Bamford & Norden June 2016

BIRTLE TRUST
This organisation started forty years ago now and, to a greater and lesser extent, I have always been
involved in it. (I was a child when I first became Chairman you understand). It was originally called “The
Castle Hill Residents Association” and was formed in 1976 to fight the reopening of the quarry which is
situated just behind the Church. The battle was won but we had to fund raise to pay a barrister as it went to appeal. After a short quiet
spell, another owner applied to open the quarry again, so we changed the name of our organisation to “The Birtle Trust” to include all of Birtle
and started the fight once more. This time it was a much harder struggle but the residents prevailed and we eventually had the Quarry downgraded
to a derelict quarry which makes it very difficult for it to be reopened. The Trust doesn’t just try to
prevent inappropriate development in the area, but it is a very fragile piece of our industrial heritage
and residents, including the farmers, feel very strongly that we need to keep the area safe. Of
course this is not always popular but if I had wanted to be popular I would never have become a
Councillor. People love a trip out to Birtle and we have some great hostelries and they all benefit
from being part of this lovely area and we welcome them. I feel the Trust’s main achievement is
the planting of the The Birtle Wood. If you drive to the top of Castle Hill Road, straight ahead of
you before you turn left or right, is our beautiful wood. It is on Bircle (the old spelling of Birtle)
Church Land, so we worked together with the Church to plant the Wood. We received grants from
various organisations, advice from all and sundry so we could plant appropriate trees and bushes,
and indeed plants, for the area. And it has grown and developed and is simply lovely. And it is
open for all to walk round and enjoy. We have a lovely memorial bench and also a plateau with
a specially planted tree in memory of the young people who died so tragically over twenty years
ago in the helicopter crash in Anglesy. The only survivor was a member of our congregation and
they were all local children. Some of the trees are planted in memory of loved ones and for a
small outlay anyone could buy a tree or a bush and have the name inscribed in our speciql book
I think the wood is getting very full now but if you are interested in planting your own memorial
tree, please enquire.One of our founder members, Peter Lee, was the spearhead of planting in
Birtle. He died a few years ago, but during the years he was with
us he organised planting of the corners of some of the fields to
further enrich the area. Some of the landowners and farmers were
really happy to be involved in this project and it is lovely to watch
all the trees grow. As Chairman of the Trust at the moment, I realised
that we are coming up to our AGM and some of our Committee
members have been part of the Committee since day one. There
have been many changes in Birtle, and new people coming to live
with us to enjoy the area. We need this to keep Birtle alive, but we have a duty to our children to preserve this important area of great heritage
so it is there for another forty years for us all to learn from, explore and enjoy.
Councillor Patricia Sullivan, Chairman Birtle Trust
56 To advertise call 07976 289967 or 0797 443 4793 or email sales@streetwisemag.co.uk