Issue 04Autumn 2012

Inside this issue...

page 2The Willow Works community garden is under development

page 3Groundwork celebrates apprentice successes

page 4Seasonal fun marks launch of Wickham Gardens park

page 5Groundwork in the districts - North East Derbyshire

Sticking it where the sun shines!

Creswell Crags has truly gone green with the installation of 72 solar panels on the roof of its visitor centre. This means that natural sunlight, converted into energy, will now be powering the prestigious visitor attraction. It is the latest in a number of improvements to the centre this year.

After a raft of government incentives, the UK is now recognising solar electricity as an excellent source of power. Contrary to the long-held myth, it doesn’t necessarily need direct sunlight to work – still generating electricity on a cloudy day.

Solar electric is an excellent cheap, renewable energy supply that doesn’t put pressure on the earth’s resources, making it a perfect choice for the

natural environment of Creswell Crags.

The large system was installed by Crestra Solar, Groundwork’s renewable trading arm. Crestra has worked on various projects for housing associations and local authorities installing different

renewable energy measures.

Ian Wall, Director of Creswell Heritage Trust, said:

“Creswell Heritage Trust is working to make an already green building even greener and is delighted to have worked with Groundwork to install the new solar panels on the roof of the Visitor Centre.”

Darren Pollard, Construction Manager at Crestra added:

“By installing the solar electric system, Creswell Crags is demonstrating to the community that solar electric is a genuine option for all types of buildings. It saves on energy bills and protects the environment for future generations.”

Creswell Crags Visitor Centre now powered by solar energy!

The Groundwork Centre96 Creswell Road, ClowneChesterfield, DerbyshireS43 4NATel: 01246 570977Fax: 01246 813200creswell@groundwork.org.ukwww.groundwork-creswell.org.ukwww.crestra.co.uk

Creswell, Ashfield and Mansfield Newsletter

page 6Limestone Journeys holds Festival of the Outdoors

1. Solar panels

2. Inverter

3. Meter

Fuse board

4. Free electricity!

5. Surplus sold to grid

Community garden underwayCrestra is about to start works on an innovative community space thanks to grants from the Community Spaces fund and Notts County Council’s Local Improvement Scheme.

The land, which is situated next to Groundwork’s Willow Works heritage centre, will be developed to provide a quality landscape setting for a host of community activities and events.

Through consultation with the local community, interest groups and the Beckingham History Group, an exciting plan for developing the land is in place. Features will include:

• Willow tree planting, sensory gardens and seating areas.

• Hedgerow planting containing a mix of all locally native species.

• An open mown grass events area for summer fetes, parties, exhibitions, workshops and shows.

• A demonstration willow plantation with an accessible boardwalk route.

• A small pond, with access for pond dipping.• Main site areas will be linked with a 1.5 metre wide

disabled accessible footpath.

An outdoor education and crafts training programe is being developed by the group in conjunction with Groundwork Creswell, Ashfield & Mansfield which, owns the building and land, and other specialist trainers such as basket weavers. The garden will be an attraction and will stand as a community facility in its own right but it will also benefit from facilities offered at the Willow Works.

Over recent months, extensive new works have been taking place at the world famous Creswell Crags site. Historically, Groundwork has had a long relationship with the Crags and this continues today.

As part of the new attractions, Groundwork has completed the installation of a mammoth tusk bone structure, a wide planting area, installation of boulders and re-seeding around the entrance area of the bone structure.

Further works also included the creation of a stone fire pit, complete with a pad locked steel plate. This will form an interesting new feature that will be utilised in coming months.

Wider developments to the site include a themed play area for young people.

The new features are expected to be launched to the public for the spring and summer season of 2013.

Teresa Allison, Groundwork manager for the project said:

“This has been a nice project to be involved in, and has built on an already great relationship between the Creswell Heritage Trust and Groundwork.

The new features add a wonderful new attraction to the centre and will attract a whole new audience to the venue.”

Several horticultural and construction apprentices also worked on the site. This meant that they gained valuable experience in a variety of new techniques.

GREAT MAMMOTH TUSKS!Groundwork and Crestra have been working over the summer months to install a range of new visitor attractions at the Creswell Crags heritage site.

It is fully kitted out to offer practical and classroom training in a variety of subject areas. It has painting and decorating bays, areas for woodwork and horticulture, as well as an all weather area for construction skills.

Another section of the training centre also sees young people learning plumbing and wall tiling skills. All courses are designed to give young people a real taste of practical work, giving them skills valuable for later life.

One of the attending groups comes once a week for a half a day to gain a taster of the different aspects of home maintenance.

Young people aged 11+ learn how to fix wall tiles, basic plumbing skills, re-wiring plugs and brickwork repairs.

The students, who attend Tibshelf school, work towards a certificate through the popular AIM Awards initiative. This sees the students undertake a variety of different units over two years to work towards an overall Diploma.

Clare Gaunt, teacher at Tibshelf said:

“The young people enjoy coming to the centre to learn many new skills and Paul, the supervisor, is

excellent with them. The AIM awards are a really good system for young people to gain skills and qualifications in areas that set them up well for further education, employment and the wider world.”

