Uttoxeter MAYFEST

Bank Holiday Monday - May 7th 2007

Celebrate at the Uttoxeter May Festival - meet the Green Man, see traditional maypole dancing, folk bands and a strett arts and crafts market, food stalls and more

For details ring 07999 807 067
or 01889 569867

Visit http://www.uttoxetermayfest.moonfruit.com/

Planning Disaster

Barking Mad - planning disaster

The Civic Trust has joined the RSPB, CPRE, Friends of the Earth,
Woodlands Trust, Ramblers Association, Wildlife Trust, Transport 2000
and the RTPI to form a coalition to campaign against the
recommendations of the Barker Review. A website http://www.planningdisaster.co.uk/

has been launched to allow the public to email their concern to Gordon Brown or their local MP.





January 2007 - The Barker Review of Land Use Planning was commissioned
by the Treasury as a review of the UK's planning system, primarily
focusing on the link between planning and economic growth. The Civic
Trust has greeted many of the recommendations with great concern, as
the majority of these focus on reforming the planning system for the
benefit of businesses and developers. This may have implications for
the protection of the built and natural environments and for local
communities. To read more about the Review and the Civic Trust's views,
please click here.

• Barker Review of Land Use Planning: Final Report - Recommendations
  
  
  
  • On
    5 December 2006 the Barker Review issued this final report. The
    Government is interested to hear your views. Comments should be sent no
    later than 5 March 2007.
  
  
  
  

UTTOXETER BEER FESTIVAL

Date: 2nd June 2007

tickets@uttoxeterbeerfestival.org.uk

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A lighter and brighter town -mixed pallet -greys,greens and mottled pink?

From the Advertiser

EXACTLY a year ago plans for the new-look Uttoxeter High Street were unveiled.

Today, the work has almost finished, the town has been transformed and now scheme bosses have thanked Uttoxeter shoppers and traders for their support during a year of disruption.

The £1.6 million revamp has been in the pipeline for two years. In autumn last year, residents had the chance to vote on the colour and quality of the street materials to be used. The final decision was to use a mixed pallet of greys, greens, yellows and mottled pink

The colour scheme was aimed at creating a lighter and brighter look to the town and funded by Staffordshire County Council, East Staffordshire Borough Council and Uttoxeter Plus.

Materials used include granite flagstones and kerbs, seats and paving. The plans aimed to achieve a harmonious mix of the traditional and modern, anchored firmly through quality design and carefully crafted features.

Worth noting that when ESBC councillors come a knocking at your door don't let them take all the credit for this coalition of councils
Now wouldn't it be nice if they could work together more..............

New Uttoxeter Housing as seen from the air

New Uttoxeter Housing as seen from the air - planners cleverly spell out to Burton just where the town actually is for the next Mayoral fly over

Johnson's Penance for only visiting the Town once..

Recruitment for Tesco expansion

Taylor Woodrow are advertising for a quantity surveyor for the new build on the Tesco store: complete with extra floors - TW has the contract for just about everything in town - new conservatory, garden sheds..

Senior Quantity Surveyor
Involved in the major expansion of Tesco stores (including the creation of
additional floors), you will enjoy involvement in a new project
approximately every nine months. If you prefer, the vast majority of
these projects can be close to home, giving you an excellent work/life
balance as well as considerable responsibility and challenge.
£32-47,500 + Car Allowance (Where will they park?)

Cattle market - Why are we waiting?

Still no start by Taylor Woodrow on Uttoxeter's supposed £20 million-plus town centre redevelopment schemes
No explanation from Taylor Woodrow -no explanation from any of the local councillors
Taylor Woodrow were named as the company to regenerate the town in 2004, building due to start October 2005..... As taxpayers we are investing a considerable amount who is accountable who will explain?

