Saltburn WWI Centenary Commemoration Day

It was an extraordinary act in the midst of the horrors of war: on Christmas Day, 1914, British and German soldiers on the Western Front put down their guns to play a game of football. Now, to mark the centenary of the start of the First World War, Saltburn beach will be transformed into a no-man’s-land on as that infamous match is recreated.

The event, on June 1st will see teams dress up in vintage army uniforms from the era as Saltburn plays its part in remembering those who made the ultimate sacrifice.




Event organiser Allan Whiley, who works for Barclays, said: “I really wanted to do something to mark the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of World War One and I wanted the town to play a part in remembering the futility of the conflict.

Last year I started planning to re-enact the Christmas Day truce football match on the beach and on behalf of Saltburn Rotary Club and with the Royal British Legion and other groups, we began to pull ideas together such as the Tiger Moth flyover which will involve dropping 40,000 poppy petals on to the beach.

It's a free event and everyone is welcome to come along and help us mark the anniversary. The public response has been overwhelming so far in terms of support and it continues to grow as we move towards June 1.

We’ve already started selling the poppy crosses at £1 each and we’ve had people from Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Poland that have bought them as they remember relatives who were involved in the tragedy of war.”

While the match kicks off at 2pm, there will be plenty going on throughout the day with the event taking place from 10am to 6pm. Bands will play next to the pier and there will be a display of vintage vehicles and re-enactment groups on the lower promenade as well as a replica of a First World War trench. There will also be trade stalls and children's entertainments along the bottom promenade.

A Tiger Moth aircraft will fly over the pitch dropping 40,000 poppy petals and a temporary 'War Cemetery' is planned with a field of 5000 poppy crosses planted in the sand on behalf of the Royal British Legion in tribute to the soldiers who never returned from the battlefield.

There will also be a pop-up exhibition from London’s Imperial War Museum.

Proceeds from the event, to be match funded by Barclays, will go to the East Cleveland branch of the Royal British Legion who will use the funds to restore Saltburn’s War Memorial.

David Willis, for the Saltburn branch of the Royal British Legion, said: “The local branch of the Royal British Legion is proud to be involved.

The Legion will be selling poppy crosses which the public can buy and place in a garden of remembrance on Saltburn beach before they are put on display in a more permanent place.”

When the tide comes in on the day, there will be a short service by a church leader from Saltburn while a bugler plays The Last Post.

In the evening there will be a play set in 1918 and a big band playing in the Community Theatre.

Anyone interested in being involved can contact the organiser Allan Whiley on 07775553049

Saltburn Ward Newsletter

COUNCILLOR STUART SMITH
SALTBURN WARD NEWSLETTER APRIL 2014
stuart.smith@redcar-cleveland.gov.uk Contact no. 07557 540628


POSSIBLE NEW OCCUPIERS MARSKE MILL LANE SCHOOL
According to Earthbeats Newsletter they are in consultation with Redcar and Cleveland Council to occupy this site. If Earthbeat are successful in acquiring the site they will be asking for help to renovate the building. As a Ward Councillor I have not been officially informed of these proposals but I am aware that talks are ongoing. With regards to the playing field, a builder is in communication with the authority’s planning department to build residential homes with the site entrance on Marske Mill Lane.

SALTBURN IN BLOOM JUDGING DAY
The spring judging will take place in the Northumbria in Bloom competition during the morning of Tuesday the 8th April.

RESURFACING VALLEY GARDENS PATHS
Work has commenced in the Valley Gardens to complete the temporary repair work that was carried out as a result of the flooding on the 6th September 2013. The work will reinstate the top resurface of the path ways through the Valley Gardens.

OPENING OF REDCAR & CLEVELAND LEISURE AND COMMUNITY HEART
The opening of the new £31m Redcar & Cleveland Leisure and Community Heart will be on Saturday 26 April. The new facility for the borough is situated in the heart of Redcar town centre, near to the town’s railway station.
This development will provide a focal point for local communities and visitors and include swimming pools, a wave simulator, register office, fitness suites and conference facilities.
Redcar & Cleveland Leisure and Community Heart will also be home to the borough’s new council chamber, which will also double up as a multi-purpose space that can be used for community activities.
The mayor’s parlour, accommodation for small and medium sized businesses and retail space will also be located at the Ridley Street site.
Everyone Active the leisure providers for the Council have announced that the opening event will see Olympic stars, European and British champions mixing with the general public on a day when all our activities will be completely free of charge.

