YORKSHIRE & HUMBER

ASSOCIATION OF CIVIC SOCIETIES

Annual Report

And Accounts 2019

YHACS Member Societies in 2019

Cover photograph of Selby Abbey by Kevin Trickett

1. Addingham Civic Society 2. Aireborough Civic Society 3. Barnsley Civic Trust 4. Beverley & District Civic Society 5. Bradford Civic Society 6. Brighouse Civic Trust 7. Castleford Heritage Trust 8. Doncaster Civic Trust 9. Dronfield Civic Society New! 10. Goole Civic Society 11. Great Grimsby Ice Factory Trust 12. Grimsby Cleethorpes & District Civic Society 13. Halifax Civic Trust 14. Harrogate Civic Society 15. Horbury Civic Society 16. Hornsea and District Civic Society 17. Horsforth Civic Society 18. Howden Civic Society 19. Huddersfield Civic Society 20. Hull Civic Society 21. Ilkley Civic Society 22. Knaresborough Civic Society 23. Leeds Civic Trust 24. Market Weighton Civic Society 25. The Oulton Society 26. Ossett Civic Trust 27. Pontefract Civic Society 28. Richmond & District Civic Society 29. Ripon Civic Society 30. Saddleworth Civic Trust 31. Scarborough & District Civic Society 32. Selby Civic Society 33. Sheffield Civic Trust 34. Skipton in Craven Civic Society 35. Spen Valley Civic Society 36. Thorne & District Civic Society New! 37. Wakefield Civic Society 38. Wetherby Civic Society 39. Whitby Civic Society 40. York Civic Trust

YHACS Annual Report 2019

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Chair’s Report

The Bigger Picture

There were a number of ‘big themes’ that cut across our work

during 2019. The quality of housing design, whether beauty is an

important concept in design, a growing awareness of climate

change issues and how to respond to the demands of a growing

population while also protecting the planet, and, yes, I’ll mention

it now to get it out of the way, the implications of Brexit. On top

of that, we now have a new government with a strong enough

majority to ‘get things done’. Whether the things that get done

are the things we want doing remains to be seen.

As I discussed in these pages last year, there has been much

debate about what constitutes ‘good design’, not just within the

civic movement but elsewhere as well. I’m not sure that we have

moved any closer to agreement but I hope we can now accept

that aesthetic considerations, so often a subjective response to

design, are only one part of the discussion.

It should, of course, be possible to apply some objective tests to

whether or not any design is fit for purpose, whether we are

talking about the plan for a single property, the blueprint for an

entire housing development, or a sketch for a single piece of

furniture. And yet, no matter how rigorous we might be at

scrutinising the paperwork, experience shows that there’s often a

gap between concept and actuality once we see schemes being

realised. If you’ve ever caught yourself saying (or even thinking)

“Oh, I didn’t expect it to look quite like that”, you’ll know what I

mean.

A new report, A Housing Design Audit for England, just published

by the Place Alliance, makes for sad reading concluding that the

design of new housing environments in England is ‘mediocre’ or

‘poor’. Our region, Yorkshire and Humber, is classed as ‘solidly

mediocre’.

Is there anything that civic societies can do to help improve

things? Well, it certainly helps to maintain the pressure through

consistent and continuous comment, not to mention by lodging

objections when we see something proposed of poor design.

Kevin Trickett MBE,

A river cuts through

rock, not because of its

power, but because of its

persistence.

Jim Watkins, Author

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Sometimes, it’s the steady, persistent and consistent lobbying for change

that brings about the change we want to see, although it can take a long

time to capture the interest and imagination of those responsible for

making decisions, be they politicians or developers. Sometimes, a more

obvious response is necessary, but I leave it to members to decide

whether or not they are prepared to ‘lie down in front of the bulldozers’.

If we are to make a case for better design, we need to be able to articulate

sensible arguments, couched in the language that developers and

planners understand – and which shows that we know what we are

talking about. It was to help societies to develop deeper insights into the

question of what good design might look like that we ran our Design

Workshop back in February which looked specifically at housing design

and what might be done to provide an alternative to what the major

housebuilders are producing (such as self-build, housing co-operatives

and co-housing.)

