Buxton’s heritage hero honoured in Tower of London

Buxton Civic Association member Diane White has been hailed as one of Britain’s Heritage Heroes for turning derelict land at the heart of the town’s historic quarter into a sensory garden and haven for wildlife.
At a ceremony in the Tower of London on Wednesday, Dia was one of only two people to be honoured by the Heritage Alliance when it marked the tenth anniversary of its Heroes awards which celebrate the outstanding contribution Britain’s heritage volunteers make to society.
The award recognises Diane’s amazing contribution in transforming an area of wasteland into a sensory garden. From designing the garden and leading clearance parties, to fundraising for the project, Diane’s volunteering and fundraising efforts have made a real impact in her local community.
But it was only made possible thanks to her fellow volunteers in the Association’s Spaces and Places Team and builder Dave Trotter.
“I am very proud of what our group has achieved with the creation of a Sensory Garden,” she said. “A year ago, this was a neglected and litter-strewn site in the historic centre of Buxton. Now it is a beautiful and relaxing place where locals and visitors can sit and enjoy themselves.
“The view from the garden is quite striking. This brings benefits, both physical and mental, and I am very pleased to have made a little difference to the community in this way.”
The former nurse and member of Buxton Civic Association came up with the idea for the garden on the site of the former public toilets on Water Street which had been left empty and unloved despite being just yards away from the Opera House, the Pavilion Gardens and The Crescent.
“It’s a place where lots of people come from around the world, and then you get this neglected area, which was once public toilets,” said Diane.
The Civic Association persuaded High Peak Council to lease them the land, which had not been used for nearly two decades, and after getting planning permission and sponsorship from local groups, trusts, foundations and businesses, her plan was put into action.
She timed the opening to coincide with the start of 2019’s landmark 40th anniversary Buxton International Festival, and now the garden is home to birds, bees, butterflies and wildflowers – not to mention grateful office workers who eat lunch on its benches.
“We want people to be able to touch the plants, feel them and smell them,” said Diane, who said that one plant even smells of chocolate.
“One boy said when he touched the thyme it reminded him of his Sunday dinner!”
Sponsored by specialist insurer Ecclesiastical, the UK’s leading insurer of Grade I listed buildings, the Heritage Heroes Award awards ceremony coincided with Heritage Day, the key event in the heritage sector calendar, with speakers including Sir Tim Laurence, Chair of English Heritage, and the Minister for Arts, Heritage and Tourism.
Peter Ainsworth, Chair of the Heritage Alliance and Faith Kitchen, Heritage Director at Ecclesiastical, presented the awards. Each of the winners received a framed original Pugin-designed tile from the Palace of Westminster as a token of gratitude.
Peter added: “A true Heritage Hero is a person who generously gives time and knowledge to creating and preserving beautiful places and objects, often under the radar, for the benefit of everyone. They make a huge contribution to their community by making local places and stories more loved and accessible.”
Faith said: “As the leading insurer of Grade I listed buildings in the UK, we’re passionate about Britain’s heritage. We’re proud to sponsor the Heritage Heroes Awards, and this year celebrates two incredibly deserving winners for their outstanding contribution to the heritage sector.”

Diane White talks about the importance of the Water Street Sensory Garden

As you are aware BCA are members of the Buxton Visitor Economy Strategy Board. Before Dai Larner left, he asked this Board to act as the Steering Group for the two High Street Regeneration Grants that HPBC have submitted for Buxton. Council Officers appointed consultants to draw up a proposed scheme for the Future High Street Fund bid. Sadly, we do not feel that we have been given the chance to adequately fulfil this steering role. We are very aware of the narrow constraints of the grant scheme, including the short time scale.

As you know this scheme has been out to public consultation over the last couple of weeks, and some BCA members attended a meeting last Wednesday and went through a number of concerns that BCA had with the scheme along with proposed changes to the scheme. (See link below)

We along with other groups in the town are very keen to see improvements to this crucial part of the town but have serious concerns about the scheme being promoted by the consultants. Opportunities such as this grant do not arise often and it is crucial that we get this submission right for the town.

BCA along with other organisations have managed to mobilise in a very short period of time and have held special meetings of our memberships to consider our responses to the scheme. As a result, each of us has submitted detailed responses and proposals to the council.

BCA's response can be found by clicking on the link below, along with a press release that we sent to the Advertiser last week.

Many thanks to all those members who attended the meeting and or sent in responses to the council. We will update the website with further news in due course.

BCA Response to Proposed Future High Street Application

BCA Response to the Future High Street Fund bid for Buxton February 2020

BCA Press Release

High Peak Borough Council Future High Street Fund Application

Future High Street Fund Application for Buxton

Water, Water, Everywhere.........................

Our Spring Newsletter is now available to read online (See below). This is the last edition where the design, layout and photography will be done by Bob Bohme and he has perhaps left his best to last. We would like to thank Bob for the fantastic work he has done over the past two years or so and wish him all the best on his travels.