UPDATE CLIFF LIFT DRIVERS CABIN
The refurbished driver station cabin was reinstated on Marine Parade on its base on Friday 28th March. Work will continue within the coming weeks to return it to working order. There are plans to repaint the Pier Cliff Lift.

COUNCIL TAX SET TO RISE 1.994%
At the Borough Council meeting held on the 6th March it was passed by the Borough Councillors to increase this year’s council tax rise by 1.944%.
Councillors voted 31-20 to accept the council’s medium term financial strategy, and the proposed council tax rise. It means the council tax for a non-parish Band D property will be £1,661.43 - a rise of £27.18 a year, or 52p a week. A non-parish Band A bill rises 35p a week to £1,107.62. Any council tax increase above 2% would have triggered a local referendum on the decision.

Sustrans Rangers Saltburn work day.

Anyone walking into Saltburn along the black path beside the railway will have seen a transformation on the land just before the allotments. A result of two years volunteer work, this week has seen the final clearance of the asbestos fly tipping which had lain hidden in a heap for twenty years until found overgrown and matted in briers.

Sustrans hired a JCB team in cooperation with the Council to clear the site returning it to nature. This weekend saw the Rangers surface pick the soil to clear away bottles, old bricks, fence posts, lumps of concrete and years of hand dropped litter including hundreds of drink cans to uncover a beautiful fertile top soil.

This will be left fallow for six-eight weeks then sprayed off and planted with Poppy as a tribute in remembrance of the WWI fallen.

The Wild Flower Meadow planted with £250 worth of seed last Autumn is starting to grow. Enjoy it and thank you to all the volunteers that have helped create it.

Pictures show the Sustrans Redcar & Cleveland Rangers planting Bluebells and clearing the site.







Philip Chisholm, Ranger Coordinator, wishes to thank the seventeen Rangers that have given a total of 810 voluntary hours so far to this project and also to the Neighbourhood Council Team that have supported our efforts.







Anyone wishing to go on short training cycle rides get in touch, we are also organising fitness walks.

Sustrans.
Helping to make sustainable transport a beautiful and enjoyable opportunity, after all, life is all about the journey.

Philip Chisholm
Sustrans Redcar & Cleveland Ranger Volunteer Coordinator.
T:01642 485322
M:07802 936 414

Dog Foul and Fly Tipping.
The Sustrans Volunteers restart their by-weekly dog foul and horse dung clearance of the black path from Marske to Saltburn this April. This path is currently in a disgusting state after a winter without the volunteers cleaning it.
A warning to those that do not pick up their dog's foul. The new £1000 fines are now in force with up to 10 years in prison for fly tipping.

Saltburn Ward Newsletter March 2014

Councillor Stuart Smith
stuart.smith@redcar-cleveland.gov.uk Contact no. 07557 540628

PURCHASE OF CHILDREN BOOKS FOR SALTBURN LIBRARY The three Saltburn Ward Councilors’ have agreed to fund the purchase of 70 new children’s books for ages 0 – 5 for Saltburn Library from their Ward Councilors’ fund .

RESUMPTION OF GARDEN WASTE COLLECTIONS The collection of garden waste has resumed from the 1st March. This waste is collected together with the blue recycling waste bin.