Facilitated for us over two days at the Cedar Court Hotel in Wakefield

by Sheffield-based Integreat Plus, the workshop attracted some 24

members from 11 societies plus a representative, Sarah James, from

Civic Voice. The event attracted broadly favourable feedback. There was

some criticism that day 2 was a little ‘niche’ and that it might have been

better to offer two one-day workshops instead, but overall, I think we

can judge the event as a success. Certainly, if we were to run such an

event again, we would run them as two separate events. However, the

workshop was subsidised by YHACS and we would need to look at the

cost to those attending to reduce the financial burden on YHACS and to

make them more sustainable.

Running in parallel with the debate on what constitutes good design

was a new debate on whether developments that are regarded as

‘beautiful’ are an easier ‘sell’ when it comes to gaining community

acceptance.

Following the announcement in 2018 that the government was to set up

a new commission to look at the importance of beauty in the built

environment, Civic Voice set up a panel, of which I was a member, to

gather views on the subject from the civic movement. Given that the

civic movement is the only structured community-based interest group

that is associated with planning issues on a nationwide scale, we were

well-placed to provide feedback and duly did so, having first conducted

a survey of members’ views and soliciting input at various meetings and

workshops, including the YHACS spring event in Sheffield.

Managing Market

Weighton Civic

Society

In 2019 we unveiled a

blue plaque to

aeronautical engineer

Hilda Lyon (1896-1946)

on behalf of Market

Weighton Civic

Society, which we

continue to manage.

Funds came from

individuals and

community

organisations. The

unveiling ceremony at

Market Weighton

Town Hall was

attended by members

of the Lyon family.

Alas, it did nothing to

attract new members to

the Society!

We shall persevere.

YHACS Annual Report 2019

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The purpose of the ‘Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission’ is

“to tackle the challenge of poor-quality design and build of homes and

places, across the country and help ensure as we build for the future,

we do so with popular consent”. To my mind, that very purpose

conflates two distinct, if intertwined concepts – design and beauty. My

view, for what it’s worth, is that whereas design can be tested

objectively, beauty is very much more a subjective experience, albeit

one on which popular consensus may be possible.

The Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission has already

produced an interim report and the final report is now due although

the recent death of Commission co-chair Sir Roger Scruton may have

some impact on the publication date. What is emerging is that beauty

does, of course, matter greatly to people – not just the beauty of the

buildings but also the beauty of place. My point is that we perhaps all

mean something different when we talk about what makes something

beautiful. We await the final report with interest.

A Climate Crisis?

No one can doubt that something is happening to our weather. We are

experiencing more consecutive extreme conditions across the planet

than ever in living memory. While there is still some argument about

the underlying causes, it does seem that at least some of the changes

are down to global warming and mankind’s activities are undoubtedly

contributing to the latter.

As a species, we have the ability to take control of matters – at least to a

certain extent – and governments and companies across the world are

waking up to the need to do something. We can all do our bit to reduce

our carbon footprint and collectively, if every man, woman and child

took some action, we could make a difference. However, we also need

governments and big business to set an example, perhaps even, in the

case of government, legislating to force change. Microsoft has just

announced its intention not only to be carbon neutral by 2030 but to go

further: they intend to be carbon negative by 2050 – something they

will achieve by removing all the carbon from the environment that the

company has emitted either directly or by electrical consumption since

it was founded in 1975. This is an excellent example that we can only

hope others will follow – but 2050 is a long way into the future – even

2030 is a decade away – and a lot needs to happen in 10 years.

Changes to the

YHACS Committee

(1)

In last year’s Annual

Report, I was able to

celebrate the arrival of a

new committee member.

Alison Drake MBE, chair

of Castleford Heritage

Trust (CHT) since its

formation in 2000, joined

the YHACS Committee at

the AGM in January 2018.

Sadly, I have to record

that Alison was lost to us

when she passed away in

April 2019. That Alison

had not been in the best

of health was something

that we were aware of,

but it nonetheless came

as a great shock to see the

report of her death just a

few days after emailing

the committee to say how

much she was enjoying

working with us.

