OurTown
The Newsletter of Cheltenham Civic Society Issue 35 ● Summer 2024
YOUR REGULAR UPDATE ON HOW WE ARE WORKING TO KEEP CHELTENHAM A GREAT PLACE TO THRIVE
Sad loss of Peter Sayers
In late May, Cheltenham Civic Society’s Vice Chair, Peter Sayers, died unexpectedly – leaving his family and the charitable organisations he was involved with at a great loss.
What’s in OurTown this time
Peter contributed much of his time in retirement to his role as a Trustee and Vice Chair of the Society. With a smile and a wise head he often took the heat out of our more contentious debates and led the way to more amicable resolutions. Overleaf, we print two fulsome tributes to Peter. We are sure that many others in the Society will miss him as much as we do. ●
Tributes to Peter Sayers page 2 ● Looking forward to Heritage Open Days page 3 ● Can you help? page 4 ● Civic Awards supplement pages 5-8 ● Helping to shape the town through the Planning Forum page 9 ● CavHouse – what next? page 10 ● Around town – Spirax Sarco page 11 ● What it’s like to be a trustee and Circumspice page 12
Peter Sayers (right) receiving a thank-you plaque from Andrew Booton for his two stints as Chair of the Society’s Planning Forum.
Tributes to Peter Sayers
Andrew Booton, Chair:
Sadly, Peter Sayers, our Vice Chair, died unexpectedly on Wednesday 22nd May.
Peter was a stalwart of the Civic Society. He was an active member who loyally supported all events, campaigns and activities, from talks to litter picks. He had been a Trustee since 2019 and was twice Chair of the Planning Forum.
He had an impressive professional CV built on both arts and sciences. A former university Dean and Principal of two art colleges, he had a long career as a filmmaker and photographer with numerous published works both in the UK and worldwide. His motorised model theatre set was exhibited at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Pompidou Centre Paris, V&A London and is now in the Dansmuseet in Stockholm.
But he was also a Ministerial-appointed Commissioner on the Human Genetics Commission, chaired the Telecommunications Advisory Panel at OFTEL for five years and was chair of Communications for Business, a
statutory UK advisory panel on telecommunications for small businesses. He was also an NHS board member responsible for audit control and chairing appeals for medicines not normally funded.
He was an inveterate networker with a great instinct for opportunity. He read people intelligently and his gentle but determined nature made him an effective bridge-builder.
Peter was a true gentleman and we have lost a dear friend. ●
Bruce Buchanan, Planning Forum: I first got to know Peter when we moved to Clarence Square over 20 years ago. He lived a couple of doors away and at that time had a young wife and family. Tragically, his wife died in her sleep a couple of years later. Peter coped well and brought up his two sons on his own: they are credit to him.
We became close friends with common interests. When I mentioned to an Italian neighbour that Peter had
died, he replied: “Ah yes, the man who was always smiling”. Indeed, Peter always had a welcoming smile.
He joined Cheltenham for Europe at the time of the Brexit referendum and we went together on several ‘rejoin’ marches in London and Manchester. He was a gifted photographer and while on one of the marches he used his charm on several heavily-tattooed yobs to let him take their photograph.
We sometimes went pubbing together. He didn’t really have a head for alcohol – despite the occasional negroni – and whenever I called at his house, I was always invited in for a strong coffee.
I suggested that he join the Civic Society and he soon became a very active member, serving on the Planning Forum and as Vice Chair. We also belonged to the same book club, where he always gave incisive and intelligent comments on the books that we read.
I will miss him greatly as a decent and kind friend. ●
As a photographer, Peter was very keen on ensuring that the Society properly valued its photographic records. Earlier this year, he proposed that we rephotograph both sides of the High Street from Cobbler’s Corner to St George’s Place to create new panoramic montages. These would then provide a direct, modern-day comparison to the eight-foot long ones originally created in 1961 by one of the Society’s former Chairs, RW Paterson. (See part of the north-side one above.) Peter’s idea was the new montages could sit above or below the originals on the walls of Parmoor to provide a compelling visual historic record of a key part of our town centre.
