Save Sharrow cemetery!
Monkey | 22.06.2006 10:13 | Free Spaces | Sheffield
Sheffield City Council propose to turn green space of historical value into posh flats. Don't let them.
You Sheffielders will probably know the old cemetery in Sharrow, which I think is Victorian, although I may be wrong. The cemetery is absolutely fantastic. The top part where all the tombs are is all overgrown with ivy and rambling plants. Some of the tombs are huge and have big stone statues on them. The Friends of the General Cemetery keep the weeds down to a certain extent, but there is a lot of wildlife in the cemetery, so they keep it fairly wild, and not so well-groomed, and a lot of us like it that way. At the bottom end of the cemetery is a small field, where for the past two years Peace in the Park has been held. The cemetery is used regularly by lots of different people for dog-walking, hanging out, peaceful meandering, playing football, etc. etc.
There are two buildings in the cemetery - a disused chapel and a smaller building which people say is a masonic temple, although I don't this is true! I gather there plans afoot to turn the chapel into some kind of community centre, which would have been great, since the cemetery is both used by the local community, and is a site of historical interest which should be accessible to everyone. Now, however, a planning application has been put in for the chapel to be turned into luxury flats. This, of course, means that the planned community centre will not go ahead, and a good part of the cemetery will be fenced off.
The planning documents are at this site:
http://planningdocs.sheffield.gov.uk/WAM/showCaseFile.do?appType=DC&appNumber=06/01866/FUL. You can comment on the documents (although I haven't quite worked out how to do so), and the site also has the address to write a letter.
Don't let the council sell off this space! Write, turn up to the meeting and make a noise! Squat the building!
There are two buildings in the cemetery - a disused chapel and a smaller building which people say is a masonic temple, although I don't this is true! I gather there plans afoot to turn the chapel into some kind of community centre, which would have been great, since the cemetery is both used by the local community, and is a site of historical interest which should be accessible to everyone. Now, however, a planning application has been put in for the chapel to be turned into luxury flats. This, of course, means that the planned community centre will not go ahead, and a good part of the cemetery will be fenced off.
The planning documents are at this site:
http://planningdocs.sheffield.gov.uk/WAM/showCaseFile.do?appType=DC&appNumber=06/01866/FUL. You can comment on the documents (although I haven't quite worked out how to do so), and the site also has the address to write a letter. Don't let the council sell off this space! Write, turn up to the meeting and make a noise! Squat the building!
Monkey
Additions
Bastards!
22.06.2006 13:01
Bastards! They nicked half the cemetery 20 years ago, and now they want the rest. That's not a masonic temple by the way. The old masonic temple is opposite the library on Surrey Street, and the location of the modern one is in the phone book!
Charlie Tash
object
22.06.2006 17:56
to make a comment....
-follow the link in the above post...
-copy/make a note of the "council reference"...ie 06/01866/FUL
-go to "application search" on the left of the screen" and click it
-paste in the council reference, and hit enter or click search
-click to view it on the right
-submit comments at the top
bingo!
-follow the link in the above post...
-copy/make a note of the "council reference"...ie 06/01866/FUL
-go to "application search" on the left of the screen" and click it
-paste in the council reference, and hit enter or click search
-click to view it on the right
-submit comments at the top
bingo!
me
YES AND SAVE SHARROW STREET PIANO TOO!
22.06.2006 18:29
Sheffield City Council are the same people who want to take away the Street Piano.
See the website for more on this.
See the website for more on this.
Piano Liberation Army
Homepage:
http://www.streetpianos.org
Not the council...
23.06.2006 11:16
...just someone who put in a planning app - they don't need permission of the council or the owners of the space to do that. Permission for turning the church into a residential space has been turned down a few times before, but still worth commenting against.
Strongest arguments are that it is a community space and that the grounds as a whole are a designed gardens (by the same person who did botanical gardens) so fencing off a part of it would ruin the space as a whole. Liked the idea of it becoming a community centre - hope something develops on that before any more vultures move in...
Direct link to comments page: http://planning.sheffield.gov.uk/publicaccess/dc/DcApplication/application_detailview.aspx?caseno=J02VPKNYFD000
Strongest arguments are that it is a community space and that the grounds as a whole are a designed gardens (by the same person who did botanical gardens) so fencing off a part of it would ruin the space as a whole. Liked the idea of it becoming a community centre - hope something develops on that before any more vultures move in...