Save the Wellington Public House

We are very concerned about the state of the Wellington Public House and the recent fire on the premises.
The Borough Council may need to take action under s215 of the 1990 Planning Act to tidy up this public eyesore (in this case to make good any fire damage and make the building safe against trespass); or serve a S54 urgent works notice (giving the owner 7 days notice of the LPA's intent to carry out the urgent works to make the building safe and weathertight and to reclaim the costs from the owner); or a s48 Repairs Notice as a prelude to compulsory purchase.
We have been advised by English Heritage that they may be instructed to exercise these powers by the Secretary of State in default of action by the local authority.

ESBC is currently without a Conservation Officer - this is appalling.

The owner of the Wellington is currently the newly elected Town Ward Councillor for the Tories

Planning applications

Dont forget you can view and comment on Planning applications online from ESBC

Domesday Book Online - but you have to pay to see it

Place name:
Uttoxeter, Staffordshire
Folio:
246v Great Domesday Book
Domesday place name:
Wotocheshede
People mentioned:
Aelfgeat; Aki; Almaer; Alweard; Alwine; Arnketil; Burgesses of Tamworth; Dunning; Earl Aelfgar; Gruffydd; Iwar; Ketil; King William as landholder; Oda; Rafwin; Swein; Thorbiorn; Uhtraed; Wudia; Wulfgeat; Wulfheah; Wulfhere; Wulfmaer; Wulfric; Ylving
Date
1086

Here is what the entry says in English


Wotoschede
The King holds Uttoxeter. Earl Aelfgar held it. There is half a hide. There is land for 10 Ploughs. In demesne are 2 ploughs with 1 slave; and 24 villans and eleven bordars with 11 ploughs. There are 16 acres of meadow and woodland 2 leagues long and as many broad. TRE it was worth £6 now £7.
TRE tempora regis Eduardis In the time of King Edward the Confessor


Hide was 120 acres, although this could vary, and sometimes was around 240 acres. Domesday hide values were not real measurements of land, but figures on which tax (geld) was based (used in English areas, equivalent to a carucate).
Plough caruca, carruca
In Domesday the word implies a plough team with its eight oxen and the plough itself. The measure of a carucate was originally the amount of land which such a team could plough in one day.
Slave: A man or woman who owed personal service to another, and who was un-free, and unable to move home or work or change allegiance, to buy or to sell, without permission.
TRE tempora regis Eduardis In the time of King Edward the Confessor; by implication,
DOM= assessment
In essence, there were two Domesday surveys: the first raised a royal Geld to pay for war with the Danes; and the second dealt with matters of land tenure arising from the first and the billeting of so many troops on English land.
Algar (Lady Godiva’s Son!) died seven years before the conquest, though he is mentioned as the land belonging to him. Even though it had passed onto his sons Edwin earl of Mercia. Edwin took up arms against William on behalf of his oppressed countrymen. Thuis was obviously still freash when it came to writing up the book that his name was struck from the book despite being the most important landowner in country. This is because his son and his sons Edwin and Morcar, (Earls of Mercia and Northumberland), ..took up arms on behalf of their enslaved countrymen in the year 1071, and Edwin being betrayed into the hands of the Normans, met an untimely fate; when his estates were, of course confiscated and most of those in Staffordshire remained in the King's hands at the Domesday survey.
The devastating vengeance which William inflicted on the English revolters, may probably account for the immense tract of waste lands in Staffordshire,
William was a Bastard in every sense!
Demesne – private land of the manor
League 3 miles

Date set for Town Ward Election

If the election is contested, a poll will take place on THURSDAY, 31 AUGUST 2006 -
We will probably not get cards again - For recent elections ESBC have not sent voting cards to households - this is possibly a contributing factor for the appalling turn out in local elections along woth all the other myriad factors which turn the franchised off politics. A card acts as a flyer and aide memoire and is sorely missed.

