AshCom was delighted to support this exciting community project brought together by The Clayrooms and Ashbourne Festival. 

As part of the celebrations of the Queen's Jubilee, 1,500 school children and members of the public made clay houses, shops and public buildings which is now displayed as an art installation in Ashbourne Town Hall. 

For more details about the project, please click the following link  Our Town – ASHBOURNE FESTIVAL. 

‘Our Town’ is supported by Ashbourne Festival, AshCom, Ashbourne Town Council and funded through the Derbyshire Foundation Jubilee Fund, the National Lottery and the Arts Council of England plus local sponsors.

Planning application for Shrovetide Walk, Ashbourne.

We were delighted that the permission came through backed by such strong endorsements from the officers and councillors involved, and the ongoing support of the local community. We’re moving on to the next exciting stage.

We are delighted to announce that the Ashbourne Thursday Market will be open again on Thursday 25th June.

Please note that we will only have a limited number of traders this week, but pleased to confirm that this will increase as the weeks go by with some of the regulars coming back.

Don’t forget to keep a safe distance between you and other shoppers - approach the stall when safe to do so and pay contactless if possible.

Ashbourne Communities CIC (aka “AshCom”) is suspending the Thursday Shrovetide Walk market at least through this ‘lockdown’. AshCom considers that this is the socially responsible decision in meeting the four mantras….......”Stay home except for essentials. Maintain Social Distance of 2m. Support and Protect NHS. Help Save Lives.”

AshCom remains convinced that open-air food shopping, recognised by the government as a permitted activity, is a healthy environment. However, ensuring that visitors maintain social distance not only around the stalls but also on the site generally is potentially a major management task which we do not consider we have the resource to manage for a full day.

We appreciate that this will be a disappointment for both the traders who have shown great loyalty and support for the market and the growing and also loyal customer base. However, we concluded that we should only be encouraging people to leave home if it would be into a no-risk environment, with social distance effectively managed, is demonstrably for “essentials” and protects NHS from potential avoidable demands. We don’t believe we can do that.

Indeed our independent retailers provide access to many of the “essentials” that are needed and many of them are providing at-home delivery services. Each of us should be using this time of crisis and threat to take the opportunity of rebuilding loyalty to our independent retailers who are providing these home deliveries. This is a no mean physical or financial service which we must not undervalue. Please reward them with our support both now and when this crisis is passed. Our independents are there when we need them. Use this opportunity to rebuild our high street.

AshCom will re-introduce the market as soon as it is possible to fulfil the 4 mantras to our satisfaction. In the meantime, AshCom will continue working on the community projects it has embarked on over the last year, projects influenced by previous Neighbourhood Plan community consultations and engagement. These are focused on the environmental and social wellbeing of Ashbourne and its neighbours, intended to lead to increased footfall in the town, to rebuild our high street and to contribute to the economic wellbeing of the town which is the primary focus of Town Team.

And whilst those projects are being progressed, AshCom will be working to bring back the Thursday market to Shrovetide Walk as soon as possible and continue the robust growth that has been generated before the advent of Covid-19 crisis.

Ashbourne Communities CIC
31st March 2020

AshCom CIC considered Derbyshire Dales District Council’s SPD “DEVELOPER CONTRIBUTIONS SUPPLEMENTARY PLANNING DOCUMENT – CONSULTATION DRAFT 2019” at two Operational Executive meetings in October and November 2019.

The following comments on the SPD were unanimously approved by AshCom CIC as their formal response to the consultation document.

AshCom CIC’s response on the S106 SPD should be seen as a start of a process of positive partnership working with Derbyshire Dales District Council, Ashbourne Town Council and other community organisations in Ashbourne to ensure that S106 funding is targeted on the sustainable regeneration of the town. 

AshCom CIC considered Derbyshire Dales District Council’s SPD “DEVELOPER CONTRIBUTIONS SUPPLEMENTARY PLANNING DOCUMENT – CONSULTATION DRAFT 2019” at two Operational Executive meetings in October and November 2019.

The following comments on the SPD were unanimously approved by AshCom CIC as their formal response to the consultation document.

1.           Overview of SPD

The SPD is welcomed as a further elaboration of the Local Plan.  Specifically, clarification of new priorities for future S106 agreements which are in addition to the standard affordable housing, education, highways and open space components, are welcomed.  These include:

·        Local sports and recreation facilities

·        Local health services

·        Green infrastructure

·        Faster broadband communications

More locally for Ashbourne the SPD emphasises 'Congestion in Ashbourne Town Centre' and education provision at QEGS.  