BIG STEP TOWARDS CLEANING UP THE SALTBURN GILL
The Coal Authority working in close partnership with the Saltburn Gill Action Group and the Environment Agency has successfully halted the worst of three flows of polluted water from the abandoned ironstone mines of East Cleveland. Mine water has flowed from old mine workings to the south of Saltburn since 1999 causing severe pollution of the Saltburn Gill and Skelton Beck. The unsightly orange stream flowed over the beach and into the North Sea. The Saltburn Gill Action Group was set up by concerned local residents with help from the Environment Agency to raise the profile of the problem; The Coal Authority became involved initially in an advisory capacity in 2008 to guide the group through a feasibility study. During the summer of 2013 the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) funded the Coal Authority to pump water from the mines to halt the polluting outflows. This water is partially cleaned up as it passes through the first stage of a treatment scheme built by the Coal Authority. The treatment works are clearly visible on the opposite side of the Skelton –by-pass road opposite the new Asda store. Due to the Coal Authority treatment scheme the worst of the polluting flows has been halted. It will continue to pump in order to dry up all the mine water pollution. In 2014, a large wetland will be added to the treatment scheme to remove iron from the water using natural processes before the treated water is returned to the Gill. These reed beds will provide both filtration of the mine water to remove iron particles and a new environment for wildlife in the area and will restore the Gill into a place where nature can thrive once again.

SALTBURN LEISURE CENTRE IMPROVED VISITOR NUMBERS The numbers of visitors to Saltburn Leisure Centre are at a record high under the new operators ‘Everyone Active’. To date from the 1st April 2013 there have been 266,000 visits, an increase of 33,000. Everyone Active have invested over 400K in Saltburn Leisure Centre creating a new fitness suite, a larger dance studio, completely refurbished dry-side changing rooms, redecorated reception, improvements to the external appearance and undertaken the refurbishment of the Parish Council office and chamber which are located in this building. They have also increased the choice and numbers of fitness classes available at the centre.

CUT THROUGH FROM THE CRESCENT TO PIG ALLEY
The three Saltburn Ward Councillors lobbied hard for the reopening of this popular used walkway between The Crescent and Marske Mill Lane after the owners Coast and Country Housing closed it on safety grounds. This resulted in the resurfacing of the cut and the replacing of new safety bollards.

UPDATE ON REFURBISHMENT OF DRIVERS STATION CLIFF LIFT
Work commenced on the 24 February and will take 6 weeks to complete.

Saltburn surfer knocked unconscious whilst surfing off Staithes.

A 56-year-old surfer from Saltburn was taken to hospital this morning (Monday) after being knocked unconscious while surfing off Staithes.




Saltburn's Gary Rogers, (pictured in the background) proprietor of the Saltburn Surf Shop and described as a “surf legend” by the website Surf Nation, is a highly experienced surfer with more than 40 years of surfing history. He was surfing at a spot known as The Cove, near Staithes when he hit his head on the scar/scaur at low tide and was left unconscious as two sets of waves broke over him.

Fellow surfers carried him to Staithes and Runswick RNLI boathouse where he regained full consciousness. The RNLI station doctor Graham Croft treated him for knee and minor head injuries. He was also attended by paramedics from the Air Ambulance service whose helicopter landed at Cowbar and by the North East Ambulance service who took him to James Cook Hospital, Middlesbrough.

The Cove is a highly favoured location for its big break but is regarded as suitable only for experienced surfers. A Staithes RNLI spokesperson said: “Anyone in trouble on the foreshore should always carry a mobile phone and call the Coastguard. Ideally, any casualty should be kept on the foreshore until help arrives.”

Saltburn Ward Councillors Newsletter February 2014

COUNCILLOR STUART SMITH
stuart.smith@redcar-cleveland.gov.uk Contact no. 07557 540628

REFURBISHMENT OF THE CLIFF LIFT DRIVERS CABIN
Listed building consent has been submitted to dismantle and undertake refurbishment work on the Saltburn Cliff Lift Drivers Cabin located on Marine Parade. The main timber structure of the Driver`s Cabin has been affected by decay, due to age, wear and tear and the exposed location of the building. Previous patch repairs and splicing of timbers have not been successful and are showing signs of extensive deterioration. The Cliff Lift is a Grade 2 listed building and authorization had to be sought from English Heritage to carry out the required work. Once complete residents and visitors will notice no difference in appearance to the cabin because its replacement will be an exact replica. Works should be complete for the season opening of the lift in April.

REINSTATEMENT OF PLAY EQUIPMENT SEESAW GLENSIDE PLAY PARK
The seesaw located in the play park Albion Terrace had to be removed in the summer due to this equipment becoming a hazard. Replacement was unlikely under the financial restraints. At my request Councillor Thomson and Guy have agreed to fund the replacement from Saltburn Ward Councillors Community fund.