Archaeology Society and Wood Farm

CROXDEN Abbey has long been a very visible sign that Uttoxeter is rich in history.
And with the abbey so close to Wood Farm, it is no surprise that Cistercian artefacts have been found on its land, including a little bell, which could have come from a monk’s robe, horse’s bridle or a falconer.
These items, along with a second century Roman coin, signify that the site has been occupied for 2,000 years.
But finding flints, stone pounders, arrow heads, neolithic pottery, mace heads, axes, burial mounds and stone structures is evidence that the Uttoxeter area has history going back even further — by thousands and thousands of years.
Nick Brandrick has lived at the 224-acre dairy farm since 1964.
He has 30 acres of woodland and one of the more ancient wooded areas houses some unusual animals.
As Nick, 49, shakes some food pellets, the trees start rustling and the sense of history that pervades the farm is heightened by the sight of a small herd of wild boar, which comes snuffling out the wood.
It is partly because of the boar that Nick first found an interest in investigating the history of his land.
While building the boar pen, he and his son found a spear point — identified as coming from a fishing spear because of its serrated edges.
"That was the first real clue that anything had happened here," says Nick.
Those first finds in the 1990s spurred the farmer on to learn about archaeology from books and carry out his own investigations.
Sadly the wild boar, the dairy cows and even Nick himself have accidentally destroyed some of the evidence over the years, but much still remains.
"I started doing a few experimental digs over the years, but a lot of my finds have come with help from other people.
"I find things by going into the structures and digging on those structures."
Some of the eeriest places on Nick’s farms are the wooded hollows which become bogs in winter, but dry out in summer.
These creepy bogs are dotted with cairns — piles of stones which are thought to mark bog burials.
One expert from Derby University said he thought there was evidence of Bronze Age burial mounds in the wooded areas.
However, any trace of human remains would unfortunately be long gone.
"A dog bone would disappear in two months in this ground, because of the acidity," says Nick.
More baffling is the stone alignments which can be seen when the bogs are dry. Lines of sandstones have been placed across the bog like the spokes of a wheel.
Scattered here and there, Nick has found a good deal of quartz too which has been "napped", where part of the stone is struck off, making a sharp edge to use as a tool.
Other small pieces of quartz have signs of being used as a "pot boiler" — where the stone has been placed in a fire and then dropped into water to heat the liquid.
Curiously, not all of the stones Nick has been examining are local. Small white pebbles have been found purposefully placed at the end of stone lines, or in between larger stones, and are thought to come from places like the Chilterns or East Anglia.
A long grassy mound crosses one of the fields on Wood Farm. Bits of stone can be seen here and there and at first Nick thought it was a stone wall which had collapsed, but careful examination has since revealed that stones had been carefully placed at intervals and not in one long continuous line.
Following the stones leads you to what Nick calls the "Altar" and another big mound, where many of the artefacts have been found on digs, which reveal the careful layers of the structure and its elements of human construction.
Dotted here and there around the farm you can also see stones which bear signs of having been used to sharpen flints and make arrowheads.
The flints have been officially dated as neolithic by the county, but so far experts refuse to accept that the artefacts were found on digs focusing on the farm’s curious stone structures.
One expert from Hanley has even dated one of Nick’s flints at 40,000 BC to 60,000 BC.
However, he is still sceptical that it is quite so ancient, believing it more likely to be between seven to 10 thousand BC.
Most of his finds and the stone structures are believed to be neolithic, which dates them from 2,000 BC to 8,000 BC.
However, some may be even older, with markings on them hinting at the mesolithic age, which is from 8,000 BC up to 20,000 BC.
Stonehenge is probably one of the most well-known structures built by neolithic man and historians believe neolithic people had a huge sense of awe for nature and the changing seasons, which is reflected in structures such as stone circles.
Up at Greatgate there is evidence of this too. Just off Nick’s land there is rock face, which from the side looks like the profile of a person.
With permission from his neighbour, Nick explored the area and found intriguing bowl shapes cut into the rock at the very base of the cliff, with markings in the rock face just above the bowls.
The escarpment faces sunset and Nick believe the "cups" had a ritualistic purpose.
Just looking at the barrows and strange stone alignments conjures up images of prehistoric men and women carrying out rituals and burials.
It is obvious that Nick has a love for his land and a boundless enthusiasm in finding out about its history.
And he’s not the only one.
Members of Uttoxeter Archaeology Society are just as excited about the mysterious stone features to be found at the farm.
The society is hoping to start excavating some of the sites when the frosts have ebbed away and the more clement weather arrives in March.
Dave Parkes, a member of the society, says: "Part of it is making sure it’s recorded for future generations, but it’s also about encouraging other archaeologists to get on the land to investigate more about these kinds of finds.
"There are not many people in the UK who are experts in this area because it’s so hard to quantify and assess the finds."
Dave’s interest and amateur specialism in neolithic archaeology stems from his degree in ancient history.
He says: "It’s an incredible place. It’s got a real magic about it.
"It’s on a hill looking out over the valley and it just makes you think, what were they doing and why were they there? It’s like trying to piece together a jigsaw.
"It creates scenarios in your mind, to think about what these people were doing. Were they wearing furs or were they naked or painted?
"It needs more study, more approaches and opinions from other archaeologists and more debate about what it could be."
Nick’s artefacts and more information about his farm is currently on display at Uttoxeter Heritage Centre, as part of the centre’s new exhibitions of local collectors and their collections.