The inclusion of congestion in Ashbourne Town Centre is a new S106 element and is supported.

2.       Affordable Housing:

The SPD focuses heavily on affordable housing, which has traditionally been DDDC's main emphasis on S106 agreements.  The SPD outlines new 'tariffs' for affordable housing at £46,209 per unit for off-site provision as well as a 3% contribution at £1,491 per dwelling towards the District Council's housing enabling role.

The SPD mentions for the first time that S106 agreements need to take into account the result of any parish housing needs assessments (HNA).  Ashbourne may have the only Neighbourhood Housing Assessment within the Derbyshire Dales, which was commissioned by the Ashbourne Neighbourhood Plan Group on behalf of Ashbourne Town Council.

Using the Ashbourne Housing Needs Assessment as the basis for future affordable housing S106 agreements on Ashbourne development proposals is also to be welcomed.  This should ensure that the significant S106 that has been negotiated on Ashbourne developments is used to meet housing need in Ashbourne.  This has not been the case over the last few years despite DDDC agreeing £3.55 million for affordable housing on Ashbourne developments.

More importantly the Director of Housing stated on a planning application for a revision to the Leys Farm scheme in 2019 that there was no need for further affordable housing in Ashbourne since current supply of affordable homes exceeded demand.  On the basis of this the planning committee agreed a S106 agreement for sport & leisure on Ashbourne Recreation Ground at £71,573.  This was the first time that such a community led S106 initiative has been approved.

If DDDC is stating that no more affordable housing is required in Ashbourne, S106 agreements on affordable housing should no longer be applied on Ashbourne development schemes.  Instead monies to the level that would have been asked for on affordable housing should now be applied on other Ashbourne priorities, such as tackling Town Centre congestion as well as further expenditure on sport & leisure.  Importantly it should be the community through the Ashbourne Town Council and other local community organisations that establishes neighbourhood S106 priorities as clearly stated in the Ashbourne Neighbourhood Plan through the preparation of a Community Infrastructure Plan.

3.       Open space and Sport & Leisure

 It is good to see these key areas for investment in Ashbourne being given greater emphasis for future S106 investment.  The fact that Derbyshire Dales has one of the few playing pitch strategies in England with clear project priorities puts the District Council ahead of the game in securing external funding for sport and community projects. The need for investment in improving sports facilities on Ashbourne Recreation Ground is emphasised in the District Council’s playing pitch strategy and should be a priority for future S106 agreements on future development schemes in the Ashbourne area.

The SPD unfortunately does not spell out in the same detail as affordable housing the financial model for securing S106 agreements.  This should be made clear in the SPD and must relate to the real costs of future sports/community and open space projects rather than some academic assessment of need.

In addition, AshCom CIC feel the following open spaces/community areas should be given priority for future S106 investment:

·        Ashbourne Recreation Ground – Bandstand refurbishment and play areas for all ages.

·        Henmore path walkway

·        Civic Square, adjacent to Ashbourne Library

4.       Town Centre congestion in Ashbourne

Apart from a reference that this is an important issue and a clear S106 opportunity little more is said in the SPD on what are the issues/potential projects under this new addition to S106 priorities.  There needs to be definition of what is included within the ‘Congestion in Ashbourne Town Centre’ S106 heading. AshCom CIC believe that this should include measures that would reduce traffic congestion such as:

·        traffic and environmental improvement schemes in the town centre

·        pedestrian initiatives to promote walking and healthy living

·        measures to reduce traffic pollution

·        marketing and promotion of the town centre as a pedestrian friendly environment

5.       Annual Monitoring

The SPD report states that the District Council produces an Annual Report. However, AshCom CIC finds DDDC's Annual Report on S106 limited and difficult to read.  There is no way to evaluate how much of the S106 funding agreed on Ashbourne development schemes has been allocated to promoting sustainable development in Ashbourne as required by planning law.  

Therefore, AshCom CIC feels that the District Council’s Annual Monitoring Report on S106 should be much more transparent and clearer along the lines of the West Suffolk District Council S106 Annual Report: http://www.westsuffolk.gov.uk/planning/Planning_Policies/upload/THE-S106-ANNUAL-REPORT-2019-db-edite...