Direct link to comments page:
http://planning.sheffield.gov.uk/publicaccess/dc/DcApplication/application_detailview.aspx?caseno=J02VPKNYFD000
Planner spam
Message from the General Cemetary Trust
23.06.2006 13:12
Sign the Petition!
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/saveourchapel
"Hey Dudes,
Its crisis time for the cemetery not to mention my job! A new developer has put in a planning proposal for the Anglican Chapel (the big black one with the spire) to develop luxury flats for one (mega rich) family. ( http://planningdocs.sheffield.gov.uk/WAM/showCaseFile.do?appType=DC&appNumber=06/01866/FUL)
If this is accepted the chapel and a large section of the cemetery will be fenced off as a private garden. This will not only ruin any chance of developing a sustainable future for the site as a public park but will also leave me out of a job (as im meant to be restoring it for combined community use).
SOOOO in true cemetery stylee we are proposing a "Save the chapel" benefit gig some time in early July with petitions to stop the development (preferably with a licence this time :) ). It is crucial that we get as many signatures as possible to ensure that the proposal is refused
otherwise the people of Sheffield will lose access to a huge chunk of the cities heritage as well as about a quarter of the cemetery land.
We must have all objections registered by the 14th July if we are to stop it. If anyone can lend a hand or knows anyone who can please tell them to get in touch with me. We already have Sequoia sound system on board but the more the merrier! We will also need logistical help with gennys stages sound etc if anyone can help? We gotta stop this one!! Spread the word!!
peace an love (except to rich developers)
Gus
Angus Hunter
Operations Manager
Sheffield General Cemetery Trust
Email :
sgct@gencem.wanadoo.co.uk
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/saveourchapel "Hey Dudes,
Its crisis time for the cemetery not to mention my job! A new developer has put in a planning proposal for the Anglican Chapel (the big black one with the spire) to develop luxury flats for one (mega rich) family. (
http://planningdocs.sheffield.gov.uk/WAM/showCaseFile.do?appType=DC&appNumber=06/01866/FUL) If this is accepted the chapel and a large section of the cemetery will be fenced off as a private garden. This will not only ruin any chance of developing a sustainable future for the site as a public park but will also leave me out of a job (as im meant to be restoring it for combined community use).
SOOOO in true cemetery stylee we are proposing a "Save the chapel" benefit gig some time in early July with petitions to stop the development (preferably with a licence this time :) ). It is crucial that we get as many signatures as possible to ensure that the proposal is refused
otherwise the people of Sheffield will lose access to a huge chunk of the cities heritage as well as about a quarter of the cemetery land.
We must have all objections registered by the 14th July if we are to stop it. If anyone can lend a hand or knows anyone who can please tell them to get in touch with me. We already have Sequoia sound system on board but the more the merrier! We will also need logistical help with gennys stages sound etc if anyone can help? We gotta stop this one!! Spread the word!!
peace an love (except to rich developers)
Gus
Angus Hunter
Operations Manager
Sheffield General Cemetery Trust
Email :
sgct@gencem.wanadoo.co.uk
Forwarder
Cemetery notes
05.07.2006 09:43
Much love and respect to Monkey for his support, but I'd urge people not to squat the chapel, since it would be premature (there's still a fair chance that the planning application will be dismissed out of hand) and possibly counterproductive (you'd need to break in, which ain't going to help the 'we want to protect this historic building' angle). Maybe in the future, though – but only if the current polite campaign doesn’t work…
As well as emailing comments on the Council website, you can direct letters of objection to Planning Officer Margaret Smith at the Planning Department, Howden House, S1 2HH, and write to the Star/Telegraph through their website ('Contact us' then 'Letters to the editor').
In case anyone was wondering: as Josh’s misleading and wilfully ignorant post suggests, has no interest in preserving the chapel for either posterity or the local community. Only one of his many ridiculous points deserves answering: the lamentable condition of the chapel at the moment is the result of years of neglect by the current owner, Mr Sherazi, who has put forward a number of unsympathetic development proposals for the site, all of which have been refused. The council is currently engaged in legal proceedings to compulsorily purchase the chapel from him, as he has neglected his legal obligation to maintain this Grade II Listed building in the condition in which he purchased it.