Gambling with Our Future

More from the Advertiser

UTTOXETER needs to hold out for the best deal possible for the Cattle Market site, says the town's Mayor Malcolm Barrett.
However, Uttoxeter’s Labour MP Janet Dean and East Staffordshire Borough Council Labour group leader Julian Mott have slammed the delay, claiming it is a waste of tax payers’ money.
The decision by the borough council to pull out of the deal with developers Taylor Woodrow has sparked strong reactions from Independent Councillor Barrett, who had not officially been told of the set-back until The Advertiser informed him yesterday.
He praised the borough council for refusing to be 'bullied' by Taylor Woodrow, and said all parties now need to work together to find the best solution for Uttoxeter.
He said: "I am aware of a press release from ESBC which basically implies that during the past few months Taylor Woodrow has been trying to move the goal posts.
"Based on this, I can only agree with Councillor Fox’s statement that we should not be bullied into accepting a scheme which was not agreed, especially if this is to the detriment of Uttoxeter.
"I would say that the most important thing that we must do now is to keep up momentum in respect of the regeneration of the old cattle market site.
"We must all work together for the future of our town."
Mrs Dean told The Advertiser: "I said that this was a gamble when the council first announced the purchase of the Cattle Market, and the question now is that is this gamble going to cost the tax payers of East Staffordshire?
"While it is right that the local authority should not bow to pressure from Taylor Woodrow, I am surprised that it should have reached this stage without a legal agreement.
"Also, if the council was aware that the development would not go ahead this week, I am surprised that it did not try to agree the continuation of the Cattle Market."
She said that she hoped the borough council would now ensure that the public’s concerns over parking in the town were addressed in future plans.
Mr Mott said: "Many times we have been assured that the purchase of Uttoxeter Cattle Market would have 'zero impact' on the council tax payers, and were promised several times by Councillor Fox that work would begin on November 1.
"Now the deal has fallen through, the council is already paying interest on the cost of purchase.
"The fact that this deal has fallen through gives the council the opportunity to reconsider its position on lack of affordable housing and the loss of car parking, and come up with plans that meet the aspirations of local people."

Taylor Woodrun

Housebuilder Taylor Woodrow is the subject of rumors of a takeover from rival Persimmon.
Perhaps Taylor Woodrow were trying to make money while they could by pushing a desperate council further and further down the road to selling off Uttoxeter as a bargain basement housing estate.

