Fracking Surveys to Begin in Anston?

Anston Parish Council have been approached by a representative of INEOS, a company involved with fracking. The company wish to get local landowners to allow access to their land to allow a 3D seismic survey of the Anston and wider area to determine if the controversial fracking technique can be used to collect gas in the village and surrounding area.

The seismic survey consists of sinking explosive charges into the ground and listening for the return echo after detonation. This allows a surveyor to determine the type and structure of the underlying rock strata.

The agenda for Monday’s APC meeting includes the following:

2) INEOS Proposed seismic surveys at the Playing Fields (Recreation Grounds belong to the Charity) and Butterfield Walk (belongs to the council) – see email from Michael Gazur dated 06.09.16 with attachments.

Money is being offered to landowners who allow access for the surveys with more to come if drilling and production begin under their land.

One local parish councillor Christine Sadler is urging local residents to contact their local councillors and express their opposition to any activity or assistance that will help fracking companies to start operations in our local area.

Frack-Off, a pressure group opposing fracking in the UK, say that seismic surveys can range from “rattling windows and noise pollution to structural damage to buildings and subsurface structures, such as water boreholes, pipes and septic tanks.”

More info as we get it!

Anston Stones Archaeology Update

We have received these photos showing some of the latest finds from Anston Stones where Archaeologists from Durham Uni continue to toil, painstakingly scraping away history one layer at a time!

SPOILERS! If you don’t wish to know about the finds in advance of the talks on Saturday and Wednesday DON’T READ ANY FURTHER!

The left hand photo shows fragments of a pot from the 18th or 19th century, the right hand picture is a quartzite flake and a small Flint flake, both prehistoric probably middle and upper Palaeolithic, they could be tens or hundreds of thousands of years old!

The team has also found a pig jaw, a sheep jaw and some probable Roman pot.

Ceramic pot you understand, no one is accusing the Romans of smoking mari-ju-ana.

Try to make it to the talks, tomorrow at Creswell, Wednesday at Anston.

Archaeology in Anston Stones, Early Signs of Success!

According to early reports we are hearing that Archaeologists from Durham University have made their first finds near Dead Man’s Cave in Anston Stones.

A piece of flint (could it be a tool or weapon, we’ve not heard yet) and pieces of glazed pottery have been found. No details on the pottery but it looks like more than one piece of the same vessel.

More news as we get it, but in the meantime don’t forget there is a photo display in the Parish Hall and an upcoming talk as well!

Professor Mark White of Durham University will be speaking at Anston Parish Hall on Wednesday 13 July at 7pm.

Creswell Craggs will be hosting a presentation on Saturday by Professor Paul Pettit at 1.30pm.

Archaeology has Arrived in Anston Stones

The archaeologists from Durham University have arrived and begun work in Anston Stones!

This is a follow up to previous years and will be accompanied by a talk and photo display in Anston Parish Hall. This is another reminder if we needed one of the significance of the Stones and how lucky we are to have it on our door step.

The Stones and Creswell Crags are remnants from the days when Hyenas, Lions, Hippos and Rhinos roamed our lands!

Anston Parish Councillor Chris Sadler commented:

“Archaeologists from Durham University are digging in Anston Stones from Monday 4 July to Friday 15 July. They can be located by following the top path from Anston Parish Hall car park through the Stones, all visitors including groups will be very welcome.

There will be a presentation given by Professor Mark White of Durham University Wednesday 13 July in Anston Parish Hall at 7pm. Everyone welcome, please come along and join us.

Also in the Hall are information boards about Anston Stones during the ice-age and present day, everyone is welcome to come to the Parish Hall and view these, please contact the office beforehand on 01909 560922 between 9am and 12 to open the doors.

Durham University also have a team at Creswell Craggs digging outside Mother Grundy’s Cave and a presentation on Saturday by Professor Paul Pettit at 1.30pm. All welcome.

We are very lucky to have such wonderful amenity SSSI sites on our door step with the rare Magnesium Limestone 260,000 years old found in very few sites in the UK. Please make the most of this occasion of the visiting archaeologists and the opportunity to learn more about this Ice Age site and animals. See you there!”

SSSI means Site of Special Scientific Interest and is a government designation for important natural landscapes and habitat in the UK.