We applied to Cheltenham Arts Council for a grant towards this photography and they have awarded us £350. As Peter’s family has also generously made the Society a joint beneficiary (with Aim Up) of donations made at Peter’s funeral, the Trustees have decided to allocate those funds to this photographic project.
This project will also benefit from a similar collection on behalf of recently deceased CCS member, Angela Lord.
The photography has now been commissioned and will be undertaken this summer. The images of all the individual buildings will then be digitally stitched together. Once we are able to re-occupy Parmoor, the two new montages will be printed, mounted and hung with the originals. ●
NEW EVENTS
Looking forward to Heritage Open Days 6-15 September
Cheltenham Civic Society has launched its biggest-ever programme of events for the annual 10-day Heritage Open Days festival that will run from Friday 6th to Sunday 15th September this year.
The Civic Society’s team of volunteers, who organise the events, announced in early July a programme of 73 open buildings, plays, walks and talks that focus around two themes: ‘Secret Places’ and ‘Connections – Routes –Networks’.
With everything free to visit, attend and explore, the Heritage Open Days festival allows you to see behind the doors of some of our town’s finest and most interesting buildings.
The wide variety of walks and talks will also enhance your interest and
knowledge of Cheltenham’s geography, development and rich history.
This year, the programme will feature the new permanent exhibition at the Bouncers Lane cemetery of the town’s recently conserved Battlefield Crosses from the Great War. The festival will also include a talk by Neela Mann on the stories of the crosses and the soldiers they commemorate.
Six walks and talks are also being incorporated from the South Cheltenham History Festival. These include a talk by Stuart Manton on the Genesis of Cheltenham’s ‘South Town’ and a walk with Derek Scarborough about the Developers of the Naunton Area.
Two new entries in the 25 open buildings this year are: The Everyman
Theatre and the Gardens Gallery in Montpellier Gardens.
The 25 guided walks include: Town Centre Public Art with Tess Beck; and A People’s Park and Wildlife Corridor with Chris Archibald and Sally Thomas.
The 17 talks include: Gloucestershire’s Queen – Katherine Parr by Mike Bottomley; and Journeying to Net Zero – the Challenges of Greening a Heritage Building by Peter Boait.
The full programme brochure can be picked up from venues around town or downloaded from our website: https://cheltcivicsoc.org/events/ heritage-open-days
Where spaces at events are limited, bookings can be made from Monday 5th August via: hods@cheltcivicsoc.org ●
Walk: People’s Park & Wildlife Corridor
Open Building: Gardens Gallery
Open Building: Everyman Theatre
Open Building: Hindu Temple
Open Building: Bridge Club
Walk: Cleeve Common historical walk
Civic Society News Can you help?
Sadly we’ve lost two trustees recently. Peter Sayers is commemorated elsewhere in this edition and Ryan Farrell unfortunately had to step down for family reasons.
Their loss is considerable as they both gave so much to the Society, for which we are most grateful. They have left big holes in our governance structure at a busy time.
We are looking for at least two new trustees to join our board. We are seeking people who can spare perhaps two to three hours per week.
They should have a strong interest in some or all of our main areas of interest – e.g. planning, heritage, architecture and the public realm.
Welcome characteristics include a good eye for detail, moral courage, integrity, naturally collaborative and a sense of humour. No previous trustee experience is necessary, just a desire to make Cheltenham a better place.
If you would like to know more, please email Andrew and he’ll treat you to a coffee and have a chat about the role: chair@cheltcivicsoc.org ●
Wrong response to a heritage crime
Aswewereabouttogotoprint,someofour
membersreportedthatpaintingofthismuralwasgoingahead withoutListedBuildingConsent.We’requitedismayedabout thatasitshowsdisrespectfortheplanningprocess.Nodoubt therewillbemoretosayasthisplaysoutinthecomingweeks.
