Nemesis

The cottage is part of the Graves Park trust and is owned by the same. The trustees are Sheffield City Council. The covenants do not give the trustees permission to sell the land or the cottage. The original covenants say that any building no longer needed may be demolished, presumably so that the land stays within the trust. The only reason the friends suggested partial demolition and conversion into a garden was to stay within the covenants and keep it from being sold. It is not a listed building so is not protected from demolition. The latest idea of a stonemason living there and restoring it seems a brilliant idea - don't get why the council won't jump at this opportunity. ---------- Post added 05-01-2016 at 15:43 ---------- And I believe the friends originally wanted to restore the cottage so it could be rented and the council refused saying it wasn't needed.

I've just received information that the Friends of Graves Park had found a stonemason who wanted to renovate the cottage in return for renting it, only needing raw materials. He was also going to do any stone work needed in the park and run workshops for teenagers. Apparently the Council have turned this down! Surely this is a better alternative than selling part of the park and breaking the covenants.

So the toothless Charity Commission have done a u-turn on all their previous advice and given the Trustees of Graves Park Charity, aka Sheffield City Council, the go ahead to sell the cottage. Anybody out there who thinks this is a good thing, remember it breaks the covenants and sets a precedent for all protected charitable land in Sheffield. It also means the Council can sell off more areas of Graves Park for housing. What a shame!

So anyone buying it would find it more cost effective to knock the cottage down and build a new home on the site. Then the pavilion would go (nice site for a block of flats, 3 storeys high) then a nice little housing estate across that side of the park... Truth is, if the Council ever manage to break the covenants, Graves Park could rapidly decrease in size before our very eyes. Then again, as the Spartans said, "if"...

Well that's interesting because I saw several request replies regarding Graves Park that are not listed here. And on the subject of Cobnar Cottage, I thought the Council had been told by the Charity Commission that they needed to have a public consultation before they could sell Cobnar Cottage. So we all go back to square one. Again.

ER... didn't this happen some years ago, then the council used it as an excuse to try and sell the land off?

The latest is that the Charity Commission are looking into this, now that the Council as advertised its intention to sell. I hope all those Graves Park lovers out there realize that if Cobnar Cottage is sold, we could lose the rest of it!. We might be left with a small park, a shadow of its former self, surrounded by new housing estates built for fat cats!

Complaining to the Council is a waste of time. Contact the Charities Commission. Go on their website and tell them the council is trying to sell off parts of the park again. If enough people complain they'll have to listen. Though they'll probably just wait until the next time...

So here they go again. Why do the Council spend so much time and money trying to sell off bits of the park? So they can break the covenants, thereby setting a precedent and giving them carte blanche to sell off as much of it as they like. If they get away with this, what's next? A block of flats where the sports pavilion is now? A nice housing estate stretching from Norton Lane to Charles Ashmore Road? It's only a matter of time folks.

The council shouldn't be using it for anything other than for the benefit of Graves Park charity. How does the charity benefit from being used as a tip for the waste from other council land? The sooner the land is restored to parkland the better.

As I understand it, while the council workers might be doing the work, the councillors are actually the trustees of the Graves Park charity, so they are directly responsible for looking after the land. Also, wasn't there an agreement to turn the Nurseries site back to parkland about 15 years ago? Isn't the wildlife area phase one of this? And isn't the woodland area, still fenced off but nearly ready to be opened to the public, phase 2? So the land the council are currently using as a collection for rubbish is the third and final phase. So when the Friends of Graves Park want to start phase 3, where are the council going to dump all this rubbish? Why can't they just take it straight to a tip? Or is it because they are charged for this, per lorryload? I don't think anyone holds the council workers responsible, as they are just doing as they are told, however, the environment agency website says if your employer orders you to dump rubbish, you are still personably liable if you do it illegally. There's another thread about this if you look it up - scary stuff.

This really sounds disgusting. Are we sure the Council doesn't need a licence to store this kind of waste on Norton Nurseries?

Have heard the Environment Agency are going to check out the site. Is that why the Council are trying to clear up the mess?

I don't think we have to catch them doing anything. The Friends of Graves Park have told me the Council have admitted doing it and think it's OK. So that's alright then!

I believe the Council have been storing all the waste from all the parks in Sheffield, plus all the stuff fly-tipped on Council land, plus anything else on Norton Nurseries for some time. Yes, somebody needs to contact the Environment Agency.