiry which cost over £420,000, the council have eventually decided to accept the Inspector’s recommendations and are not to proceed. Therefore the green belt land remains protected.

  The re-development of Nos. 2-4 Sheffield Road included maintaining the external wall of No 4.  However, in the course of demolition the proposal to prop this wall was found to be too difficult and it was taken down.  The intention is to re-build using the original stone and design so the appearance will be the same.  This scheme is for housing for people over the age of 55.

  An application for a major re-development scheme for the site of the Lucas works on Sheffield Road (not including the landscaped area around the arch) was put forward. This was for warehouse units, office accommodation and flats including parking. The council's initial reaction has been that there is too much housing in the scheme and that Dronfield requires more industrial development. The proposal has now been withdrawn.

• October 2004 - During the year English Heritage has carried out some consolidation of the Summerley coke ovens. Also, as a result of their representations, the area surrounding them was taken out of the North East Derbyshire 10 year Plan.

  Gosforth School closed at the end of the summer term in July and the majority of buildings demolished soon after.  The land based on the footprint of the school has been included in the NEDDC 10 year plan for housing development but the school fields are dedicated to recreational use.  Early in the year a meeting was held with Derbyshire County Council who own the land and representatives from local groups, particularly the junior football league clubs, as a result of which a body has been formed to take on their management and maintenance to ensure the continuing use of this area for leisure and community use.

  A final decision on whether the Sports Centre is to move from the Civic Centre to Gosforth is still awaited.

  The Dronfield School, now renamed the Dronfield Henry Fanshawe School, is now centralised on one site.

  The Society has objected to the proposed erection of a Domino Pizza take-away outlet to be built in the gap on High Street on the grounds of the unsuitability of the building materials and the inevitable litter, parking and traffic problems that would ensue.

  The public enquiry into the NEDDC 10 year plan has just been completed and the results will be known in about four months.  Although the original proposals have been modified as a result of objections by the public and pressure groups, the developer who wishes to build houses on the historic town fields between Dronfield and Unstone, was given an opportunity to put his case, in spite of the council having withdrawn that area from the plan and the objectors having signed to say they withdrew their objections on these grounds.

• October 2003 - Over the summer months traffic at the Wreakes Lane/Stubley Lane/ Gosforth Lane junctions has been intermittently disrupted by temporary traffic lights as road and construction work has progressed on the new Sainsbury's store which is due to open next month. It has been difficult to see actual work on site because of the high protective hoardings but the roof line is now visible as the store is reaching its final stages. The future of the medieval barn is still uncertain in spite of a letter of reassurance from Sainsburys.

  The revised North East Derbyshire District Plan was produced in July and shows a reduction in the planned industrial development area which now excludes the historic coke ovens as well as the removal of the town fields for future housing. A campaign continues, however, to reduce the new industrial zone while redundant sites on the existing Callywhite Lane estate are ignored. In addition, pressure is being brought to bear on the need for an alternative access route other than just the Green Lane/ Chesterfield Road junction which is already hazardous and likely to become more so once the Dronfield School single site project is completed next year.

  The development of the Butler's Foundry site on Lea Road continues and now some of the industrial structures have been removed, the line of the old cottages and the corner shop are clearly revealed. An exciting discovery has been that the cottage nearest the churchyard shows evidence of an early timber framed building with some vestiges of lath and plaster interior walls still to be seen. Various authorities have been consulted and the Society is assisting in trying to trace the history and occupation of this building.

  Work is continuing in Mill Lane to provide a pleasant riverside walk. The site of the old gas works is now a circular, walled, grassed area and there is a new wooden walkway and bridge suitable for prams and wheelchairs leading into where the foundations of the Damsted works can still be seen. In addition, existing walling has been made good and a lot of overgrown vegetation removed. All the work has been under the supervision of the Country Archaeologist and the North East Derbyshire Industrial Archaeology Society has recorded the remains of the old works.

  The future of the Civic Centre looks somewhat uncertain as there has been a proposal to move the Sports Centre to the Gosforth School site once this has been vacated. What impact this would have on the existing shops and businesses is hard to foretell and would depend to some extent on how the present site was re-developed. Another building with an uncertain future is the Health Centre where there are plans for one practice to move to Gorsey Brigg and the other is negotiating to build within the Sainsbury's site. The Society will be monitoring plans as they develop.

