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Restoration: You Make It Happen

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If there's a building in your area you'd like to save, tune into 'Restoration: You Make it Happen' on Community Channel, featuring buildings of local and historical interest, which were “rescued” from dereliction by the enthusiasm, dedication and sheer hard work of volunteers in the community.

Thanks to the feistiness of Pam Gee of Hayfield, and the dedication and sheer persistence of the local community, the Kinder Sheep-Wash was restored to its former glory. It had been out of use since the 1930s and narrowly missed total destruction in the early 60s when a farmer planned to dismantle it and sell off the stones.

Kinder Sheep Wash - Before and After

Restoration work started in January 2003 and it has since become part of a larger regional project recording and preserving artefacts of pre-war life in the Kinder Valley. The Hayfield Civic Trust believe that the sheep-wash epitomises everyday farming life in Hayfield as it used to be. Much of the restoration work was carried out by people from the local community, from draining the pond to hand-sorting the stones, to scrubbing the walls. Background to the project can be seen on the Kinder Sheep-Wash website.

Another project is the Plaza Theatre in Stockport. It was built in 1932 where three generations of cinema goers went to watch the movies before Mecca took over in the ‘60s, and ran it as a bingo hall for the next 30 years. When the last numbers were called in 1998 the building was left to rot. A group of enterprising local individuals saw an opportunity to restore the Grade II listed building to its former Art Deco elegance and return it to its original use as a cinema.

The Plaza, Stockport

They formed an action group and for 18 months campaigned to prevent developers turning it into a theme pub, and eventually convinced Stockport council to pay £500,000 for the building and carry out emergency repairs to stabilise it. It took more than 100 volunteers six gruelling months to breathe new life into the building. In October 2000 their efforts were rewarded and the first audience in 40 years enjoyed a film show - complete with the original Wurlitzer organ rising out of the floor! They are committed to completely restoring the building while incorporating some 21st century requirements. Get an update from the Plaza website.

Local hero Steve Hunt sold his house in 2003 to raise the money to buy the Victoria Pier in Colwyn Bay, Wales in the hope of saving a piece of local history from total extinction. The pier first opened in 1900, but sadly burned down in 1933. It rose from the ashes as a Art Deco Ballroom, but when the popularity of ballroom dancing waned in the late 50s, the pier was sold to the Trusthouse Forte group and the 60s saw its reincarnation as a night club.

Marple Iron Bridge

In 1976 moves to demolish the pier were halted when 4000 people petitioned to prevent it being pulled down. After years of neglect, Mike and Anne Paxman bought the pier in 1995 with hopes of rescuing it from dereliction. They were unable to raise the money to do the job and, in 2003 sold to Hunt for a six figure sum.

As the pier is privately owned, Steve is ineligible to apply for grant funding to carry out restoration work. Steve plans to raise the £4 million needed to pay for complete restoration by holding fund-raising events in the pavilion once it is habitable. See where he's got to by visiting the Victoria Pier website.

The final project 'Restoration: You Make It Happen' focused on was the Marple Iron Bridge in Stockport. Built in 1813, it's one of the few remaining examples in the UK of a cast iron bridge dating back to the age of industrialisation. The bridge was in constant use for nearly two centuries until it was closed to the public as it was thought to be unsafe.

Since 2001, Peter Clarke and Mark Whittaker have been campaigning to get it restored. With the help of Stockport Borough Council and the local history society they were awarded a Heritage Lottery Fund grant of £30,000 used to complete a specialist survey. They are now in the process of raising £250,000 for the restoration work itself.

They both feel strongly that too many “historical gems” in their town have already been lost and that without urgent action there would be no legacy from Marple’s industrial heyday. Get an update from their campaign diaries on the Marple website.

Last Updated ( Monday, 31 July 2006 )

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