The owner of The Famous clothing store at 26-32 Promenade was advised that street art on the side of his building would solve the continuing problem of graffiti tagging.
After much debate by the Society’s Planning Forum, the Successful Streets Group and the Trustees, it was decided that the following planning objection would be submitted to the council:
“We sympathise with the applicant's frustration with the plague of criminal damage which is being wreaked on his and many others in the town. There are apparently no consequences for the perpetrators, and the property owners are left to clear up the mess.
“Tagging a listed building is a heritage crime, but there appears to be a lack of action from the police and the council in tackling the problem at source.
“Appropriate street art can and does enhance some buildings. But this listed building on the Promenade is not an appropriate building or location. While the design is attractive, it does not relate to the building or its location.
“In summary, we think a lawenforcement approach is the best way to deal with the plague of tagging in our town rather than the approval of a mural that has no relationship to Cheltenham.” ●
Ever keen to up our game, the Society’s Trustees have again produced an illustrated set of Report & Accounts covering last year’s activities.
The 20-page document incorporates the Chair’s annual report to the AGM on 18th April and it will be used to help with our fundraising for Parmoor. It can be downloaded from our website: https://cheltcivicsoc.org/downloads/ ●
Events team needed
Parmoor is an exciting project and we’re all looking forward to it providing a town-centre base for our activities.
We are looking to create a small team to help organise its unveiling, including an official opening with a wow, some commemorative events and some social functions.
Could you spare some time to help put Parmoor on the map? Please email Andrew: chair@cheltcivicsoc.org ●
The Society’s Planning Forum has objected to this proposal on a listed building.
CivicAwards
OurTown PHOTO SUPPLEMENT
Cheltenham’s biennial Civic Awards – organised by Cheltenham Civic Society in partnership with Cheltenham Borough Council – were presented at an event attended by Civic Society members, friends and councillors at St Paul’s church on Tuesday 7th May 2024. The Awards celebrated the best new building and environment projects in the town over the past two years.
CIVIC AWARDS: The audience at St Paul’s church.
THE JUDGES: Cllr Paul Baker; Adrian Phillips; David Myerson; Andrew Booton; plus the Mayor, Cllr Matt Babbage.
ENVIRONMENT PROJECT: Railings, Imperial Square.
RESTORATION & REFURBISHMENT: 54 Tivoli Street.
PRESENTING THE AWARDS: The Mayor, Cllr Matt Babbage.
NEW BUILD: 104 Painswick Road.
Further information about this year’s Civic Award winners can be found on our website:
https://cheltcivicsoc.org/category/news/
NEW BUILDING: The Yard, Upper Park Street.
RESTORATION & REFURBISHMENT: St Philip and St James’ church (known as Pip & Jim’s), Leckhampton.
RESTORATION & REFURBISHMENT: 77 Albion Street (formerly ‘His Knibbs’).
RESTORATION & REFURBISHMENT: Abbeyholme Stables, 73 Lansdown Crescent Lane.
New Category: UnCivic Awards
This year CCS added a category of ‘UnCivic’ awards for buildings that are of particularly poor design or execution. This was because some shockingly bad designs have still managed to slip through the planning process. The judges selected two buildings from nominations that had been submitted by members of the public.
UNCIVIC AWARD: Lidl, Cirencester Road.
UNCIVIC AWARD: Dowty House, Monson Avenue.
CCS’s Planning Forum
What we do and how you might help
If you follow local media, you’ll know that planning issues in Cheltenham come up all the time and many are controversial: think of those tents in the Promenade; or the mega development of the Cyber Park; what about the future of the old Black and White coach station site (aka North Place); or Cavendish House?
If the Civic Society is to have the influence which its members expect of it, we must be able to engage with the planning system run by Cheltenham Borough Council, where so many decisions about our town are made.
And because our own local environment is also shaped by decisions taken at the county and national levels, we need sometimes to look beyond Cheltenham.