Anston Parish Council Considers Ban on Mountain Bikes in Anston Stones

In a move of almost “what foot shall I shoot myself in next” proportions Anston Parish Council decided tonight to move forward to study the possibility of banning bikes (of the push variety) from Anston Stones.

Some Councillors thought the idea ludicrous with at least two confirming they took their bikes there regularly. Others thought the sites SSSI protection (Site of Special Scientific Interest) meant that mountain biking was a form of criminal damage.

Deliberately damaging a SSSI is indeed a criminal offence but the gentle erosion caused by cycling (not to mention walking and horse riding) makes this tenuous at best.

One Councillor expressed surprise that groups of twenty cyclists were using the woods at time and wondered what would happen if such a group ran roughshod over a family group in one of the tunnels.

Cooler heads pointed out that cycling has been going on there for decades and it’s not happened yet (as far as anyone seemed to know)

It transpired that this all came about via an email sent to the clerk. A group of 20 (horror!!) cyclists were recently making their way through the wood and one of them ran out of talent on a tricky descent. An ambulance had some difficulty getting to him and were helped by a local contractor familiar with the layout of the Stones.

This led the Council to ponder whether the woods are suitable for cycling at all and they resolved to go away and fact find before bringing it back to a future meeting.

They also resolved to consider:

1. Banning fishing in Anston Stones
2. Banning Dogs from pay areas and playing fields on the rec ground.

This led to further questions about how such bans would be enforced and what could be done about the sheer amount of dog poo littering the local area. As the meeting ground to a halt no one had any answers but they resolved to meet again soon and discuss.

What do you think about banning cycling from the Stones?

Do you ride there? Have you ever sliced a family in half with your front wheel?

What about fishing?

And do you clean up after your dog? If so well done, if not a plague on you and your house!

Please feel free to comment below.

 

South Yorkshire Police Refuse to Help on Remembrance Sunday

In a truly bizarre cutback of suicidal political proportions South Yorkshire Police are informing the British Legion and other key stakeholders that officers will no longer be sent to close roads for the Remembrance Sunday procession in Dinnington.

Organisers have been told they will have to pay Rotherham Council to close the roads and then pay to hire their own marshals to stop people wandering into the road.

This is the cyanide on the cake for Dinnington which recently had its Sergeant and safer neighbourhood team removed and replaced by a pair of PCSOs who will be shared with other villages. Dinnington Police station will be closed to save £12,000 per year.

Labour Police Commissioner Alan Billings promised that Police would have access to a room in the Dinnington Resource Centre 24 hours a day. The Police themselves have said that the room will be used as a base and not manned, the public can meet the Police there if they happen to be using it at the time.

It will NOT be manned 24 hours a day as local Labour politician Judy Dalton seems to think. Please could we ask local Councillors like Katherine Wilson to NOT re-tweet things without first establishing them as fact.

WRONG!

A few other rumours have been circulating regarding Policing and we can offer the following…

1. Dinnington will have two PCSOs most of the time, they will generally work during the day, but not usually after 10pm.
2. They will be patrolling in cars, on bikes, on foot and occasionally using the bus.
3. The Police 999 service usually comes from Maltby, NO restriction has been places on officers as to what route they use to get here, local rumours had suggested that they could no longer use back roads.
4. The PCSOs will NOT have to commute from Maltby via bike or bus, we are told they are usually in a car or dropped off by car.
5. Rotherham Police are not short of cars, they have on average 1 car for every two front line officers which is regarded as optimal.
6. The room as Dinnington Resource Centre will come online in June and will be manned from time to time only. It will NOT be manned at night.
7. Crime cannot be reported via the Resource Centre, call 101.

If you have any information or anything regarding policing you would like us to look into please feel free to leave a comment below.

As for Remembrance Sunday we would expect a retraction of this rather clumsy policy so stay tuned.

Dump Labour and Vote Independent!

Do Dinnington and Anston a favour if you really must vote Labour and stay at home!

It’s that time of year again, you’ve probably had the pamphlets through the door already. It’s the only time the Rotherham Labour party give a monkeys about Dinnington and Anston…. That’s right! **ELECTION TIME!!**

Any day now they will be knocking on your door, perhaps accompanied by the local MP if he’s not too busy referring himself to the Parliamentary Standards Committee.

