COMMUNITY HOSPITAL 'BLUES'
Some of you were able to go to the meeting organised by the Town Council in the Forum on Friday March 24th. The feedback suggests that the outcome was disappointing. Public meetings are often like that. They can generate more heat than light. Rumour has it that later this year there could be one Primary Care Trust (PCT) for the whole of Worcestershire. If the Secretary of State accepts these proposals more delay can be expected. Apparently changes to the structure of PCTs are in the pipeline. If this happens the final decision to build a new hospital will be delayed while the new PCT sets its priorities. Our position is set out in this Newsletter but we fear the outlook is not a happy one.
Autumn in Malvern Festival
The Civic Society will again be supporting Malvern's premier arts festival in October. At the time we go to press we are not sure which event will carry our sponsorship.
Not Pubs Galore!
Recently our Society made representations against the conversion of the Vaults Inn near Link Top into apartments. The loss of another Victorian public house didn't seem a very good idea and fortunately the application was withdrawn. Malvern doesn't have all that many pubs and it's the same on the other side of the hills. Cradley no longer has its village pub and now it looks as though Mathon is about to lose the picturesque Cliffe Arms. Apart from a short interval in 2004 the Cliffe (pronounced cliffey) has been closed for over three years. Herefordshire Council's licensing department has confirmed that the pub doesn't currently have a licence to sell alcohol. Despite all the discouragement local resident, Michael Hickman has recently collected over two hundred signatures on a petition calling for the Cliffe to be re-opened.
New Elgar Statue
Apparently Sir Edward Elgar enjoyed the peace and quiet of Hereford Cathedral Close and now there is a new statue of him leaning against his bicycle. The statue was funded by the Elgar in Hereford Group and was sculpted by artist Jemma Pearson. Well worth seeing if you're in Hereford.
CEMETERIES
Those of you who like me have been dismayed by the bureaucratic and thoughtless imposition of health and safety legislation that has laid low many gravestones in Malvern's cemetery can take heart.
In January of this year an ecclesiastical judge has ruled that Leicester City Council had to seek permission from relatives of the dead before knocking down gravestones. The 119 gravestones crudely flattened in the Welford Road cemetery, many of them damaged, must be restored and it leaves the Council facing a repair bill of over £20,000. In his ruling the Judge stated that, 'it is in my judgment an over-reaction to health and safety concerns, and should only be allowed if there is no alternative'.
The judge said that a study had shown that there had been 19 accidents involving memorials in cemeteries between 1982 and 2004. This is under one accident a year in the British Isles.
Joseph Chamberlain & Highbury
We have just completed our second visit to Birmingham, could this become an annual event? Next year we shall be considering a visit to Highbury the home of Joe Chamberlain, arguably Birmingham's greatest political champion and reformer. He lived at Highbury from 1880 to 1914, it's a wonderful hall adjoining one of Birmingham's most delightful parks bearing the same name of Highbury. If you cannot wait may we suggest that you visit Highbury yourselves this year on Sunday, July 9th. The house and grounds will be open to the public 10.30 - 4.30 in celebration of the 100th anniversary of Chamberlain's 70th birthday in 1906. Refreshments will be on sale and of course memorabilia.