YHACS Annual Report 2019

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It is clear that civic societies have a role to play within their local

communities, from reviewing planning applications to test the

impact of proposed developments and their concomitant

infrastructure requirements on the environment, to campaigning on

issues such as recycling and tree-planting initiatives. We can, and

must, do something.

At the end of 2019, the YHACS committee, recognising the writing

on the wall, agreed that we would make 2020 the year of the

environment and that we would put environmental issues front and

centre of our meetings and newsletters.

Brexit and Politics

Worry not, I’m not going to discuss either Brexit or politics here

other than to point out that, whatever the rights and wrongs of

Brexit, we have spent over three years as a nation (and indeed as a

continent) discussing the matter. It has caused divisions within

families, within communities and within political parties. I rather

fear we have not seen the end of that division and the endless

debates about Brexit but what I think we can agree on is that politics

has effectively been in stasis with little real progress being made on

other issues.

Now that we have a new government with a large majority, it’s

likely that we shall see a raft of legislative changes coming through

thick and fast. It may prove hard to keep up. It’s also possible that,

because of the large majority, the government will find it relatively

easy to pass new laws and to scrap old ones, but now without the

rigorous scrutiny and debate that might otherwise have been the

case. It will be interesting to see if the government can manage

Brexit, unite the country, and deliver all its manifesto pledges. In

next year’s annual report, we will be able to start taking stock of

where we are.

Members and Money

YHACS relies on its members for its income. By charging member

societies £50 a year for their membership (great value!), and inviting

donations to top up the membership fee, YHACS has an annual

income of a little over £2,000. We also now have a category of

membership for individuals, who are asked to pay £10 a year. We

only have one such member at present, but early days.

Changes to the

YHACS Committee

(2)

Members will, I am

sure, by now be aware

that YHACS Treasurer

Richard Ward was also

taken from us in 2019.

His death in

September was sudden

and unexpected.

I had known Richard

for around 17 years

and mourn his passing

not only as a fellow

committee member but

also as someone who

had become a good

friend over the years.

I’m sure we shall all

miss his dry humour at

our events.

YHACS Annual Report 2019

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At the end of 2019, we had 40 societies in our membership. This was

one up on our closing position in 2018. We were delighted to welcome

Dronfield Civic Society from over the border in Derbyshire (they

came to our spring 2019 meeting in Sheffield and liked what they

saw!) and we were very pleased to see a brand new civic society –

Thorne and District Civic Society – being created. We offered them

free membership for their first year. Alas, we seem to have lost

Pickering Civic Society – we understand that they have had difficulty

filling committee posts so they are doing the minimum necessary to

keep the society ticking over.

Our Programme In 2019, in addition to the Design Workshop in February, we

organised our usual four quarterly meetings and our 20th Anniversary

Lunch in York.

Our quarterly meetings were in Harrogate (the AGM), Sheffield,

Selby and Pontefract.

Details of our quarterly meetings are as follows:

AGM, Old Swan Hotel, Harrogate, January. Key Speakers:

Where Does Design Fit Into the Planning System? Stephen Walker, Senior

Conservation Officer, East Riding of Yorkshire Council

Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission – Kevin Trickett

Spring Meeting, The Circle, Sheffield, April. Key Speakers:

Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission: Ian Harvey, Civic Voice.

Salmon to Sheffield, Rachel Walker, Don Catchment Rivers Trust

Summer Meeting, Selby Town Hall, July. Key Speakers:

Welcome - Mayor of Selby, Cllr Malik Mohd Rofidi

History of Transport through Selby - David Lewis, Selby Civic Society

The work of Transport for the North Stephen Smith, Transport for The North

Autumn Meeting, Pontefract Town Hall. Key Speakers:

Councillor Lynn Masterman, Heritage Champion, Wakefield Council

John Walker, Stakeholder Engagement Officer, Historic England

Cultural Cities – A miracle cure? Jenny Layfield, Wakefield Cultural

Consortium

In addition to the key speakers listed above there were the usual

updates from YHACS and Civic Voice, together with news from local

societies at all our meetings where time allowed.