CLOSURE OF ‘THE WORKS’ BY SCAA MARSKE MILL LANE BASE SCHOOL
Due to the financial difficulties that Saltburn Community Arts Association are facing at this present moment, the trustees of this organization have decided that the running of The Works @ Marske Mill in the former Saltburn Primary School at Marske Mill Lane as a community are no longer viable. Negotiations are underway with the Council to return the lease which was acquired under a community asset transfer back to the control of the local authority. The building will now be advertised either as a separate entity for community use or jointly with the available playing field as a residential development opportunity.

UPDATE: STORM DAMAGE LOWER PROMENADE AND PIER
Stonemasons have started work replacing the sandstone blocks which make up the construction of the sea wall and slip ways. Damaged railings will not be re installed until this work is complete. The Council has also employed a civil engineer to assess the necessary work required to repair the pier amusement arcade building.

NEW SIGNAGE: DOG DIRT OFFENDING
To try and counter the continuous problem of irresponsible dog owners not picking up after their own dogs, which appears to affect all parts of the town, the Ward Councilors have funded the purchase of 20 Dog Watch signs. The signs will clamp around lampposts in dog fouling hotspots. 2 of the sides will indicate a Dog Watch area with telephone numbers to report sighted offenders. The remaining side will have a different design to profile the winning painting from a competition on the subject by a local school pupil.

ROAD LINE MARKING
The local authority is drawing up a list of works required for road line marking in the town which will be undertaken in the spring. At present the list is quite substantial but if you feel that a particular area should be added for re-lining, please do not hesitate to contact me and the area will be inspected for suitability for the scheme. The lining is for the renewing of old road lines only.

News and views from the Valley

What a relief! Flushed with success! Okay, we are a bit euphoric about the fact that the Woodland Centre now has a toilet! It is very significant though. It really is the final piece in the jigsaw that makes the centre fit for hire. So please consider The Woodland Centre as a venue for family and group activities and celebrations. Days are beginning to get longer again. Where better for your children’s party? Tutus and wellies are a fabulous combination and I know this first hand.

The Christmas tree selling venture: well, sadly we are not awash with profit and the committee will not be holidaying in the Caribbean this year. We worked very hard and have just about broken even on our outlay. Lots of people said “If only we had known,” or “There wasn’t enough publicity.” Other people were put off because we could not unwrap all the trees for inspection and we realise
that was an important issue. We had very good feedback from people who did buy from us. Many emailed to say their tree was the best they had ever bought and hope we do it again. So thank you to all who did support us and we are having a big think about whether we should do it again and where or how etc. Any thoughts or opinions: contact our web site.

The Task group has continued to meet every Friday. New undergrowth clearing work has been done in the community orchard and paths opened up for the enjoyment of the public. We are also pleased to report that Millfield Meadow which has been the focus of a lot of our work has now obtained the status of a People’s Meadow in the Coronation Meadow scheme. This is a national initiative to revive Britain’s lost and endangered wild flower meadow sites (Google Coronation Meadows). Thanks to Katie for all her hard work on this.

This time last year the disabled access path was a churned up building site. One year on and it is looking attractive and full of creative possibility. More work has recently been done in digging up the old ramp which was a slip hazard and putting in some more steps. We are planning to make the top grassed area into a mini meadow and we have the continuing help of the Community Payback Team on projects around the site.

I really hope that we are not facing more onslaughts of extreme weather in the near future. Bring on the spring flowers and new life in the Valley. I can’t wait!
www.saltburnwoodlandcentre.co.uk

Valley Adventures still have an operational base at the centre.
Here is their latest message:

"We will be launching our new website in February and offering even more activities this year, such as gorge walking, rock climbing, abseiling, hill walking and stand up paddling. We have also applied for accreditation by the Adventure Activity Licensing Authority (AALA) to offer these activities to youngsters. Further, we are proud to be working closely with Hunley Golf Course to support their corporate clients and outdoor enthusiasts.

Thanks to all of you for supporting Valley Adventures in 2013 and we look forward to sharing great outdoor experiences with you this year.”