That’s where the Planning Forum comes in: we help the Civic Society keep abreast of the fast-changing planning environment and make sure that the Society’s voice on planning matters is heard.
How do we do it? We meet once a month throughout most of the year for a couple of hours. On our agendas are three kinds of topics:
f Some half a dozen current planning applications to review and comment on. This is the bread and butter of our work. Our comments go to the planning department and
are published. Occasionally we meet developers too when they ask for our views on a planning idea at an early stage.
f Less often, we might look at a planning policy issue, for example: how well Conservation Areas are being protected (or not); responding to a consultation by the council on a planning matter; or even to a planning policy issue (like a White Paper) that is being considered by the Government. In all cases, we can offer real, on-theground feedback.
f And we have ourselves developed some outline planning ideas: a small riverside park beside Cambray Court and an ambitious scheme to create a new town square in the centre of Cheltenham where Cavendish House now stands (see past issues of OurTown) Too often important decisions about the future of our town are taken by remote corporations in discussion with officials and councillors – and the voice of the citizens of Cheltenham does not get heard. When this looks like happening, we try to break open the debate by injecting ideas that might appeal to the wider public.
And who are we? The Forum is made up of ten members of CCS at present. What we have in common is that we all
care a lot about our town and what happens to it. Some of us are professionally qualified as an engineer, a planner, an architect or a landscape architect. But a qualification of this kind is not a pre-requisite. Others bring knowledge of our town, care about the quality of public decision-making or just love Cheltenham for all its magnificent buildings, lovely parks or quirky alleys.
The point is that we are all consumers of our environment: the streets, the green places, the buildings and so forth. And as consumers, we all have a contribution to make in discussing planning issues.
You don’t need to be an architect to feel that a proposed building is badly out of place, or that a scheme could do with twice as many trees. You just need to care.
Our work programme is quite busy, as you can imagine, and we could do with a few more pairs of hands. So, if you would like to consider joining us, please let me know. We can even do it on an ‘introductory’ basis – come along to a meeting and then decide if you feel it’s for you.
We look forward to hearing from you. ●
Adrian Phillips Planning Forum Chair planning@cheltcivicsoc.org
One of the schemes the Planning Forum recently considered was this proposal for 26 flats in Winchcombe Street. Members thought it would overwhelm its neighbours. See what they said in detail: https://cheltcivicsoc.com/category/news
Civic Society News CavHouse – what next?
Members of the Society’s Planning Forum took to the streets in July to find out what people think about the future development of the CavHouse site.
At an impromptu stall outside CavHouse in the Prom, we invited members of the public to take a look at our conceptual plan for the redevelopment and tell us what they thought.
We operated the stall between 11am and 1pm on two consecutive days –Friday 12th and Saturday 13th July. Despite the competing attractions of the farmers’ market on Friday and the vintage market on Saturday, more than 150 people during the four hours we were there wandered up to our stall wanting to have their say.
Despite a relatively small sample size, the feedback results were extraordinary.
While several people raised fair questions about how the scheme would be funded, the overwhelming response was enthusiasm.
85.5% of people who completed our
feedback form registered their support for the Civic Society’s proposal to create a new public square linking the Prom with Regent Street.
More astounding than that, not a single person registered any disagreement.
Here is a selection of some of the comments people wrote down:
“Creating a new square is a great idea.”
“An additional square would create a further focal point to a gorgeous Regency town.”
“Yes, it’s a good idea if you can get the owners to agree.”
“Make the Prom a vibrant place where people want to come and visit.”
“This is about legacy as much as the benefit to Cheltenham and residents today. Just like the beautiful parks and trees that we enjoy today. These were designed thoughtfully and carefully by previous generations who cared about the future of the town and its residents.”
Andrew Booton, Chair of Cheltenham Civic Society, said: “We believe that the views of our sample of more than 150 people are highly indicative of the views of all of our town’s population.
