DIG HADFIELD - Meet At The New Lamp, Bankbottom, Hadfield - Tonight at 7.30pm - (Tuesday 25th November)

Hi Everyone,

Just a quick line to let you know that the next meeting (only the second) of Dig Hadfield will be held at the New Lamp, Bankbottom, Hadfield at 7.30pm on Tuesday 25th November. Anyone who lives in the area that is interested in the subject of allotments and who wants to help the group campaign for more of them is welcome to come along.

If you are unaware of what this new group are about, here is a potted history of Dig Hadfield to date. The newly formed group originated from a blogpost on this very blog entitled Not A Lotta Allotments which attracted a lot of comment and interest.

Consequently it was raised as an Agenda item at the September meeting, which resulted in everyone who had expressed an interest being contacted for an inaugural meeting which happened in October. At the meeting the name Dig Hadfield was decided upon and the newly formed group decided to become an autonomous organisation with the aim of procuring allotments specifically in Hadfield, since all who attended lived in the village, whilst Tintwistle itself actually has an oversupply of allotments.

At the meeting, it was decided to promote the group via a poster campaign and a press release. Ralph Bennett agreed to do the poster, that is reproduced below and which was distributed around local shops with a view to broadening the campaign and building the meeting.

Since then, Dig Hadfield have created their own blog, which can be found by clicking here. Thus, our own e-mail address shown on the poster is no longer required as the group now have their own e-mail contact address which is dighadfield@gmail.com which can always be found in the top right hand corner of their blog.

That, in a nutshell is the history, brief as it is of Dig Hadfield. So if you're interested in what they have been set up to achieve then please feel free to come along to their next meeting, which once again is at: The New Lamp, Bankbottom, Hadfield, on Tuesday 25th November at 7.30pm.

The editor of the Dig Hadfield blog informs me that Cllr. Graham Oakley who is a member of Glossop and District Allotment Association will be in attendance.

CLICK ON IMAGE TO SEE FULL SIZE IMAGE OF POSTER

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DIG HADFIELD - A New Grass Roots Organisation Has Germinated Which Plots To Sow The Seeds Of Change

Following a post on this blog by AR which you can read here there has been a steady trickle of e-mails to the site from local residents expressing interest in the subject. Consequently, the issue of lack of allotments in the area and in Hadfield specifically was discussed at the October meeting of TAHRA.

A decision followed to contact everyone who had expressed an interest, to discuss the subject, with a view setting up a local group that would campaign for allotment allocation in Hadfield. An inaugural meeting was held at the New Lamp, Bankbottom, Hadfield on Tuesday 28th October.

It was attended by around a dozen people, half of whom wanted an allotment and three of whom had already applied or given up trying. The meeting decided that they did indeed wish to set up an autonomous group that would press the council to discharge its duty to provide much needed
allotment land.

The first action of the group was to produce posters that have now been distributed to shops throughout Hadfield, asking anyone who wants a plot or who already has their name down for one, to contact them either through this site at tinhadra@aol.com or by phoning 866240. The idea is to try and establish just how many people there are wanting plots and to inform them about future meetings and/or activities that the group initiates.

The next planned meeting of Dig Hadfield is scheduled for Tuesday 25th November at the New Lamp, Bankbottom, Hadfield at 7.30pm although this is subject to confirmation nearer the time.
By way of an update, I can confirm that Dig Hadfield are now truly autonomous, as their very own blog has now been set up only today and can be found by clicking here. For reference, you can now contact them directly at dighadfield@gmail.com although we will still be happy to forward mail to them. We also have a permanent link to the site that you can find on the blue panel to the right hand side of this blog.

Co-incidentally and unbeknown to Dig Hadfield at the time of their inaugural meeting, another group led by Mark Alix has been created, entitled Glossop Action For Allotments (GAFA) who share the same aims. They will be presenting a petition to the Council in the morning (Friday 7th November), outside the Chinley offices of High Peak Borough Council, at 10am .
We wish the group maximum success tomorrow and Mark has said he intends to attend the next Dig Hadfield meeting, so the movement to move earth seems to have well and truly taken root.

Residents Meeting - MONDAY JULY 7TH, 8.00PM the NEW LAMP, BANKBOTTOM

Next Monday is the 7th July and it is the first Monday in the month which means Tintwistle and Hadfield Residents Association (TAHRA) will meet at the New Lamp, Bankbottom, Hadfield at our usual time of 8.00pm prompt.

This month we have not one but two guest speakers, which is good news for all those of you who don't want to hear me all night long.

Top of the Agenda of course are the proposed closures of Tintwistle Post Office and Hadfield Delivery Office. I am therefore pleased to confirm that Dave Kennedy the Branch Secretary of the Communications Workers Union (CWU) will address the meeting in person.

He will explain the issues, provide an update and answer all your questions. I have also had a phone call from a local Councillor confirming their attendance. It's clearly a topic of grave concern and promises to be a lively meeting, so get there early if you don't want to end up in the gallery.

Regarding the proposed Tintwistle closure, we have already produced a postcard (see above) which will be distributed around the village and the Brosscroft area next week. Residents will just need to sign and return it, although written letters are always preferable. Our response to the Delivery Office closure is something that I hope will come out of the meeting.

Our second guest speaker is Jo Osborn who has been in the local press recently over her battle with HPBC. She is attempting to prevent them from building flats on a greenfield site on Lambgates. She will outline the issues involved and her reasons for opposing the plans. The proposed development comes before planning on Monday 21st July. Comments can be made up until that date by clicking here.

Our final Agenda item will be to give another mention to the Local Development Framework. It may not sound very catchy or interesting and it's something I've been banging on about all year. However Friday 25th July is the final day for responding to the consultation document 'Shaping the Future of High Peak', which you can do here or here.

Basically it is your chance to tell the council what you do and don't want to see happen over the next 20 years. Bang in your form, get yourself on the list of consultees and you will have a greater say in what goes on in your area in the months and years to come. I have provided a fuller explanation in a previous blog which you can find here

---------------------------------AGENDA ITEMS-------------------------------

1. Dave Kennedy - Branch Secretary CWU - Tintwistle P.O/Hadfield L.D.O. closure threat.

2. Jo Osborn - Proposed Lambgates development.

3. Plea to respond to Local Development Framework http://consultation.limehouse.co.uk/highpeak/drafts/46/index.html

4. AOB
-----------------------------------------END------------------------------------

NEXT RESIDENTS MEETING

Hi Everyone

Just a quick blog to make viewers aware that our next meeting is tomorrow evening at the usual time and venue (The New Lamp, Bankbottom, Hadfield at 8.00pm) As a general rule we meet the first Monday in each month, except when there's a Bank Holiday. All welcome.

If you live in Hadfield, you may be aware by now that the Post Office sorting depot is threatened with closure. Postmen themselves delivered the devastating news to virtually every household in Hadfield, putting in a shift to deliver thousands of leaflets after their own shifts finished last Tuesday and Wednesday. A copy of the leaflet and further details will be available in a following blog.

Whilst not the only lively local topic, it is one that we obviously need to discuss, with a view to helping reverse what appears to be an imminent threat. Officially the list of proposed closures will be unveiled on June 10th but the fact that union reps have acted so swiftly in getting out warning leaflets suggests very strongly that Hadfield is on that list.