www.goolecivicsociety.org.uk
GOOLE CIVIC SOCIETY AGM
APRIL 26[TH] 2023
Report by the Chair, Margaret Hicks-Clarke
I begin by paying tribute to Jean Kitchen, one of the founders of Goole Civic Society and our former chair, who sadly passed away on April 2nd. Jean’s vision and drive helped to get the society off the ground in 2011 and establish Goole’s first Conservation Area.
She also served Goole for many years on East Riding and Goole Town councils and was Mayor of Goole. Her tireless work on Goole in Bloom ensured the town centre had wonderful displays each summer, earning Goole a Yorkshire in Bloom Gold Award. She will be sadly missed by the Civic Society and the town of Goole.
John Clarke and I represented Goole Civic Society at her funeral on Monday April 24[th] and the society donated £20 to Cancer Research in her memory, as requested by her family.
Jean’s passing was a sad end to a busy year for the Civic Society. Here are some of the main highlights:
Calendar
The Goole Civic Society Calendar returned for 2023, on the theme of picture postcards, from a collection owned by Stephen Walker. For each month there are three postcards showing a well-known Goole location and a fourth picture showing it as it is now.
From a print of 200, we sold 159, making a profit of £335.97, which will help fund future projects. We are looking at options and costings for other types of merchandise, including water tower salt and pepper sets to commemorate Goole’s bicentenary.
Goole 2026
Earlier this month Stephen Walker, John Clarke and I attended a launch meeting of a group established to help coordinate events to celebrate Goole’s bicentenary in 2026. Stephen Walker has produced a list of suggestions from the Civic Society, including a 2024 event to mark the opening of the Lowther Hotel.
Meetings of the group will be held monthly and involve other interested parties.
Goole Town Deal Board
The Civic Society has continued to sit on the Goole Town Deal Board, delivering on the Town Investment Plan (TIP) which was developed to secure the £25m funding offer from the Government.
The TIP includes projects put forward by various stakeholders informed by consultation with the public, including East Riding Council’s town centre survey and Miracle on Aire Street, and also Goole Civic Society’s surveys on the town centre and Market Hall.
The Civic Society pushed for the refurbishment of the Market Hall, which we had been fighting to save for the people of Goole since 2019. We also have a particular interest in the public realm project, which covers the Conservation Area.
We objected to the re-siting of Goole Museum to the revamped Leisure Centre, as featured in initial plans put out for consultation and, as a result, the museum will remain at its current site.
The Town Deal work in the past year focused on the production by council officers and consultants of detailed business cases for each of the projects. The role of the Town Deal Board was to assess whether each project would deliver on the objectives set out in the TIP and to strict Government spending guidelines. This meant clearly demonstrating the strategic, economic, financial, commercial and management cases and how the project would contribute towards delivering Town Centre regeneration.
The business cases have now all been approved by the Government and work on the projects can start. The first project, Opportunity Goole, which is focused on ensuring the people of Goole have the best opportunities to secure high-value jobs and training, goes fully live at the Library in May.
Architects have been engaged to lead the building work on the Market Hall and Goole Civic Society has been included with Goole Town Council and Junction in a core stakeholder group.
Planning
We are pleased that, following his job change, Stephen Walker is now able to take a lead on planning.
Aire Street has continued to be a focus and we have made complaints to East Riding Council over the way some of the planning approvals have been handled. The sale of the Lowther Hotel and Counting House pub is a potential cause for concern and we will continue to keep a close eye on developments.
We have continued to push for the Goole Conservation Area Management and Maintenance Plan to be followed and to have the conservation area’s “at risk” status removed.
Heritage Open Days
For Heritage Open Days 2022, Stephen and Rachel Walker organised two walks on September 11th – a morning Town Tour and an afternoon Dock Walk, both focusing on the HODs theme of Innovation . Attendance was an incredible 45 in the morning and 80 in the afternoon! The Civic Society also helped with an open day at St John’s Church on September 17[th] .
Plans are underway for Heritage Open Days 2023, themed Creativity Unwrapped . The main feature will a Blue Plaque and film show to celebrate Dorothy Bartlam, a Goole film star from the 1920s and 30s. Goole Museum has agreed to arrange a pop-up exhibition and two memory workshops to coincide with this. There will be two walks on the theme of entertainment and the arts and St John’s will be open again.
TV appearance
The Grade II-listed Goole Railway Swing Bridge played a starring role in the TV programme Architecture the Railways Built on which I was interviewed about its history as a representative of the Civic Society.
The programme was shown on the Yesterday channel on April 4[th] and is available on catch-up. It is a fascinating watch, with the presenter Tim Dunn being taken into the bridge control room and operating the manual swing mechanism, which is largely the same as when the bridge was opened in 1869.
Accession of King Charles III
On September 11[th] , Stephen and Rachel Walker represented the Civic Society to hear the reading of the Proclamation of the Accession of King Charles III as Sovereign, which was held at Goole Cenotaph Memorial Gardens.
Other events
The society had a stall at Vintage in the Park, at which we sold our calendars. We have booked a place for the 2023 event in West Park on July 30[th] . We also sold calendars at the successful Christmas Fair organised by Goole Town Council in the Market Hall.
Stephen Walker gave a talk to Boothferry History Group and I gave talks to Retired Unison members and Doncaster Retired JPs, with fees going into Civic Society funds.
Funding / Donations
The society made a successful in bid to the Windfarm Community Fund for funding to replace the containers and plants at Alexandra Street corner.
