Strines Community Website

Its role is to provide; sports, recreation, nature and landscape conservation for the benefit of the local community. It does this by developing and maintaining the facilities and land holdings. It is managed by a team of 4 voluntary elected trustees.

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Melvyn Smith

Stewart Bertenshaw

Sean Hodgkinson

Michael Harte

 

Volunteers : In charge of Pavilion bookings and events

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Andrea Hodgkinson

Sarah Bishop       

 

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History

 

For many years Strines Print Works dominated the area providing employment and many community/recreational facilities.

A large new works was built in the late 1920’s together with a new recreation ground - tennis courts, bowling green and pavilion, much of which remains to this day. A deed of trust and constitution was put in place gifting this to the people of Strines. The Strines Recreation Ground charity was thus formed in 1932. The decline of manufacturing eventually had its effect on the Print Works in spite of various takeovers. SRG declined also and by 2003 (when the works was sold to a developer) was in a parlous state.

 

The sale of the Works also included a large amount of land surrounding it - adjacent fields, millponds and woodland. A planning application by the developer was vigorously opposed by the local community because of its scale and impact on the environment. There was a public enquiry where the community succeeded in reducing the scale of the development from 134 houses to 75 and obtaining possession of the remaining land together with a fund towards its reclamation. SRG thus became custodian of a large and varied landholding of important environmental value and with responsibility of its upkeep and development providing a sustainable facility for the foreseeable future.

 

Work undertaken to date includes:

 

• Gaining access to the millponds improving their water supply and dredging both ponds.

 

• Renovation of the Grade 2 listed dovecote.

 

• Renovation of the pavilion.

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• Renovation of the tennis courts

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• New car parking facilities.

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• Paths around SRG land 

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• A new village green on SRG land suitably landscaped.

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• Services to the millpond site.

 

• Renovation of the millpond entrance including the one remaining stone lodge.

 

• Obtaining Heritage Lottery Funding for a history project - to create a clock tower, renovate the original turret clock and digitalise a set of historic documents - The Strines Journal

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