• January 2003 - It is now generally known that "the supermarket" to be built on the Jowitt site at Wreakes Lane is to be a Sainsburys. While the battle against the whole project has been lost, the Society continues its vigilance, particularly over the future of the barn, and has written to the Chief Executive of Sainsburys to draw his attention to their acquisition of this historic building.

  The Society also reacted to the North East Derbyshire 10 year District Plan which was made public in October and against which a campaign was mounted in the town. The intention to extend the Callywhite Lane industrial site as far as Halfacre Lane, including the site of the Summerley Coke Ovens, as well as removing the land on the opposite side of the road from the Green Belt for future housing drew an outcry. The fields earmarked for housing would not only mean continuous urban development from Dronfield into Chesterfield but would also obliterate the historic town fields, the vestiges of their hedge lines and gate openings being all that presently remain. Having registered objections, it will be some six months before the effect of the objections on the Council will be known.

  At about the same time as the Summerley coke ovens have come under threat, English Heritage produced a detailed report on them having at long last carried out an extensive survey. They have earmarked £20,000 in their next financial year to carry out some work to prevent further deterioration. The coke ovens are recognised as of national importance in that there are only about two other examples left in the country of this particular type. Needless to say, English Heritage have made representations to NEDDC regarding their inclusion in the 10 year plan. (A copy of the English Heritage report is in the Slinn Gallery and if you would like to see it, please contact a member of the committee.)

  Work seems to have started on the site of the former Butler's Foundry at the corner of Lea Road and Church Street, planning permission having been given for the construction of craft workshops and a bistro type restaurant. The line of original cottages is now more clearly revealed. While not entirely happy about the intended use, particularly its impact on traffic and parking, the Society will continue to keep an eye on the development.

  Hot off the press from Derbyshire County Council, the Society has just received a detailed plan for the establishment of a trail along Mill Lane which will incorporate improvements to footpaths and the existing bridge, clearance of vegetation, restoration of walling including new walls, and the construction of a new bridge. The site of the old gas works is to be transformed into a woodland glade and the remains of the Damsted works will be more fully exposed. While there is some anxiety that this exposure may result in damage to the existing structures, the Society is pleased that this historic site is being recognised and transformed from its current wilderness state. Work is due to start in late February and is under the supervision of the County Architect.

• September 2002 - The Manor House Garden has been vastly improved by the removal of old trees, installation of block paving and planting of a new lawn. There is now a vista down the High Street. New seats, some donated by local societies but not yet all in place, make it an attractive spot to linger on a warm day and the period lights will improve the winter aspect. The cast iron urns have been returned, burnished and colourfully planted, and though not in their original places, are well set off against the building. The Town Council and North East Derbyshire Council are to be congratulated on carrying out this project with funding from the East Midlands Development Agency's Market Towns Initiative.

  The plans for the supermarket on the Jowitt site have been approved subject to various modifications which it is hoped will protect the barn.

  Plans for the former foundry at the junction of Church Street and Lea Road have also been approved. These are for craft units in the cottages facing Church Street with a bistro type restaurant in the main building. Traffic is to be restricted from turning right into the site when approaching from over the railway bridge but this will depend on motorists acting responsibly and not attempting to turn round at the bottom of Church Street.

• The Society is particularly concerned about the impact of the proposed supermarket to be built on the site of Jowitts' factory, Wreakes Lane, on the conservation area of the town centre, detailed plans for which have now been submitted to North East Derbyshire. The site includes the medieval barn, a Grade II listed building, set back from High Street and presently protected from public access. Plans include a pedestrian route running behind the properties fronting High Street and adjacent to the barn emerging where the gates in front of the barn presently stand.
  

• The site of the former foundry at the junction of Church Street and Lea Road is also highly sensitive where developers are offering either individual units or the entire site for restaurants, bars, etc. Again, the volume of traffic which such a development would produce together with the disruption to nearby residences is of concern.
  

• April 2002 - Plans have also been submitted for the "improvement" of the Manor House Garden (the Library). The Society objects in particular to the intended removal of the cast iron urns which are fine examples in keeping with the period of the original plan of the garden.