 

Conclusion

AshCom CIC’s response on the S106 SPD should be seen as a start of a process of positive partnership working with Derbyshire Dales District Council, Ashbourne Town Council and other community organisations in Ashbourne to ensure that S106 funding is targeted on the sustainable regeneration of the town.

AshCom CIC welcomes the opportunity to discuss with the District Council the most appropriate way to do this.

 

Press release

Community Company takes over Thursday market

AshCom, a community owned and run company, is taking over the management of the Thursday Shrovetide Walk market. This is the first vital step in the mission to rebuild Ashbourne’s reputation as a market town. It will contribute to the regeneration of the town by building footfall, improving the visitor and shopping experience and thus improving the town’s economy.

AshCom, the short form name for Ashbourne Communities’ CIC, is a community interest not for profit company.

Over the next two years, AshCom is planning to develop the market to create an attractive variety of local produce provided by local and regional traders who will fill Shrovetide Walk, making that area a bustling connection between Shawcroft and Compton.

AshCom is committing resources to actively promote the market on social media as well as in our local and regional press with the intention of bringing in visitors from a wide area, benefiting the retail and hospitality economies in Ashbourne.

Jeffrey Phillips of AshCom says “We had intended to take this step earlier this year. However, our research made us reassess our strategy. In particular that research highlighted that a town the size of Ashbourne would only be able to sustain one weekly general goods market. We recognised that developing either a Saturday or Thursday market would be in effect starting from scratch. So we assessed the level of competition from existing street market offerings within some 40 miles of Ashbourne with established reputations to which traders will already be committed. As a result, on balance, therefore, we decided that our focus should be on a Thursday weekly market.”

This will not be an overnight development. AshCom has set itself a two-year timescale to get the market up and running successfully. It will have professional on site management and community members will be volunteering their support. During its research, AshCom has been building a database of potential stall holders whilst keeping existing traders informed of progress.

Jeffrey Phillips went on to say “AshCom’s next steps, probably for some time in 2020, are to introduce a series of themed and specialist markets and to bring in events. The overriding objective is to build footfall in Ashbourne for the benefit of the town’s and area’s economy"

Ashbourne Communities CiC is a community owned and managed not for profit company set up during the last 12 months to tackle the regeneration of Ashbourne and surrounding communities, economically, environmentally and socially.

AshCom, the short form name, offers itself as a forum for exchange of thinking on projects directed towards that regeneration. Whilst being wholly independent of Town Council, AshCom at one level complements the purposes of Town Council and at another level brings an independent community driven objectivity to resolving the town and area’s issues free of the limitations imposed on statutory bodies.

That independence enables AshCom to access community focused grant sources not available to statutory bodies.

Groups of retailers are looking at ideas to bring economic life back into the town centre. As we know people’s needs for high street shopping has completely changed. Visiting Ashbourne and surrounding communities and facilities must be a leisure experience centred on a wealth of independent shops and producers where you get conversation and social contact lost in a world of online and out of town shopping.

A significant part of that leisure experience is the environment. One of the top problems in that is traffic and frequent congestion, creating air pollution and diminishing the whole visitor and shopping experience. A group of committed residents have set themselves the task of seeking resolution of that.

AshCom itself has spent many months in discussions with District Council agreeing terms to take on the management of the street market, to commit the resources to professionally promote and support the street market and rebuild Ashbourne’s reputation as a Market town. This is not an overnight job. AshCom has set itself a programme through to 2021. Discussions with District Council are coming to fruition.

These, and we know there are other initiatives, are geared to the same objectives. AshCom feels that it is well placed to bring all such initiatives into a cohesive strategic plan, to use that to work with statutory bodies as needed and to source grants and social investment.

From a standing start AshCom’s members provide a wide spectrum of skills and experience...... architecture and building design, community funding, construction and engineering, education and youth services, financial management, highways, local government, marketing, planning, retailing, social and health services, strategy planning and implementation.

But we need more depth.

AshCom will be going into the communities to present its offering and build its membership base. We had intended to get to this stage earlier but have been focused on Ashbourne’s street market. The wider the support is from the communities of the Ashbourne area, the greater our credibility as a community driven group in dealing with statutory bodies and with sources of grants and social investment.

If you wish to know more about AshCom visit our section "Become a Shareholder" on our website if you wish to become a member and it costs just £1.

Ashbourne Communities CiC

For more information visit our website www.ashbournemarket.co.uk.