14. The 1990s
The 1990s 1
At the annual general meeting in June 1994, no chairman was appointed. Verner Wheelock agreed to chair meetings when necessary and Brian Dorsett chaired the planning committee.
With other officers continuing in post, the Society was able to continue and to have significant input to local concerns.
The most serious planning matter to arise in this decade was the production by Bradford Metropolitan District Council of its Unitary Development Plan for the Bradford District. A proposal relevant to Wilsden was that Green Belt land in and around Prune Park Lane should be reclassified as Protected Open Land. This would continue to protect it for the lifetime of the Plan but would designate it as a site available for future housing or employment needs. WVS was one of several local organisations and individuals to challenge aspects of the proposed plan. Council documents list two responses in support and twenty two objections to this specific proposal. For the society, Verner Wheelock drew attention to points in the government’s Planning Policy Guidance in respect of Green Belts, namely that: The fundamental aim of Green Belt Policy is to prevent urban sprawl by keeping land permanently open. The policy states reasons for having Green Belts: to check the unrestricted sprawl of built up areas and to prevent neighbouring towns from merging into one another.
Responding to an accusation by one Bradford councillor, Dr. Wheelock stated: ‘In making these proposals, the society emphasises that it is not taking a NIMBY approach since there has been substantial development in Wilsden over the last 30-35 years. Most of this is in accordance with the proposals made in A Plan for Wilsden, which was prepared by the village society.’
The Green Belt status was kept and remained in force through subsequent plans.
The society tried to respond to concerns raised by village traders who were suffering from lack of trade as more people shopped at large supermarkets and there were fewer people about in the village during the day. In 1995 the society printed an appeal on the front page of Village Scene, produced by Homeward Bound estate agents. Dr. Wheelock urged people to spend just a little bit more in local shops, where they would find quality and services as good as anything outside the village. He reminded people that some people were dependent on the continued existence of local shops, and many more were glad of them when there was snow. He also arranged for students from Bradford University Management Centre to prepare a marketing research survey for use in Wilsden, but although some representatives of businesses attended a meeting, there seems not to have been sufficient support for further action.
By 1996 the society was struggling, having difficulty finding officers and kept going by a handful of stalwarts, some of them having been involved from the very beginning. It was essential that there was a viable structure in place to look after the society’s considerable assets - £20,000 in the bank and a thriving squash club. Solicitors were consulted and talks begun with a view to merging the society with the village hall management committee. However, the end was not yet to be.
Routine monitoring of planning applications continued and volunteers headed by Stan Clegg and Ted Howarth walked the footpaths, clearing and reporting blockages. A special committee chaired by Laura Parker was set up to plan improvements to the children’s playground in the park and raise the necessary money. It was almost twenty years since the Silver Jubilee gala had raised money to provide playground equipment and there had been developments in such things as the kind of apparatus regarded as suitable and the composition of surrounding surfaces. The play area had never been fenced off and this was now thought highly desirable on road safety grounds and also to keep dogs away.
In February 1997 the society had a new chairman, Martin Harrison of Spring Hill House, and a new lease of life. Martin was already part of the footpath group and he and Stan had cut away barbed wire that had been put across stiles and consulted with the Countryside Warden Service about illegal blocking. Other items at the February meeting included a report from the playground committee that already over £2000 had been raised and work was about to start.
At the society’s AGM in June they were able to report £4000 in hand towards phase 2. This would go towards the final piece of equipment, an improved climbing frame on safe surfacing. Bradford Council recreation department agreed to fund the balance needed for this. A spokesperson for the playground committee said that in 14 months £20,000 of equipment with installation had been secured, with much support from the village. Bradford Council did not fence the playground at this stage to save expense, claiming it was not necessary because Firth Lane was classed as a bridleway. It was left as one of very few unfenced playgrounds in the Bradford district. A fence was provided after an incident in 2001 when a car was driven along Townfield and on to the playground, hitting the climbing frame and heading towards children.