Letters of protest, whether to the Council or the papers, could mention the following:
1. Steve Wilkinson (the developer) has a history of buying up, restoring badly, and selling on - he was responsible for what happened to the Glossop road baths (now a Wetherspoon's with timber cladding, plastics external plumbing and neon signs). There’s nothing to stop him selling the chapel on as soon as the conversion work is done, and if he gets permission to convert it to single residential use that makes it easier for the next owner to convert it to multiple residential (i.e. executive flats or student accommodation), which means more vehicles, more wheely bins, and possibly more structural changes and extension of the private grounds – this could be the first step towards a stealth conversion of this site into a privatised ‘mixed-use’ leisure/retail/residential area. It should be mentioned that Wilkinson’s plans are manna from heaven for Sherazi, since they will allow him to offload the chapel for a decent profit before the Council can complete the zero-profit compulsory purchase.
2. The chapel is an integral part of a Grade II Listed landscape. This development would involve the destruction of a section of the Cemetery Road wall, the erection of fencing that will intrude on the rotunda area in front of the chapel, and the construction of a new roadway within the Cemetery grounds. This, along with the allocation of approx 9000m2 of grounds for a private garden, will ruin the form and appearance of this heritage landscape, and severely restrict public access to it.
3. The chapel is a bat roost, but the plans do not mention what is to be done to protect the bats, as required by law.
4. Noise restrictions pertaining to proximity to residential areas would mean that licences for community events like Peace in the Park would be harder to obtain, and the closure of a large piece of Cemetery land will mean the loss of established rights of way used regularly, especially by families and the elderly – is it really worth damaging a valuable social resource like the Cemetery to provide one well-off developer with an investment opportunity? The chapel can and should be given over to community use, for which highly developed and sympathetic plans exist (contrary to what Josh would have you believe). If the Council turns down the application and takes the site from Sherazi, these plans will be one step nearer realisation.
That’s it for now. We can beat this. Keep the faith.
As well as emailing comments on the Council website, you can direct letters of objection to Planning Officer Margaret Smith at the Planning Department, Howden House, S1 2HH, and write to the Star/Telegraph through their website ('Contact us' then 'Letters to the editor').
In case anyone was wondering: as Josh’s misleading and wilfully ignorant post suggests, has no interest in preserving the chapel for either posterity or the local community. Only one of his many ridiculous points deserves answering: the lamentable condition of the chapel at the moment is the result of years of neglect by the current owner, Mr Sherazi, who has put forward a number of unsympathetic development proposals for the site, all of which have been refused. The council is currently engaged in legal proceedings to compulsorily purchase the chapel from him, as he has neglected his legal obligation to maintain this Grade II Listed building in the condition in which he purchased it.
Letters of protest, whether to the Council or the papers, could mention the following:
1. Steve Wilkinson (the developer) has a history of buying up, restoring badly, and selling on - he was responsible for what happened to the Glossop road baths (now a Wetherspoon's with timber cladding, plastics external plumbing and neon signs). There’s nothing to stop him selling the chapel on as soon as the conversion work is done, and if he gets permission to convert it to single residential use that makes it easier for the next owner to convert it to multiple residential (i.e. executive flats or student accommodation), which means more vehicles, more wheely bins, and possibly more structural changes and extension of the private grounds – this could be the first step towards a stealth conversion of this site into a privatised ‘mixed-use’ leisure/retail/residential area. It should be mentioned that Wilkinson’s plans are manna from heaven for Sherazi, since they will allow him to offload the chapel for a decent profit before the Council can complete the zero-profit compulsory purchase.
2. The chapel is an integral part of a Grade II Listed landscape. This development would involve the destruction of a section of the Cemetery Road wall, the erection of fencing that will intrude on the rotunda area in front of the chapel, and the construction of a new roadway within the Cemetery grounds. This, along with the allocation of approx 9000m2 of grounds for a private garden, will ruin the form and appearance of this heritage landscape, and severely restrict public access to it.
3. The chapel is a bat roost, but the plans do not mention what is to be done to protect the bats, as required by law.
4. Noise restrictions pertaining to proximity to residential areas would mean that licences for community events like Peace in the Park would be harder to obtain, and the closure of a large piece of Cemetery land will mean the loss of established rights of way used regularly, especially by families and the elderly – is it really worth damaging a valuable social resource like the Cemetery to provide one well-off developer with an investment opportunity? The chapel can and should be given over to community use, for which highly developed and sympathetic plans exist (contrary to what Josh would have you believe). If the Council turns down the application and takes the site from Sherazi, these plans will be one step nearer realisation.
That’s it for now. We can beat this. Keep the faith.
James
e-mail:
groovywordbender@hotmail.com
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