A Brief History of Positive Community Action in Chapelfields

Positive community action has had good foundations in the past and has been highly successful in maintaining the conservation nature of the area and fostering a good community spirit amongst residents.

The starting point was in 1960 where whole area was earmarked for demolition and redevelopment by the council. A major campaign by residents was actioned and led to not only the area being saved, but by 1976 Chapelfieds being declared a conservation area.

The Craven Street Society took up the baton in 1985 when a group of residents decided they wanted to maintain and improve the area and to promote good community spirit. They also wanted to focus on social and fundraising events. The highlight of each year was to organise a May Day carnival in Craven Street with local charities benefiting from the event.

In 1994 it was felt that the name the Craven Street Society appeared to exclude the other streets in the area so they changed their name to the Chapelfileds conservation society, meeting in the Craven Street Club they invited councillors to their meetings and were set to tackle some of the issues that sound familiar to us today. Issues such as planning controls, neighbourhood watch and traffic calming.

The society ended, but it is obvious from such things as the street lighting on Craven Street being in fitting with the conservation status that the area would be a very different place without them. 

In 2000 a group of people from all over area got together for the “Save Old Spon” campaign which was dedicated to saving the watchmakers cottages known as Stanley Terrace at the bottom of Hearsall Lane. They led a very active campaign which was ultimately and unfortunately unsuccessful. However the offshoot of this was to highlight the need for a residents group to look after the heritage of the area. On May the 23^rd 2001 a meeting was held to formally start the group Chapelfields Area Residents and Traders Association (CARTA.)

Picking up the baton of community action CARTA has a wide remit to preserve the heritage of the area by educating residents about the areas conservation status. We also scrutinise planning applications and challenge them when necessary. Intervening on behalf of residents on any issues or problems and fostering community spirit by organising a wide range of community events. The first event was Jubilee street party in Craven Street in 2002. This led to the first arts and music festival in 2003 which quickly tuned into an annual event; this years being in October. Other events include the highly successful pumpkin parades, quizzes and nights out. CARTA remains today a significant force of positive community action in the Chapelfields area.