The Clay Lane Estate Partnership
During the autumn months of 2001, as a result of families talking in St. Aidan’s School playground on Clay Lane Estate regarding the state of the estate and complaints about services being mentioned to the Head Teacher, Mrs Marion Wharton, the school arranged for the then local councillors and Rosie Winterton, MP for Doncaster Central, members of Doncaster M.B.C. and local residents, to tour the estate and identify problems.
In December a follow up meeting, which was advertised and open to everyone who resided on The Clay Lane Estate, was held in the school hall with again representatives of D.M.B.C. and councillors.
Many points regarding the state of the roads, properties, access to the estate etc were raised and considered and another meeting was held the following January and it was suggested that a Community Group should be set up to look at the matters and present them to the various council bodies and look at the possibility of obtaining Government and other grants to help alleviate the problems.
A committee was formed from local residents and started monthly open meetings, which were held in the school hall along with councillor surgeries. The group became known as the Clay Lane Estate Partnership and are a separate identity to the Clay Lane Estate Tenants and Residents Association, becoming a group motivated with the regeneration of the estate and as such were able to apply for different funding that was available to a TARA.
Planning For Real
In 2002, The Clay Lane Estate had been chosen by D.M.B.C. as a test bed for a Community Involvement project that was called “Planning For Real”. Mrs Pauline Harrison had been appointed as a liaison officer by DMBC and she facilitated the various events that were promoting the scheme. A number of Partnership members were involved with training and “The Planning For Real” scheme was rolled out.
This consisted of a model being made of the estate along with various cards and questions for the public to highlight where they considered were problems, need for improvement and requests for services and amenities.
The scheme was shown to the small number of businesses on the estate and then put on public display at St. Aidan’s School where the public were also entertained by dance groups, children’s entertainer, displays, give aways and at the evening session, adults were treated to Pie and Peas. The event was also attended by DMBC, councillors and Rosie Winterton MP.
“Planning For Real” was well attended, much information was collected and a follow up session was arranged to prioritise the findings.
All these details were put together in a report to be actioned as and when necessary.
Problems raised by the consultation included the need for a light controlled crossing over Thorne Road so people could access the Sainsbury’s Supermarket and other shops that were opening opposite Clay Lane. The upgrading of the Zebra Crossing over Wheatley Hall Road to a light controlled crossing, as motorists were not stopping to allow people across to Sandal Park. The back of Wilberforce Road alongside the Railway banking was being used as a Rat Run for motorcycles. Grass verges, footpaths, litter and access to the estate were among many issues raised.
Beyond Planning For Real
Later in 2002, Clay Lane Estate Partnership, also referred to as CLEP, became a founder member of the wider “Wheatley Ward Community Partnership” which became Wheatley Area Community Partnership. “WACup” to avoid any political inferences. WACup were a larger version of CLEP with the intentions of improving the whole of the area and could apply for larger grant funding.
By 2003 only a few items raised by the “Planning For Real” consultation had been completed and residents were becoming frustrated by the lack of action.
The Partnership continued to meet and discuss issues affecting the estate with the backing of the councillors with very little results.
The Community Shop
In 2003 after receiving a poor Ofsted report, which to this day is disputed by residents, staff and governors, St. Aidan’s School was highlighted for closure and by July 2004, Edenthorpe got their wish and would get a Church of England Voluntary Aided Nursery to go with their Primary School.
In view of this CLEP were looking for a base to work from and after discussions with DMBC, were able to take over the lease of the old Post Office which had been situated in the group of shops on Livingstone Avenue, the Post Office moving to the end unit and combining with the Off Licence that was there.
Due to vandalism the building was in poor shape, but with the help of obtaining Council and Government Funding, the shop was transformed into what it is today. A large downstairs meeting area with reception, disabled toilet and store rooms along with what was an upstairs flat being used for small group meetings, storage and kitchen area.
The base was opened by the then Elected Mayor of Doncaster, Mr Martin Winter, as a “One Stop Shop” for council information and help. Later in 2004 the “shop” became one of the first locations for the iPlus Internet information kiosks, for the public to obtain council information, and access to Jobseekers vacancies, South Yorkshire Passenger Transport (SYPTE) information along with BBC news and other on-line information services. It was envisaged that this kiosk would eventually have Wi-Fi facilities but that was unrealised.
The school closed despite local opposition and was fenced off. The TARA began to hold their weekly meetings in the new information shop and a number of volunteers are still able to open it for the public to access information.
Working In Partnership
Over the last few years, the partnership has been involved with other groups and for a time the building was part occupied by SMART, a group dedicated to helping people get over drug abuse, sadly funding ran out and this group went into the history books.
CLEP continue to operate the shop and is always looking for new volunteers, the last two years have seen involvement with the National Health service (NHS) in promoting healthier life styles and eating habits by promoting “Stop smoking” Sessions, Heart Checks, Exercise classes and General Health promotion events. Working with other organisations over the years, Basic computer courses and Tai Chi have been offered and the possibilities of organising any small groups with a usual, minimum of 12 people can still be arranged. We are open to provide hobby and craft classes with the help of other organisations.
The Play Area at the rear of the Club was given a grant for redesign and development in 2004 and CLEP were responsible for the consultations and design of the selected equipment and amid pouring rain, Mrs M. Wharton returned to Clay Lane to open the new Play area in the autumn.
In 2007 in an attempt to draw more people in, CLEP merged with WACup, but this was an unsuccessful venture and in September 2008 CLEP became a Company Limited by Guarantee, to protect its members.
The Explorer Club, formerly Clay Lane Club closed in 2008 with plans to redevelop it, not coming to fruition and the future of that is unsure at present.
May 2010 saw Persimmon Homes start building on the site of the old school that was demolished in 2008 after vandalism and arson attacks. This was after pressure from CLEP on the landowners.
CLEP continued to operate as they were self sustaining from the beginning in that they hold Coffee Mornings, Pie and Pea Quiz nights and other events from time to time, and they are grateful to the local community for their support. As a result of this type of management, CLEP have outlasted many of the other Community Groups that were set up in Doncaster, including WACuP however in 2013 the existing members of the Partnership decided that we had gone as far as we could with the current backing from other organisations and decided to call it a day, as a result the Community Shop closed in September of that year and all documentation regarding to the group is now held by myself for future use.
Paul Wakefield -
Chairman Clay Lane Estate Partnership Ltd and proud live on the estate
August 2017
