News

Latest on the Lottery Bid

Fylde Council submitted their lottery bid on 7 September.  We wholeheartedly support the principle of the lottery bid but, in common with other community groups, we believe the Council's vision, and the principles behind this latest bid, will renovate and modernise, rather than restore and respect the Gardens. 

Councillor Coombes told the local paper that he wanted to see the area as a "vibrant leisure facility". We hoped they would focus on the fact that they are gardens,  not a leisure centre, and they are of significant historic importance to the town.

Based on expert opinion and public opinion surveys, we reluctantly advised the Council we were unable to support this version of their plan. Please see a summary of our position here, and our full response to the Council here. 

We thought and hoped we might have the gardens restored to Edwardian splendour -  something like the picture below.  Instead, the area of bedding-out plants will reduce by more than 600 square yards, and most of the landscape work has been slipped forward to a future scheme that may or may not happen at all. The present scheme is mostly for buildings and lighting. The Council remains unmoved in its intention to modernise the gardens, and looks set to repeat the mistake it made with St Annes Town Centre.

SOAG presents Cheque for Bulbs

On 5th October 2005, SOAG presented a cheque to Fylde Parks department for  £200 worth of spring flowering bulbs to be planted in the gardens. Presenting the cheque, Treasurer Jill Sumner said " We raise funds to protect, preserve and enhance the gardens, and we hope the displays of spring flowers will be brighter as a result of our donation today". The picture shows committee members Eileen Harvey, Audrey Bex, Jill Sumner, Fred Moor and receiving the cheque, Councillor Barbara Pagett.

Coffee Morning 

We are planning another coffee morning on 29 October 2005 at the United Reformed Church Hall. All will be welcome. Bric-a-brac etc donations to Jill Sumner please. Offers of help to man  stalls are also welcome.

Latest on the land sale

We understand that, against the wishes of many St Annes Residents, Fylde Council has now sold this part of the gardens to Newfield Jones Homes. 

Latest on the Charity Registration

Not a great deal to report at this time. The most recent information from the Council suggests they are trying to avoid having to register the land with the Charity Commission. We are in touch with both parties at the present time,  and monitoring developments. 

With bad grace, the Council has now accepted that it must register Lowther Gardens in Lytham as a charitable gift. Councillors said they should wash their hands of it now they are less able to control what happens there. We believe this to be an abdication of their responsibility to meet the recreational needs of the community. Follow this link for  SOAG's press release

Latest on the Institute

In late July 05, The Council's contractors began to dismantle the Institute. It was completed on 6 August. The Council's intention is to store the parts for up to two years, then, assuming they get the lottery bid (which is not certain) they plan to re-erect and restore it between the present toilets and the War Memorial.  Follow the "dismantling" link above and see if you think it is being carefully dismantled for restoration, or demolished with a few bits saved for token re-use.

At its September meeting, Councillor David meldrum of the recently formed Saint Anne's on Sea Parish Council moved a resolution saying "This Council notes with disquiet the careless manner in which the Ashton Institute has been dismantled, making the task of restoration appear both difficult and expensive. This Council reminds Fylde Borough Council of its public undertaking to restore the Institute on a new site within Ashton Gardens. This Council urges the Borough Council to be mindful of the wishes of the citizens to preserve the heritage of St Annes in all its aspects"  The Parish Council gave this resolution unanimous support. We are grateful to Councillor Meldrum and the St Annes Parish Council for their support.

Latest on the Rights of Way

We applied to have most to the paths through the gardens registered as rights of way. The path of  particular interest is the one (now closed), that runs alongside the Plaza building (map). This is where Newfield want to build their apartments, but they may build them further away if the path is added to the definitive map. 

The County Council's  "Regulatory  Committee"  considered our claim on Wednesday 31 August 05 in Committee Room B at County Hall, Preston. The advice from their legal officers (see the officers report), said that on balance our claim should not be accepted. The main reason for this is that because Fylde Council holds the gardens and provides them for recreation and pleasure, public use of the paths in them is not "as of right" but "by right" granted by the Council.

Whilst we accept this argument, we provided further evidence (copy letter) that our claim was not based on recreational or pleasure use within the gardens, but by shoppers and the like, using the land as a shortcut to town from home. We contend this use has been "as of right" for more than 20 years. We also pointed out that the town has a parish council that was not consulted on the claim, and asked for the decision to be delayed to allow them to comment.

The Committee decided they were minded not to accept our claim subject to the views of the Saint Annes on the Sea Parish Council being sought. We understand the Parish Council supported our request, but we await the minutes of their meeting.

Email list

We are setting up an email list so members of SOAG can keep up to date with the latest news as it happens, and we can do so cost effectively. If you would like to join the SOAG members emailing list, please send an email to info@ashtongardens.org.uk