Welcome to the Sheringham & District Preservation Society
Painting of Sheringham Fishing Boats
The Preservation Society has worked since 1979 to preserve the best that Sheringham has to offer.
The Sheringham and District Preservation Society covers the parishes of Upper Sheringham and Beeston Regis as well as the town of Sheringham.
It exists to protect the best features of the area from developments which could destroy their character. It also aims to research and record the history of the area and to publicise it in any way possible.
NEWS:
SHERINGHAM STORE WARS LATEST
The latest surprise move has been an announcement by the Greenhouse Project (promoting a Waitrose Store and a food academy at the Weybourne Road site) that it is prepared to finance a modernisation of Sheringham Community Centre to produce a modern state-of-the-art facility which then would be donated to and run by Sheringham Town Council. The offer was made to the town council on 6th July and received the unanimous approval of councillors.
The present community centre building, which is situated on the site where Tesco would like to construct their store, is no longer fit for purpose. Tesco proposed to replace this facility on Holway Road, well away from the town centre and lacking many of the features which the updated centre on the current more central site would have.
In response to the rejection of the latest Tesco planning application (see earlier news item below), Tesco have now produced amended plans which involve changes to the uses proposed for the independent units within the store and a widening of the pedestrian access from the site to the town centre.
An exhibition of the Greenhouse Project proposals on 9th and 10th July was very well attended and is thought to have received a great deal of popular support.
The earlier decision by the planning committee to reject Tesco's plan and to support the Greenhouse Project has still not been ratified by the District Council. The planning committee has now been restructured to contain fewer members. The balance of opinion among its members is yet to be seen.
It has also emerged that a deluge of pro-Tesco letters to the local press following the latest rejection of Tesco cannot be traced to the names and addresses which they purport to come from (see The Independent newspaper, 10th July).
OLIVE EDIS EXHIBITION
Sheringham Preservation Society is mounting a special exhibition this year on the work of Olive Edis, the celebrated photographer of the early twentieth century.
She set up her studio in Church Street in 1905, later moving to South Street. She took wonderful photos of the Sheringham fishing community, as well as recording the most famous faces of the day, including royalty, politicians and writers. She was one of the earliest to experiment with colour and was an official war photographer during the Great War.
The exhibition is in the Fishermen's Heritage Centre, from 27th May until the end of the season during normal opening hours.
TESCO LATEST
The district council's barrister has given his opinion on the legality of the decision by the Planning Committee to approve the Greenhouse scheme and reject Tesco's. This is that the decision is legally sound, provided that the reasoning behind it is properly articulated and can be shown to be rational. The committee will be required to meet again to clarify the reasoning behind its decision because the minutes of the original meeting have been held not to adequately record the rationality of the decision.
Meanwhile Stalham councillor Candy Sheridan, who has witnessed the effect that the arrival of Tesco in that town had on local businesses, has been forced to withdraw from the proceedings of the committee because a complaint has been made against her by a member of the public alleging that she breached the members' code of conduct. This apparently means that she will not be able to rejoin discussion of this subject until the complaint, which fellow councillors suspect may have been mischievous, has been fully investigated.
TESCO: THE BIG VOTE, MARCH 4TH 2010
The North Norfolk District Council Development Committee considered the two rival supermarket applications in Sheringham. They voted 13 to 4 to reject the Tesco application but approved The Greenhouse/Waitrose application by 11 votes to 6. The latter decision is subject to legal advice.
For the earlier parts of this saga please see the Current Issues page.
URGENT APPEAL FOR VOLUNTEERS
In October the Chief Steward of the Fishermen's Heritage, Nancy Appleton retired. Nancy had carried the main burden of keeping the Centre open over recent years, taking responsibility for opening and closing daily, looking after the administration and doing a lot of the stewarding herself.
Her retirement leaves a very large gap to be filled and the Society is urgently considering how the many tasks undertaken by Nancy will be carried out in 2010. We urgently need a stewarding co-ordinator who can liaise between stewards and those opening and closing the Centre and Shell Gallery. This could be someone who is relatively immobile and would take up at most an hour or so each week.
We also urgently require stewards for the Fishermen's Centre and Peter Coke Shell Gallery who would be willing to spend two hours occasionally greeting visitors. Anyone able to help in any way should please contact our Secretary, Kathleen Bird (tel. 01263 824155) for further information.
THIRTIETH ANNIVERSARY EXHIBITION
Because 2009 marks the thirtieth anniversary of the founding of the Society, it is a natural time to look back at what has been achieved during those years, to take stock and plan for the future.
As part of this process, the Society held an exhibition in the St John Ambulance Hall, Wyndham Street, Sheringham, on Saturday and Sunday, 6th and 7th June. The exhibition was well attended on both days and many local people came along to be reminded of the considerable contribution the Society made to the life of the town over these years. It also provided an opportunity to talk about how the Society can evolve to continue this work and to meet new challenges.
For details of the Society's achievements see the section of this website headed "30 years of Success".
AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE
Having served six to twelve years in their current posts, the last six of which have been particularly active, the principal officers of the Society (Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer) are all seeking an opportunity to retire. After many years of carrying the main burden of running the Fishermen's Heritage Centre its Chief Steward, Nancy Appleton, has taken a well-earned retirement and has moved away from the town.
The Society finds that the task of managing the Fishermen's Heritage Centre and Peter Coke Shell Gallery, which are demanding though essential and satisfying activities in their own right, leaves little time for its other responsibilities as a civic/amenity association. It is therefore urgently seeking people of any age from the Sheringham area who have an interest in its history, who wish to maintain its many attractive features as a place to live and to visit and would be willing to assist us in the worthy objective of keeping the Society and its activities thriving. We are especially seeking anyone who is willing to take on any of the principal officer posts, after a reasonable period of preparation. We also urgently need a stewarding co-ordinator to liaise between stewards and those who open and close the centre and gallery. Any assistance with stewarding in the Fishermen's Heritage Centre and Peter Coke Shell Gallery, however infrequent, would also be very welcome.
The Society is financially secure, it has a sound structure and a history of contributing many and varied benefits to the local community. The Fishermen's Heritage Centre and Shell Gallery attract thousands of visitors every year who greatly appreciate the opportunity to browse the exhibitions. However, unless the Society can attract a younger generation of members to take an active part in organising and running the Society it will not be able to continue for much longer.