If ditching or blocking -something to bear in mind. Telsconbe Tye (common)
suffered from travellers invading it. The South Downs Conservation Board
with agreement from the Parish council created ditches and brought in
chalk and soil to create a bund. East Sussex County Council has now decreed
that as materials were imported to site planning permission was needed and
has been refused and issued an order to reinstate the site. . Beware!!
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bob & Annette Orchard" <[log in to unmask]>
To: "Pete Mason" <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, July 16, 2005 11:34 PM
Subject: Re: Groverake mine
> Hi,
> just a few comments on trying to protect mining artifacts from the
> vandals & scrap men, not to mention mining memorabilia & mineral
> collectors.
> Having been through this at the Geevor Tin Mine site, during its
> transition
> from working mine to heritage site.
>
> It is virtually impossible to stop these people, the only way at times is
> having to resort to physically removing them from the site. The police are
> not a lot of help either, depending on the views of the officers that turn
> up. Some will tell you to take the offender around the corner & give them
> a
> good beating (using sufficient force to restrain is the official term)
> then
> call the police, while other officers will inform you that by merely
> having
> a pick hilt with you (which is a tool in the mining world) that you are
> indeed carrying an offensive weapon.
>
> This is how the steam winding engine at Geevor Victory shaft is still
> there!!
>
> Putting obstacles in the way also does not work, I used blocks of concrete
> approx 1.5M x 1.5M x 1.5M, which were easily moved by the scrap men's
> truck
> / hi-hab. A better solution is to dig deep ditches, as these are more
> difficult to negotiate.
> The Geevor site was particularly difficult to protect, as it was traversed
> by several public rights-of-way. I have apprehended persons (ostensibly
> "just walking through") but carrying with them, wrecking bar, saw & an
> axe.....
>
> Locked steel gates / steel posts with reversed hinges (so that is
> impossible
> to lift the gates off the hinges) also no real obstacle to the gas cutting
> torch. (I came to work one morning to find the gates cut off the hinges &
> laying flat on the ground, the scrap men's truck having driven over the
> top
> of them to gain access to the large power cables from the substation to
> the
> Victory shaft winder (all in cable trenches & easy to remove).
>
> A good way to stop / catch the offenders if you happen to detect them on a
> site is to first let down all the tires of their vehicle (if you can get
> close enough without being seen) then call the police; so that the
> offenders
> can be caught red handed, but even then the police are very reluctant to
> want to take action.
>
> Even having a night watchman is no guarantee against vandalism, as one man
> on a large site cannot be everywhere.
>
> This is indeed a difficult problem for disused industrial sites, as there
> is
> often little or no funding. Listing is only a protection from respectable
> operators, it is no use what ever against the cowboy scrap men as they can
> be in on site, cut up a piece of equipment & be away very quickly. But by
> then the damage is done, as it is extremely unlikely that it will be
> found,
> & even if it is the way in which scrap men cut things up is not the same
> as
> if an engineer is cutting something to expedite its dismantling for
> removal
> / re-erection purposes.
>
> I think that one of the best approaches is to try and tidy up the site,
> treat / paint steel work & other structures, replace broken glass & give
> the
> site a used / cared for look.
>
> Bob.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Simon Chapman" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Sunday, July 17, 2005 6:13 AM
> Subject: Groverake mine
>
>
>> I suggest the headgear remaining should legally protected by Listing and
>> suitable physical obstacles put in the way of road access to the site to
>> make it as difficult as possible to get unauthorised motor vehicles
> anywhere
>> near it. In addition a programme of maintenance of the headgear by local
>> authority and/or local heritage organisations would need to be arranged.
>>
>> Without even referring to Adrian Pearce's list, other remaining headgears
> in
>> Co. Durham include the wooden one at Beamish Open Air Museum (NZ 219
>> 543),
>> steel at Washington F Pit Museum (NZ 302 574) and another steel one at
> North
>> Dalton water pumping station (NZ 408 477).
>>
>> During the 1990's I managed to get the historic Keope winding tower of
> 1922
>> at Murton Colliery preserved by Listing. Unfortunately Easington District
>> Council didn't quite agree, being afraid that the retention of such a
>> feature from the bad old past might deter new job opportunities, so it
>> was
>> de-Listed and demolished. Now the site is grassed over and empty while
>> nearby Dalton Park shopping extravaganda occupies the site of the former
> pit
>> heap.
>>
>> A headgear is a rare feature in Britain now, we should do our best to
>> keep
>> the few we have left.
>>
>> Simon.
>>
>>
>>
>> --
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>>
>>
>
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