Profit at Taylor Woodrow falls 18% in six months to June

Housebuilder feels effects of the tougher housing market

Greed of Developers 'surprises' council

From the Uttoxeter Advertiser today

THE redevelopment of Uttoxeter cattle market has been put on hold after council bosses pulled out of a deal with developers at the last minute.
Days before bulldozers were due to move in to begin demolishing the site, East Staffordshire Borough Council has halted the deal over a row with developers Taylor Woodrow.
The move came after the firm changed its original proposals saying it wanted to halve the number of retail units and replace them with more housing
However, the council has pushed ahead with its purchase of the Carter Street site from Bagshaws and says if things cannot be resolved with Taylor Woodrow it will look for another developer.
The redevelopment of this site in the heart of Uttoxeter could now be delayed by as much as six months.
The council said today it was unhappy with the developer for delaying the signing of the legal agreement and making frequent attempts to change the terms on which the company had been selected last year.
The developer refused to guarantee the build quality and finish of the development, despite the council dropping the price of the site by £1million to ensure a high quality.
The last straw was when the company told the council last week it would only sign if the price tag of the site was slashed further.
Councillor Alex Fox, leader of the borough council, said: "The last few months have demonstrated that Taylor Woodrow is not willing to honour the promises made when the company was selected last year.
"We have been very patient with the company but I have decided that enough is enough.
"Even within the last week, Taylor Woodrow again tried to change the terms and we have come to the point where we are not prepared to compromise any further.
"We want Uttoxeter to be right. If it takes another three to six months then so be it. Last time round there were five developers who showed an interest in the site.
"It is actually a much more attractive site than when we signed this deal in that we now have planning permission and own all of it.
"The designs drawn up by Taylor Woodrow originally were excellent but we have been taken down a track where they won’t guarantee these designs at the finish.
“We have got to stand our ground on these things because this is a big project.
“We are not going to just roll over on this multi-million pound deal and be taken to the cleaners.
“My gut feeling is that they will come back to us and if it sticks to the agreement we will be happy to proceed, if it doesn’t we will be happy to look elsewhere.”
The decision to halt the deal received unaminous cross-party support at a cabinet meeting of the council last Friday.
The council has also brought in professional advisors to prepare a report outlining the current options for site.
The report will go before the cabinet at the end of the month when a decision will be taken on whether to stay with Taylor Woodrow or find a new buyer.
East Staffordshire Borough Council’s new chief executive Marie Ainsworth, who had only been in her post for nine hours when the decision was publicly announced, said: “The advice we have had is that there is likely to be significant interest in the scheme.”
She said that although planning permission has been granted for the site, if a new developer was appointed it would be most likely that variations to the scheme would mean new permission would need to be sought.
Councillor Fox added that “every cloud has a silver lining” and that this gave the council an opportunity to review the plans for the site.
He said: “This gives us another opportunity to look at the retail for the site and the type of retail coming in, to review the designs again and see if 12 months on they are exactly what we finally want.”
Taylor Woodrow’s director of strategic development, Jamie Gibbins, said: “Taylor Woodrow remains committed to delivering a high quality mixed-use development on the cattle market site.
“We are still in negotiation and while discussions continue with all interested parties, from prospective retailers to the council, we are not in a position to comment any further.”

Council fail to deliver again - carpetbaggers flee

From the Sentinel Today

MAJOR BLOW FOR PLANS TO REGENERATE TOWN CENTRE
GRAHAM TONG12:00 - 02 November 2005
Multi-million pound plans to transform Uttoxeter town centre have suffered a setback after talks between proposed developers and council officials broke down. Developer Taylor Woodrow told bosses at East Staffordshire Borough Council it was cutting its offer to buy the cattle market site in the town centre by a 'significant amount' before an agreement was due to be signed.Councillors have now decided unanimously to reject the offer.Taylor Woodrow was chosen a year ago to develop the site to form the main part of a 10-year masterplan for Uttoxeter. This included building 180 houses, a retail development, offices and improvements to town centre parking.A borough council statement says Taylor Woodrow has since delayed signing a contract to confirm the deal and has made 'frequent attempts to change the terms on which the company had been selected'.Talks will be opened with other developers if the firm does not increase its latest offer.Council leader Alex Fox insisted the authority was protecting the town's future interests by rejecting the offer.He said: "Taylor Woodrow was chosen 12 months ago because the designs were the best for Uttoxeter. They captured the ambience of the market town. They put a good mix together. We believed that would take the town forward for the next 100 years. They were supposed to sign a contract in March this year. As time has gone by we've been frustrated - they've always found another reason to delay putting a signature on that contract."First they came to us and said the amount they were paying was fine, but they wanted to spread it over two years."We gave ground on that on the basis that we wanted to make progress. Now we are faced with a problem where Taylor Woodrow want to reduce the price they were paying for the market site."We've told Taylor Woodrow we are not prepared to knock anything off the price. Taylor Woodrow may well want to review its position and talk to us again, which we would be happy to do."Mr Fox added that Taylor Woodrow's plan to halve the number of retail outlets initially proposed in order to develop more housing had also been rejected, and that the firm was no longer guaranteeing the scheme's quality.Councillor Julian Mott, leader of the opposition, said: "The Labour group representatives agreed that these would not represent the best solution for Uttoxeter and we support the council's decision."Taylor Woodrow's director of strategic development, Jamie Gibbins said: "We are still in negotiation and while discussions continue with all interested parties we are not in a position to comment any further."