If course they’ll want to talk to you about Tory cuts and how it would be so much better if they were running things, but you might want to ask a few questions:

1. Just who was it who allowed hundreds of young girls to be abused on the streets of Rotherham for years?
2. Why is the Labour controlled Police force withdrawing officers from our community and closing our Police station? Why don’t we get our fair share of South Yorkshire Police resources?
3. Why do we see year on year under investment in our local infrastructure whilst our Council tax is spent in Rotherham town centre?
4. Why don’t we have leisure facilities in Dinnington or Anston? Why did they get built in Maltby and Aston when we have a higher population here?
5. Why are all the travellers camps in Rotherham earmarked for our area?

Yes, it’s the Labour party!

This year we have three independent candidates in Dinnington and two in Anston. Vote Independent and Dump Labour in 2016!

Archaeology in Anston Stones Part Two

Hot off the press is some more information on when archaeologists from Durham University will be visiting Anston Stones to perform a dig neat Dead Man’s Cave.

The dates are 3-15 of July this year and the team will be led by Professor Mark White.

They are concentrating on an area on a small gorge just down from the top path on Dead Man’s Cave and will be excavating small trenches near to the rock face. This is a follow up visit as detailed in our previous article.

The team are happy to receive visitors while they are on site and will be able to speak to interested members of the general public about their work.

Dead Man’s Cave us best reached from the top path through the stones, keep going until you see a field with a big owl box in it (at least I think that’s what it is), then turn right into the woods for a few minutes. The cave is in a little gorge when you reach the rock face. Be careful with kids and pets as it’s a long way to fall if you go the wrong way!

Councillor Christine Sadler of Anston Parish Council said “It’s a great opportunity for us all to find out something fascinating about the past right on our doorstep. Anston Stones is owned and managed as a SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) by Anston Parish Council so it’s locally owned and protected by representatives voted in by the people of Anston.”

Anston Stones was originally gifted to the then local authority Kiveton and District in the 1950s by the Duke of Leeds estate, it was absorbed into the newly created RMBC in the 70s and passed eventually to Anston Parish Council.

The site covers 88 acres and was notified as an SSSI in 1955. One very unusual feature for such a place is the mineral railway running through it. This adds an element of recent history to the Stones and means you have many fine features such as the bridge below to admire when walking through the woods.

As always if taking dogs please respect the local wildlife and clean up that poop!

Archaeologists to Revisit Anston Stones

Archaeologists are to visit Anston Stones again this year after a successful dig in 2015.

The leader of the team has said they will welcome visits to the site by the general public whilst carrying out the work, more info as we get it!

Anston Stones is a SSSI (usually pronounced “triple SI”) a government designation for a Site of Special Scientific Interest. As such it is protected by law and damaging it can attract a criminal prosecution.

The site has many interesting features from Dead Man’s Cave to the mineral railway which runs through the site alongside Anston Brook.

Here is a link if you want to read their past report from the site (rather technical)

Anston Archeological Dig Prelim Report 2015

Dinnington Police Station to Close!

Dinnington Police Station is officially closing!

Run down for decades the building is now merely a base for the very small team of PCSOs left in Rother Valley South. But now we will be losing it altogether as confirmed by the Area Commander at the latest Rother Valley South Area Assembly meeting in Woodsetts.

Also in attendance was the Police Commissioner who gave a rather uncertain and not very confident speech about the need to save money and cut back on services. He said the future would be sharing of facilities with the other blue light services like ambulance and fire, which are not to be found anywhere near Dinnington either!

Our beleaguered PCSOs (no Constables or Sergeant are now to be found in Dinnington at all) will be based for part of their day at the Dinnington Resource Centre. This seems to have become a theme, if you want to cut a service or close a building move it there.

At least folks can have a read in the library while they wait for the fuzz to show up. Also don’t expect any out of hours services, there won’t be any!

Our suggestion? Why don’t the Police rent a couple of houses to use as bases in Dinnington? suitable roads which spring to mind would be Leicester Road and Doe Quarry Terrace. The rents are low and the Police would have very little distance to travel to their ummm…. “customer base”

Not that we are suggesting everyone on these streets are criminals, but we have spoken to many people from these roads who would welcome a larger Police presence, not the cut down service we seem to be destined for.

Just our 2p……