We are in safe hands though as Lucy Marsden is taking over the design. layout and photography. Looking forward to the summer edition already.

BCA Newsletter version to read on line

BCA Newsletter Spring 2020 Downloadable version

Thank you to Prof Richard Pattrick for these fascinating photographs of hairice forming in dead trees in Grin low during the recent cold spell.

The following explanation has been taken from Wikipedia

Hair ice forms on moist, rotting wood from broadleaf trees when temperatures are slightly under 0 °C (32 °F) and the air is humid.[1] Each of the smooth, silky hairs has a diameter of about 0.02 mm (0.0008 in) and a length of up to 20 cm (8 in).[1] The hairs are brittle, but take the shape of curls and waves.[1] They can maintain their shape for hours and sometimes days.[1] This long lifetime indicates that something is preventing the small ice crystals from recrystallizing into larger ones, since recrystallization normally occurs very quickly at temperatures near 0 °C (32 °F).[1]
The hairs appear to root at the mouth of wood rays (never on the bark), and their thickness is similar to the diameter of the wood ray channels.[1] A piece of wood that produces hair ice once may continue to produce it over several years.[1]
In the year 2015, German and Swiss scientists identified the fungus Exidiopsis effusa as key to the formation of hair ice.[1] The fungus was found on every hair ice sample examined by the researchers, and disabling the fungus with fungicide or hot water prevented hair ice formation.[1] The fungus shapes the ice into fine hairs through an uncertain mechanism and likely stabilizes it by providing a recrystallization inhibitor similar to antifreeze proteins.[1][2]

Wikipedia article on Hairice

Have your say in Shaping Buxton.

Presentation made by Places and Spaces Group to Guests at the Celebration evening on 7th November 2019

Heritage Open Day 2019 Lecture notes by Jon White

Mark Cocker will talk to Buxton Field Club on 15th November at 7.30pm about Re-wilding

A date for your diary: Friday 15th November MARK COCKER is talking about Re-Wilding at Buxton Field Club. Mark is an author, naturalist and environmental tutor, who writes and broadcasts on nature and wildlife in a variety of national media. In 2018 he released a new book Our Place (Cape), on the fate of British nature in the twentieth century, and completed 30 years as a Guardian country diarist.

His 11 other books include works of biography, history, literary criticism and memoir. They include Claxton: Field Notes from a Small Planet (2014) and Birds and People (2013). The latter was published to international acclaim and was a collaboration with the photographer David Tipling.

Time: 7.30-9.30pm
Place: Buxton Methodist Church Hall, Chapel St, Buxton
Free to members, 18-25s, accompanied minors. £3 all others. Everyone is really welcome.

7.00 pm Tuesday 10th December 2019 at Poole's Cavern Visitor Centre

Everywhere nature is under pressure, and Buxton is no different from the rest of the country. As the pressure for more housing and roads increases the landscape becomes more and more fractured making it harder for flora and fauna to thrive and survive.
We need to take action to reverse this decline and it falls within the remit of BCA to take the lead on this. We have demonstrated our stewardship of the beautiful woodlands that we own but we need to look outside our own estate and bring together all the wonderful, dedicated hardworking groups in the town that care for and look after nature.
There is a need for a dedicated grouping to bring these concerned individuals and groups together and to attempt to address these important issues in the town. We have had informal liaison with the Buxton Field Club (a group of naturalists concerned with the study of natural history in and around Buxton) and several BCA members who share this concern. They agree that it would be helpful and valuable for BCA to create a group to fulfil this role.

Some of the immediate issues of concern are;
• the future management of the Nestle landholding at Lightwood
• the management of Fernydale Local Nature Reserve (adjacent to our Sherbrook Wood)
• the County Council land at Solomon’s Temple
• the management of wildflower areas at the Serpentine
• conservation of the important, highly threatened breeding population of Curlew and Lapwing in the immediate vicinity of Buxton
• the management of Cowdale Quarry
• the management of road verges
• spread of tree diseases in the town
• the conservation of breeding populations of swifts, martins, swallows and bats that use buildings in the town
• the conservation of wildlife on brownfield sites in the town

Many of these issues involve liaison, potentially lobbying and, hopefully, partnership working with other organisations (e.g. Nestle, High Peak Borough Council, Derbyshire County Council, Derbyshire Wildlife Trust and RSPB).
If you are interested in being part of the Biodiversity Group email us at;
We are holding an inaugural meeting at Poole’s Cavern on Tuesday 10th December 2019 at 7.00pm.
If you are interested in coming along it would be helpful if you could let us know at communications@buxtoncivicassociation.org.uk

Steve Orridge's end of term report and review of Butterfly surveys in Grin Woods, Lightwood and Cunningdale

Excellent report from Steve outlining the fantastic work that he and his surveyors do. If you want to join Steve's group of surveyors let us know at communications@buxtoncivicassociation.org.uk

Buxton Butterfly Surveys 2015-2019