Attendance was low for Sheffield (36) but reached 50 for the other

meetings in the year.

Changes to the

YHACS Committee

(3)

Each year in the run

up to the AGM, we ask

for volunteers to join

the committee. No one

came forward as we

approached the AGM

in January 2019 – but

imediately after the

meeting, Alan

Goodrum from Halifax

Civic Trust

approached me to say

he would be willing to

serve. Needless to say,

we took him up on the

offer and co-opted him

to the committee. Alan

is now not only a

committee member but

also our treasurer! Co-

option and a

promotion!

YHACS Annual Report 2019

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We would like to thank Sheffield Civic Trust, Selby Civic Society and

Pontefract Civic Society for their help and generosity in helping to

organise and to host the quarterly meetings.

We continued our custom of inviting members to join the YHACS

Committee and representatives from the hosting society for dinner on

the eve of our Harrogate, Sheffield, Selby and Pontefract meetings.

These are very enjoyable evenings and, apart from the Sheffield event

when my partner and I were the only people who turned up (we

enjoyed ourselves nonetheless!), were all well supported.

67 people came to our 20th Anniversary Lunch at the Principal Hotel in

York (perhaps we should do lunch more often!). Co-hosted with York

Civic Trust, it was a considerable success. Guest speakers included the

Lord Mayor of York and Sarah McLeod, CEO of the Wentworth

Woodhouse Trust. Stephen Lusty of York Civic Trust welcomed

everyone to the lunch.

Looking Ahead

As already mentioned, our theme for 2020 will be the environment in

all its aspects. We are in the process of planning the programme for

the year with our AGM booked for Harrogate on 25th January and

events booked in Beverley on 25th April and Addingham on 25th July

(notice a theme there?).

We hope that members will continue to support us throughout the

coming year – we couldn’t do it without you. (Well, we could, but

there wouldn’t be much point!) Yes, we’re there for your benefit. Use

us or lose us, as the saying goes.

Our Newsletter

Our quarterly newsletter, Society Insight, continues to receive

favourable comment/rave reviews for both its content and breadth of

coverage and I would like to thank all our contributors for their

articles. As ever, we could use more, so please, do get writing! (And

keep writing.)

Pulling it all together is a labour of love (and, I suspect, more than a

little frustration) for our editor David Moss.

Please, please keep those articles coming in 2020.

The YHACS/Peter

Spawforth Award

At the AGM in January,

we announced the

results of our annual

awards.

First prize (£200) went to

Ripon Civic Society (above);

second prize (£100), went to

Addingham Civic Society

(below).

Third prize (£50) went to

Whitby Civic Society (below)

In addition, Horbury Civic

Society received a

commendation which was

presented to them after the

meeting

YHACS Annual Report 2019

• • •

8

And finally…

YHACS is run by a committee and, as ever, I would like to put on

record my personal thanks to all committee members for their

continued support during 2019.

Our secretary, Helen Kidman, who is also a trustee of Civic Voice,

continues to chair the Civic Voice Regional Forum. To allow Helen

to act as an impartial chair, YHACS committee member Paul

Cartwright attends these meetings to represent YHACS interests.

Helen is one of four Civic Voice trustees from our region, the others

being Paul Bedwell of Sheffield Civic Trust, Si Cunningham of

Bradford Civic Society, and since the recent Civic Voice AGM,

Martin Hamilton of Leeds Civic Trust.

Peter Cooper continues to act as YHACS webmaster and Alan

Goodrum has been getting to grips with our financial affairs.

As can be seen from our accounts on the following pages, the books

have balanced once again and YHACS remains financially solvent.

We subsidised the Design Workshop in February and the 20th

Anniversary Lunch in November but have ended up with more

money in the account than we started with thanks to a most

generous donation at the end of the year in memory of Richard

Ward when his widow Pam presented us with a cheque for £2,000,

at the YHACS 20th Anniversary Lunch. The YHACS Committee is

now considering how best to put this donation to a good use.

Kevin Trickett MBE, Chair.

Our 2018 quarterly

meetings

programme

Member meetings

were at Harrogate

(AGM), Sheffield,

Selby and Pontefract.