The young people clearly thrive in an environment very different to their normal day-to-day academic world. It gives them new skills and self confidence while helping with teamwork and communication skills.

Groundwork updates

lllHeffalump EnergyGroundwork and Crestra have been working together with Heffalump on a number of renewable energy projects. After these successes, it is hoped that a more formal partnership will be formed to roll out renewable projects throughout the area.

lllNew fishing pegsCrestra has recently acquired a project to install 30 fishing pegs at Carr Vale ponds.

lllCrestra SolarA new website has been launched to help people understand the fuss about solar electric. The site www.crestrasolar.co.uk gives info on the feed-in tariffs, eligibility and the latest prices.

lllDerbyshire InsulationCrestra is conducting a major loft insulation scheme for over 1400 of Derbyshire council’s housing stock. This is to prepare houses for the winter season. It’s an exciting and fast moving project that requires four teams to work, supported by an office team.

Thirty apprentices came together recently to be recognised for their achievements and receive their certificates for a level 1 qualification they completed during their first few weeks of employment on the Apprenticeship Programme.

Nine of these 30 apprentices are working with Groundwork and Crestra to gain valuable experience and skills for their future careers.

During their initial induction week the apprentices were involved in a variety of practical, physical and theoretical individual and team activities and challenges. The common theme was

to explore the values and expectations of the workplace and the process gave them an understanding of the invaluable, transferable, soft skills that managers and employers require.

To date, the apprentices have been working on a number of live projects for Groundwork and Crestra. This supplemented with classroom training each week at the Groundwork training centre.The funding for the programme comes from a mixture of Community Regeneration Trust, Working Neighbourhoods Fund and placement partner contributions.

Aiming highGroundwork’s South Normanton training centre offers the opportunity for young people to learn many practical skills.

APPRENTICESUCCESS

Young people celebrate

Bolsover DC hold official event to recognise

success of apprenticeship programme

A village renewalThe partnership between Bolsover District Council and Groundwork to deliver the village renewals programme has now entered its 12th year. The programme has been a major success for both partners.

The initial programme of work started out as a training programme for local unemployed young people. These individuals worked with experienced Groundwork construction supervisors to learn new skills and gain valuable work experience.

Over the years, hundreds of properties throughout Whaley Thorns have been refurbished. The majority of the buildings are terraces, builtfor the two local collieries which closed in 1978 and 1993, havinga major effect on the area. The building works involve new roofs,

new rainwater goods, repointing chimney stacks, structural improvements, new windows and doors, re-pointing brickwork, render, external decoration, footpathworks, fencing and gates.

Over the life of the programme, hundreds of trainees have had an

opportunity to learn key construction skills on live sites.

Due to the length and nature of the programmes, there is no doubt that the improvements made have been a major catalyst to the improvement of the villages and communities as a whole.

Seasonal fun marks launch of revamped community facilityWickham Gardens in Lincoln held an event on 27 October to celebrate the first stages of a project to revamp the area. This follows a three year campaign by SWINGS (Save Wickham Gardens - Children Need Green Spaces) to keep the garden area open for young families in uphill Lincoln.

A children’s show, pumpkin carving competition, circus skills, giant games and face-painting were on the menu to attract and entertain the youngsters. For the grown-ups there was the opportunity to look around the wonderful green space, situated in the heart of historic Lincoln. A consultation was carried out on the day to gain people’s thoughts and opinions as to how the space can be developed further for local residents and workers.

The site has historic significance and is tucked away under the imposing protection of the Westgate Water Tower.This initial stage of the project has been funded through the ‘Transform Your Patch’ initiative. This has involved painting the railings and carving new benches in the park. The campaign focuses on transforming spaces in four outdoor project areas for everyone to enjoy. The campaign is a partnership between leading environmental regeneration charity Groundwork and favourite soft drink brands from Britvic and PepsiCo.

TRANSFORM YOUR PATCHThis is a partnership between environmental regeneration charity Groundwork and favourite soft drink brands from Britvic and PepsiCo. Every single soft drink purchased of any of the participating brands represents a real 1cm² piece of land that will be transformed. It’s a simple way for people to contribute to a long-lasting legacy on their patch.

Groundwork is currently working on a number of design projects with various groups throughout the district.

Eckington Sure Start Centre, Dronfield Skate Park, Cutthorpe Play Area and Sharley Park School are all in an early stage of development to discuss various design projects.

Groundwork is constantly working with schools, parish councils and local authorities to improve green space for residents and workers in the North East Derbyshire area. If you have any ideas on how you would like to see green spaces used and developed then please do not hesitate to contact us at the details provided.

Groundwork in the districts - North East Derbyshire

School services

Groundwork has had a long history of working with schools and training providers in the North East Derbyshire area. Young people have worked on live sites in the locality whilst also attending the Groundwork Training Centre on a number of programmes.

During 2011- 2013 no fewer than 20 young people from schools such as Tupton Hall, Eckington and Dronfield attended Groundwork on a range of accredited and vocational programmes. These programmes have commonly been in the construction and painting and decorating subject areas.

