The following is a response from Darren York, who is Operations Manager for Yorkshire and the East Midlands of the BTCV, to an email enquiry regards the condition of the Old School.
The following is a response from Darren York, who is Operations Manager for Yorkshire and the East Midlands of the BTCV, to an email enquiry regards the condition of the Old School. He can be contacted at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Response
We make every effort to maintain and improve the premises with the limited resources available to us as a Registered Charity. We recently replaced the window on the gable end at Chestnut Grove at no small cost, and have a programme of window replacement and maintenance in place for the coming year which will see further improvements to the main building. The hard-surfaced areas of the grounds of the building are weeded and swept as regularly as we can manage, more often than not by our volunteers. The resources we do have available are often taken up dealing with the aftermath of vandalism and littering. While we are fortunate not to have suffered any major vandalism for a number of months now, frequent damage to windows and vehicles in particular have caused us to incur significant expense over the last few years, and unfortunately this does restrict the resources which we're able to commit to carrying out other desirable improvements.
I can appreciate that the aesthetic value of the old, prefabricated, classroom is limited to say the least. It is also intrinsically difficult to maintain owing to the antiquated method of its construction. We have tried to screen it with planting in the past, but have found that this provides cover for unwanted visitors in the evenings and leads to further vandalism. We are currently considering what options there may be to improve its appearance, but I would like to reiterate that our resources are limited.
The green areas of the grounds have also suffered greatly in recent times from vandalism. It is for this reason that we now have to lock both gates to the premises in the evenings, and why we are unable to provide the level of public access which we would like. The area to the rear, on the left as you look at the premises from Main Street, is our nursery plot which is used to raise native trees and flowers. Unfortunately we are no longer able to make full use of the polytunnel in this are due to persistent vandalism. The main green area is intended as a wildlife area. It contains many different features and habitats and has recently benefited from the production of a management plan which has been produced by a student as part of her studies towards NVQ Level 3 Environmental Conservation. As a result, we now have a schedule of management in place for this area, and you will note that the hedgerow to the left of the premises has recently been laid. This is a traditional form of hedgerow management which prolongs the life of the hedge and retains it values for wildlife. We also have a wildlife pond which teams with life, and plants in other areas are chosen for their value to native wildlife. The stack of deadwood is a habitat pile which is valuable for invertebrates. While I'm grateful for your suggestions of how this area can be "tidied up", you may perhaps understand that what appears as untidy to some, is actually a diverse wildlife habitat(indeed we've received a number of positive comments from local residents recently about how wonderful this area is looking).
Thank you for taking the time to provide me with your comments - we will continue to improve the appearance of the building and grounds with the resources which are available to us.
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