Eastham Village Preservation Association
Caring for Eastham Village Conservation Area
Following a long, wet, winter Eastham’s Graveyard team are now out in force. The grass between the headstones has been mown, and summer bedding is being planted.
Might you have an hour or two to spare? We need your help to keep Eastham’s ancient graveyeard, its headstones and its history trim and tidy. If you can help please get in touch via the contact form.
The second Friends of Torr Park “volunteer day” will take place on Saturday 27th April. The aim again is to clear brambles and other intrusive species from the Rhodedendron bushes in the centre of the park. Also, depending on numbers etc., there will be litter picking equipment that could be utilised or there may be opportunity to cut back some of the ivy growing on the trees.
The intention is to start at 9.00 am and the day will conclude around 3.00 pm. We would welcome any volunteers willing to assist and it is understood this may be for a shorter period, an hour for example would be fine and much appreciated. You are of course very welcome to come for the whole period.
The former cricket pavilion in Torr Park has been ‘lent’ to the Friends of Torr Park as a place to store their equipment and rest after their labours in the Park.
The graffiti-covered building has been an eyesore ever since the cricketers left pre covid.
When the door was opened, it looked like a time warp. The interior had remained untouched since the last game; the umpire’s coats were left hanging, ready for the next game, and photos and trophies still adorned the walls.
Cricket has been played in Eastham for over 150 years – it’s time to resume the tradition.
Planning permission has been refused to build a bungalow on this site. The stated grounds for the refusal are
The Local Planning Authority considers that the proposal would be detrimental to the character and openness of the Green Belt by eroding the undeveloped nature of the application site.
The proposal is considered to be an inappropriate
form of development within the Green Belt and is therefore contrary to the objectives of Policy GB2 of the adopted Wirral Unitary Development Plan, and the National Planning Policy Framework.
Steve Bailey’s Friends of Torr Park held their first working party just before Easter. Seven enthusiastic Friends turned out to begin the task of de-weeding the Rhodo beds, which are a feature of the Park in the spring. These have become overgrown with brambles, elders, and other material that shouldn’t be there (the definition of a weed is ‘a plant in the wrong place’).
Two one-tonne polybags and several brown bins were filled and removed from the site. The larger branches were left for the council’s chipper the following day. The chippings will be recycled on the beds to act as mulch and prevent further regrowth.
Our Annual General Meeting will be held at Eastham Lodge Golf Club in Ferry Road on the 24th April starting at 6.30 pm for 7.00 pm start. There will be a brief report on the year’s activities, an update on the accounts and the election of committee members. This will be followed by a talk on Eastham’s famous Victorian Pleasure Gardens by Dr David Mottram. David conducts guided monthly tours of the gardens and his talk will include the efforts being made to preserve their remains including the fountains, the bear pit and the wall of the boating lake.
Everyone is welcome.
The Friends of Torr Park and The Graveyard Team will meet with Carl Davies, the Council’s Parks manager for the Eastham area, on the 25th January. It is hoped the Graveyard Team will be able to organise the co-ordination between the Council’s workforce and the Graveyard volunteers to manage everyone’s time and input more effectively. The Torr Park contingent will be seeking to understand how the Council will be operating and what the priorities are for the Friends Group
A small band of volunteers have given up their free time through out the year to alert drivers to the 20 mph speed limit that is in force in the village streets. It seems to be having some affect as the traffic usually seems to be noticeably slower. So thanks to everyone who has taken part.
The Friends of Torr Park Group is now active again under the umbrella of EVPA. Its mission is to work with the Council to improve the Park for all users.
If you have any ideas that will help this ambition please leave a comment.
We are advised that at last the Water Company (United Utilities?) has indentified the cause of the flooding outside Holly Cottage in Eastham Village.
Tree roots were almost completely blocking the surface water sewers but these have now been cut away and removed. Hopefully this will mean no more abandoned vehicles left in the centtre of the road as happened to this poor driver recently.