NEDDC new build partnership Crestra has entered into a partnership to build new homes in NEDDC on disused garage sites.

The partnership intends to develop three sites with a focus on affordable and desirable designs to meet demand for homes in the district. The project will allow apprentices to have the opportunity to build new homes from initial commencement to hand over of completed homes.Work is to commence on site in Spring 2013 subject to planning approvals.

nity Park29thSep 2011

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Football pitch area: parish council to be approached to discuss the possibility of improving quality of the pitch e.g.area levelled, large stones removed and re-seeded. Area occasionally used for village events such as galas and fetes.

Pop up power source for gala events

Potentially noisy activities (such as play area) kept at a distance from adjacent residential properties

Former pond area retained as a wildlife area. No direct access for safety reasons and to encourage biodiversity

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Entrance to park: explore the possibility of a community art project to create gates, signage or mosaic paving at the entrance

Existing trees and shrubs used as a natural play resource.

Access to allotments

Informal picnic area2 picnic benches designed to accommodate wheelchair users. Logs cleared from elsewhere could be used as benches too.

BinTeenagers’ play equipent to south east of site so as to be close to existing BMX track through woodland

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Roundabout- wheelchair accessible

Chime spingers: inclusive, sensory play

Junior swings

Basket swing suitable for a wide range of ages

Proludic ‘Turnfly’ equip-ment (ages 12-99)

Proludic: IXO tower, steel slide, incline net, tower, rope ladder.

Material excavated from path to be reused on site to create a ‘snake’! A grass mound 1m high. Natural play opportunities but also informal seating for football spectators.

Crocodile springy

Wobbly bridge between earth mounds

Logs used to create, low stepping stone trail

Western boundary of site softened by the creation of a small (20 trees) community orchard containing fruit varieties originating in Nottingham-shire. Area underplanted with spring flowering bulbs

0-6 yrs play area

6-12 yrs play area

Teen play area

Access to water monitoring station maintained and kept clear

Differential mowing regime:Edge of playing field softened by allowing grass to grow and creation of areas of wildflower meadows: habitat creation will provide a visually ore dynamic environ-ment as well asencouraging biodiversity.

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Walesby Community Parksketch proposals

2metre wide path: liestone to dust, timber edged

Groundwork Creswell, Ashfield and Mansfield works in partnership with eight local authorities. This covers large parts of North Nottinghamshire, North Derbyshire and South Yorkshire. With so many projects running it is hard to showcase them all. Here is a selection of projects that are benefitting the North East Derbyshire District....

Design projects in developmentGroundwork Creswell is one of the organisations delivering the government’s Youth Contract.

This means in the Derbyshire area, Groundwork is helping young people who are aged 16 /17; not in school, training or work; and with no GCSE A*-C grades.

Groundwork is providing:

• long-term support and advice from a mentor;

• access to courses, activities and facilities to build confidence and skills;

• help with finding college courses, apprenticeships or work;

• backup for six months to make sure young people have chosen the right path.

Youth Contract

Trevor WittsExecutive Director GCAM/Crestra Ltd

Specific enquiries to:

Darren PollardConstruction, housing and landscape

Caralynn GaleEducation, training and skills

Lindsey-Jane BuxtonMarketing and communications

Head office:96 Creswell RoadClowneChesterfieldDerbyshire S43 4NATel: 01246 570977Fax: 01246 813200

Worksop office:Rear of Sandy Lane Retail ParkBabbage WayWorksopNotts S80 1UJFax: 01909 479695

Key Groundwork contacts...

E-mail: creswell@groundwork.org.ukWebsite: www.groundwork-creswell.org.uk www.crestra.co.uk www.crestrasolar.co.uk

Harwick Hall provides an excellent setting for partners of the Limestone Journeys project to come together and celebrate.

Festival of the outdoors

The Groundwork construction team has completed works to the building now used by the Bassetlaw Voluntary Community Service (BCVS).

The building is located next to the historic Priory Church in the heart of Worksop town centre.

Extensive works have been carried out to the external surroundings of the building. This includes the creation of a courtyard area, paving, pathways, flower beds, planting and landscaping.

The project was funded by the monies raised by the

BCVS as part of awider, overall plan to renovate the centre. This has taken place over a few years and now sees the building host offices, a drop in centre, events space and a coffee shop.

To mark the completion of the final phases of development, an open day was held. This was well attended by many people representing local voluntary groups, charities and individual volunteers.

A plaque was unveiled at the official opening ceremony for the centre on 27 September 2012.

A grand opening

On 28 October 2012, the Festival of the Outdoors was held at Hardwick Hall. This saw a range of stalls showing a range of products, crafts and skills for visitors.

The event is part of the Limestone Journeys initiative which has secured £1.9 million of Heritage Lottery Funding, the total funding for the project bringing £2.9

million of heritage investment to the scheme area (the Parishes of Ault Hucknall, Barlborough, Belph, Clowne, Elmton, Glapwell, Hodthorpe, Old Bolsover Town, Pleasley, Scarcliffe, Shirebrook).

Groundwork is a key partner in Limestone Journeys which uses heritage and biodiversity as a catalyst for cultural and social regeneration.