Civic Society on the small screen....

Civic Society Secretary David Denny appeared last night on the Heart of the Country on ITV. The town was featured in a mystery Midlands town montage with David revealing the idenity at the end. Some excellence shots and locations of our beautiful town were included and providentially some from the soon to be closed Cattle Market.

Uttoxeter by any other name

Uttoxeter as it is now known, has had many different names and many different spellings. The List below is mostly based on phonetic spellings of the vernacular pronunciation. Below is the usual list although there are references to Uttoxeter as Hycestri, which could hint at a Roman origin.....

There are probably more but there are 76 versions below

Hottocsathere (1322)
Hottokesacre (Ed I)
Hutockshather (1208)
Huttokeshagh (1242)
Huttokkeshatre (H V)
Otoksather (H V)
Ottockeshat (Ed I)
Ottockeshater (Ed I)
Ottokeshathere (Ed I)
Ottokeshther (Ed I)
Ottokhathere (Ed I)
Utcester (Jas I)
Utcetor (Eliz)
Utcetter (Jas I)
Utcytor (Eliz)
Uthoxhaure (1212)
Utokeshather (1316-40)
Utoxator (Jas I)
Utoxeter (Jas I)
Utoxetur (E I & 1583)
Utoxitur (1640)
Uttaksather (H VI)
Uttaxather (1540)
Uttaxatour (H VII)
Uttaxceter (Ed)
Uttaxotor (H VII)
Uttcetour (1535)
Uttcettour (1544)
Uttcetur (1533)
Uttekasthre (Ed I)
Uttockeshather (1288)
Uttokesaker (Ed I)
Uttokesh (1360)
Uttokeshader (1199)
Uttokeshadere (E III)
Uttokeshal (1225)
Uttokeshale (1275)
Uttokeshather (E I & R II)
Uttokeshatre (R II)
Uttokhather (H VI)
Uttokhather (H VI)
Uttokishidere (1174)
Uttoksader (H V)
Uttoksater (H V)
Uttoksathe (H V)
Uttoksather (H V)
Uttoksatre (H VI)
Uttokshater (H V, 1366)
Uttoxater (H V)
Uttoxater (Jas I)
Uttoxather (Ed III)
Uttoxator (Eliz, 1551)
Uttoxatour (Eliz)
Uttoxatre (1349)
Uttoxatur (H VIII)
Uttoxature (Eliz)
Uttoxceter (Jas I)
Uttoxcetur (H VIII, 1553)
Uttoxeshather (1327)
Uttoxeter (1614)
Uttoxetor (Ed I)
Uttoxhader (H V)
Uttoxhater (R II)
Uttoxhatha (1327)
Uttoxhather (1331)
Uttoxhathour (H VIII)
Uttoxhathre (R II)
Uttoxhatre (Ed III, R III, H IV)
Uttoxhattour (H V)
Uttoxiter (1640)
Uttuckeshall (Ed I)
Uxcetur (H VIII)
Wettokesaker (1288)
Wittokeshather (1243)
Wotochesede (Domesday 1086)
Wytokeshather (Ed I)