Above: Our AGM, held at

at a new venue, the Old

Swan, Harrogate

Above: Members in

workshop mode at

Sheffield

Below: YHACS members

enjoyed dinner at Monk

Fryston Hall Hotel on the

eve of the Selby meeting

Below: And again at

Rogerthorpe Manor on the

eve of the Pontefract event.

YHACS Annual Report 2019

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Our 20th Anniversary Lunch, The Principal Hotel, York,

Saturday, 23rd November 2019

YHACS Annual Report 2019

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10

YHACS Annual Report 2019

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YHACS Annual Report 2019

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Income and Expenditure Account

Balance Sheet as at 31st December 2019

YHACS Annual Report 2019

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13

Income and Expenditure Account

2018

2019

£ £

Income

Subscriptions - 2018

1,900.00

0.00

- 2019

1,250.00

710.00

Sundry donations

210.00

60.00

Richard Ward Legacy Donation

2,000.00

AGM refreshments

100.00

63.00

Design Workshop

1,100.00

YHACS 20th Anniversary Lunch

2,327.00

£3,460.00

£6,260.00

Expenditure

Meeting expenses

612.10

399.75

Travel

486.75

433.95

Insurance

271.78

285.36

YHACS/Spawforth Awards - prizes

350.00

350.00

- certificates

0.00

33.95

Website

102.00

137.96

Gift and prize

25.00

0.00

Design Workshop

0.00

1,710.00

YHACS 20th Anniversary Lunch

0.00

2,757.00

Civic Voice campaign donation

100.00

0.00

£1,947.63

£6,107.97

Surplus/Deficit

£1,512.37

£152.03

YHACS Annual Report 2019

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Balance Sheet

31.12.18

31.12.19

£

£

Balance of Accumulated Fund brought forward

5,211.34

6,723.71

Surplus/Deficit for year 1,512.37

152.03

£6,723.71

£6,875.74

Monies held for Market Weighton Civic Society £620.40

£535.40

£7,344.11

£7,411.14

Represented by:

Cash with Co-operative Bank 6,994.11

7,411.14

Unbanked cheques 0.00

0.00

Uncleared cheques 350.00

0.00

£7,344.11

£7,411.14

Accounts prepared by Alan Goodrum, Treasurer, and agreed by Kevin Trickett, Chair

Reserves Policy:

In 2016, the YHACS committee agreed to hold reserves of £2,000. This money is a notional sum and

represents the minimum level of unrestricted funds that the committee will endeavour to maintain in our

accounts at all times. We have chosen this figure because it is equivalent to one year’s funding and, should

there ever be a sudden and unforeseen drop off in our income, it would allow us to continue to operate and

cover all potential liabilities for one year until such time as we had restored our income or made the decision

to wind up the charity’s affairs. Having a reserves policy does not mean that we will never allow our funds to

drop below £2,000 but, in the event of that happening, the committee would make it a priority to raise

sufficient income to bring the level of reserves back to the target amount.

This policy will be kept under annual review by the committee.

YHACS Annual Report 2019

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15

Who we are

The Yorkshire and Humber Association of Civic Societies (YHACS) is a registered charity (no. 1112290) and

a membership organisation for civic and amenity societies around the Yorkshire and Humber region.

We aim to be a distinctive voice for the civic society movement in Y&H and seek to strengthen and develop

the movement by offering our members advice, support and networking opportunities. We also campaign on

their behalf on matters of mutual concern and promote awareness of the work civic societies do through our

website, in our quarterly newsletter and other publications, and through the issue of occasional press

releases.

At the end of 2019, there were 39 paid-up member societies within YHACS (an increase of one compared

with 2018). Additionally, Thorne and District Civic Society had joined YHACS part-way through the year and,

as this was their first year of membership, the subscription fee was waived.

Civic societies are independent, grass roots groups of citizens who seek to enhance the quality of life in their

communities. Mostly run by volunteers, civic societies have a particular focus on improving the public realm

and built environment through helping to preserve the best of our built heritage while campaigning for the

highest standards of architecture, design and town planning. They often act as public watchdogs or mediators

between local authority planning officials, developers and the general public on developments that impact on

the quality of life for local people.