“We will be presenting their views to the site’s owner, Canada Life, when we finally get to meet them. We will also present it to Cheltenham Borough Council to try to persuade them to raise their aspirations for this key site.
“Cheltenham wants good design and we deserve much better than the poor architecture that has recently come forward for other key sites – for example, the old Black & White coach station site on St Margaret’s Road and the redevelopment of some Regency buildings in Winchcombe Street.” ●
Nestled in amongst the vintage market stalls, shoppers came up to our stall in significant numbers to have their say on CavHouse.
150+ people told us what they thought.
OurTown • Summer 2024
Around Town : NEW BUILDING
Key contacts
Andrew Booton Chairman chair@cheltcivicsoc.org
Hugh Curran Membership Secretary membership@cheltcivicsoc.org
Steve Bryson Editor of OurTown comms@cheltcivicsoc.org
Enquiries
enquiries@cheltcivicsoc.org
Cheltenham Civic Society
https://cheltcivicsoc.org
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @cheltcivicsoc and on Facebook.com/cheltenhamcivicsociety
Registered charity No. 1166580
https://cheltcivicsoc.org
NB: Individual points of view expressed by correspondents in OurTown should not be taken as being representative of Cheltenham Civic Society CIO.
Photo and image credits
PAGE
1: Peter Sayers – Editor
2: High St montage – RWPaterson
3: HODs – various participants
4: Street art proposal – applicants
5-8: CivicAwards – supplied by applicants and others by Editor
9: Winchcombe St. – applicants
10: CavHouse – what next? – Editor
11: AroundTown–Editor 12: Circumspice15–MikeRigby
Artwork and layout by the Editor Printing arranged byArtWorks Design
The new Spirax Sarco HQ building in Cirencester Road – is it a potential contender for a Civic Award in 2025?
Keeping your grey matter in good shape!
During the last 20 years of my career in PR and marketing, I often wondered what I might do in my retirement. Although I was at a loss about what I might actually do, I gained some great inspiration from my mother, who had set an excellent example after she retired from being a primary school head. In fact she had become so active that I ended up buying her an answerphone (back in the days of such devices) just to catch up with her occasionally!
Then, as I specialised in managing public consultation on major development schemes on behalf of developer and local authority clients, I found myself liaising with many civic societies across the UK. Some were rather ‘crusty’ (as seen through my 50-year-old eyes), but the members of others were extremely committed, highly educated, articulate and hugely knowledgeable. For example, when working in Bury St Edmunds, I found myself regularly talking to a retired RAF Air Marshall who had been the Project Director for the Harrier jump jet – bringing it into service “on time and on budget” as he regularly reminded me. And the local society often challenged us on technical issues with extremely well-researched papers
containing Hansard quotes and other authoritative sources. I realised then that they could easily out-resource the developer’s team (i.e. me!), so I changed our strategy to one focused on working more closely alongside them.
With my interest sparked, I also decided to join my local civic society – CCS – partly to find out more about how they worked, but also to fathom out whether I might wish to volunteer for them later in life.
So I joined in 2011, and the rest they say is history (of sorts). But I didn’t really know what I was in for until I retired in 2019 and met Andrew Booton for his traditional ‘cup of coffee’. Despite us being poles apart politically (not that that matters a jot in a charity), we hit it off from Day 1 –in particular about the need for the Society to focus more on campaigning to bring about change.
Since then, I’ve worked closely with our multi-talented team of trustees and have been regularly challenged by ourvery well-informed members. For me it’s certainly been a delight and it continues to keep my grey cells in good shape. The stimulation is serving mewell, and perhaps even my mum might have approved! ● Steve Bryson, Trustee and Editor
The fossilised remains of a building which played a very important part in Cheltenham’s municipal and social history. Where is this? What was the building? Why was it a place to meet? Rig
The answers to this mini quiz* can be found on the Society’s website: cheltcivicsoc.org/category/news *Unfortunately there are no prizes!
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