We are currently seeking funding to refurbish the Reuben Chappell Trail and republish the accompanying booklets and to fund our Heritage Open Days / Blue Plaque events.
The society donated £50 to Goole in Bloom, £20 for a Remembrance Day wreath and £50 to St John’s Church roof appeal.
Memberships
We remain members of Civic Voice and Yorkshire and Humber Association of Civic Societies (YHACS), to which I was re-elected vice chair in January. I have stepped down from Together for Goole but Kevin Flynn remains a member.
Focus for coming year
-
Heritage Open Days / Dorothy Bartlam Blue Plaque
-
Goole 2026
-
Goole Town Deal
-
Protecting the Conservation Area
-
Refurbishment of Reuben Chappell Art Trail – reprint of booklets
| GOOLE CIVIC SOCI | ETY CIO ACC | OUNTS 20 | 22-2023 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Status | Date | Cheque | Description | Bank | Cash |
| OpeningBalance | £ 432.12 | £ 10.00 | |||
| 03.05.2022 | Clarkes Membership | £ 20.00 | |||
| 05.05.2022 | SJW Membership | £ 10.00 | |||
| 01.06.2022 | Talk Payment | £ 70.00 | |||
| 01.06.2022 | Talk Payment | -£ 70.00 | |||
| 06.06.2022 | Membership& Donations(see Record) | £ 120.00 | |||
| 24.06.2022 | Goole in Bloom | -£ 50.00 | |||
| 30.06.2022 | Do It for East Yorkshire Grant | £ 375.00 | |||
| 02.08.2022 | Blue Plaque Expenses | -£ 344.98 | |||
| 07.09.2022 | 117 | Blue Plaque Expense | -£ 34.58 | ||
| 07.09.2022 | Membership- GW | £ 10.00 | |||
| 08.09.2022 | Talk Payment | £ 70.00 | |||
| 07.09.2022 | 118 | Insurance | -£ 119.60 | ||
| 26.10.2022 | Members(P&G) | £ 20.00 | |||
| 11.11.2022 | Wreath(Donation) | ||||
| 05.12.2022 | Calendars | £ 12.00 | |||
| 18.12.2022 | Cheque(Talk) | £ 40.00 | |||
| 18.12.2022 | Calendar Sales + £1 donation | £ 145.00 | |||
| 08.02.2023 | YHACS | -£ 50.00 | |||
| 31.01.2023 | Calendar Fees | -£ 103.03 | |||
| 24.02.2023 | Calendar Sales | £ 178.97 | |||
| 28.03.2023 | Calendar Expenses | -£ 549.00 | |||
| 28.03.2023 | Calendar sales | £ 549.00 | |||
| 04.04.2023 | Donation to Goole Parish Church | ||||
| 09.04.2023 | Donation to Cancer Research(Jean Kitchen) | ||||
| 16.04.2023 | Civic Voice Membership | ||||
| Balance | £ 730.90 | £ 10.00 | |||
| TOTALS | £ 652.90 |
| Paid by Members |
Income | Expenses |
| £ 20.00 | ||
| £ 10.00 | ||
| £ 70.00 | ||
| -£ 70.00 | ||
| £ 120.00 | ||
| -£ 50.00 | ||
| £ 375.00 | ||
| -£ 344.98 | ||
| -£ 34.58 | ||
| £ 10.00 | ||
| £ 70.00 | ||
| -£ 119.60 | ||
| £ 20.00 | ||
| £ 20.00 | -£ 20.00 | |
| £ 12.00 | ||
| £ 40.00 | ||
| £ 145.00 | ||
| -£ 50.00 | ||
| -£ 103.03 | ||
| £ 178.97 | ||
| -£ 549.00 | ||
| £ 549.00 | ||
| -£ 50.00 | -£ 50.00 | |
| -£ 20.00 | -£ 20.00 | |
| -£ 18.00 | -£ 18.00 | |
| -£ 88.00 | £ 1,090.97 | -£ 880.19 |
| £ 652.90 |
Name Payment Details R Coult £20 21-22 and 22-23 Membership J Harris £10 22-23 Membership M Howard £20 21-22 and 22-23 Membership G Holmes £30 21-22 and 22-23 Membership + Donation J KItchen £10 22-23 Membership K Flynn £10 22-23 Membership R Walker £10 22-23 Membership
| Calendar Transactions | Calendar Transactions | Calendar Transactions | Calendar Transactions | Calendar Transactions | Calendar Transactions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calendars Sold | Turn Over | Expenses(£) | Net Proft( | Banked(£) | |
| 165 | 987 | 652.03 | 334.97 | 156 | |
| Re-payLoan to MC. Type Total Cash 549 Cheque 103.03 |
|||||
| Re-payLoan to MC. | |||||
| Type | Total | ||||
| Cash | 549 | ||||
| Cheque | 103.03 |
| CALENDAR SALES PURCHASER Goole Library Goole Library Goole Library Goole Library Goole Library Goole Library Goole Library J and M Clarke Vintage fair Junction HODs Church CS sales Christmas Market Free Library Staf Number sold Error of £3 on one |
UNITS 18 9 12 16 6 24 6 2 21 15 7 3 4 22 4 5 174 transaction. |
CASH £108.00 £54.00 £72.00 £96.00 £36.00 £144.00 £36.00 £12.00 £126.00 £90.00 £42.00 £18.00 £24.00 £132.00 £0.00 £0.00 |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Cash Outstanding 1£) 178.97