Civic societies can also be called upon to act as custodians of local history and heritage. As a result, they

make an excellent springboard for fostering a sense of civic pride and community cohesion.

Many societies celebrate the heritage of their locality through publishing literature, organising walks, and

erecting commemorative plaques.

YHACS encourages member societies to see themselves as part of a wider movement and to share ideas

and experiences. YHACS has been instrumental in establishing civic societies in Barnsley, Bradford and

Sheffield and has stepped in to prevent the closure of Horbury and Market Weighton Civic Societies.

While we still regard the protection of our built heritage as a key aim, we recognise that new development can

be a necessary step in delivering vibrancy and prosperity in our communities. Where civic societies might

once have viewed development sceptically, the civic society movement in our region looks to present

development as an opportunity to create the heritage of tomorrow through good design. At YHACS, we are

driven by a desire to reconcile the past, present and future of our townscapes with a vision developed by

communities in their local civic societies.

YHACS is a member of Civic Voice, the national charity for the civic society movement in England, and

collaborates with others, such as Historic England, on matters concerning the conservation and preservation

of our built heritage.

Our aims

Our aims are to promote and encourage:

• a high standard of architecture, building, and town and country planning;

• the preservation of beauty or amenity in cities, towns and villages or the countryside, and of land,

buildings and features of beauty or interest in such cities, towns and villages or countryside;

• a sense of civic pride amongst members of the general public by the provision of support and advice to

civic societies in the Yorkshire and Humber area.

YHACS Annual Report 2019

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Membership

Membership of YHACS is open to any civic or amenity society that has aims in sympathy with our own.

Membership is subject to an annual subscription (held again at £50 in 2019), payable each January. In 2018,

the YHACS Committee agreed to open membership to individuals sympathetic to our aims for which the

annual fee is £10. We also welcome and encourage donations from societies and individuals who can afford

to make an additional payment.

Statement of Public Benefit

The Charity Commission require charities to provide a statement of public benefit. Having taken account of

the guidance produced by the Charity Commission, the YHACS trustees (ie the Executive Committee) have

prepared the following statement:

Our vision is to enhance the quality of life for all citizens in the region by engaging people not only in the

protection of local heritage but also in the promotion of sustainable economic development and urban

renaissance. Through our campaigns and networking and through the provision of advice and support to civic

and amenity societies, YHACS aims to help make Yorkshire and Humber a better place in which to live, work

or relax. This is for the overall benefit of the general public, whether or not they are members of any particular

civic society and whether they be residents or visitors to the area.

Governance

As an unincorporated registered charity, YHACS is managed by an Executive Committee of volunteer trustees

in accordance with our written constitution, dated 24th September 2005 and amended in January 2008 and

again in January 2017. The Constitution provides that the charity shall be managed and administered by a

committee comprising Officers and other members duly elected at the Annual General Meeting held in

January each year. Such persons are also the Trustees of the charity.

In addition to the Executive Committee, YHACS also has an elected President. The role of President is

honorary. The President, who is elected at the Annual General Meeting each January, is consulted for advice

and is invited to attend meetings of the Committee to take part in discussion but does not vote.

YHACS welcomes, and indeed encourages, applications from anyone wishing to join the Committee and who

can help us to run the association.

The officers and committee who held office during 2019 were as follows:

President:

Peter Cooper

Chair: Secretary:

Kevin Trickett Helen Kidman

Vice Chair Treasurer:

David Moss Richard Ward (died September 2019)

– Alan Goodrum from October

Committee members:

Phyllis Barnes

Paul Cartwright

Alison Drake (died April 2019)

Alan Goodrum (co-opted March 2019)

Martin Hamilton

Margaret Hicks-Clarke

Tony Leonard

Jim Robinson

Malcolm Sharman

Published by the Yorkshire and Humber

Association of Civic Societies (YHACS)

January 2020

www.yhacs.org.uk

Email: info@yhacs.org.uk

Twitter: @YHACSChair

Registered Charity No: 111229