The Chairman of the Palmerston Residents Association Terry Hoey would like to thank Beverley Surgenor of the Wesley Housing Association for the meeting at the site of their new development and the tour of the site, Terry would like to say how well it fitted into the surroundings and how sympathetic the new development is with the new trees and the surrounding gardens that have been made to complement the new development. The private garden to the rear of the development is an added touch and works well with the overall development,Terry was also very impressed with the interior of the new development the high finish and standards that has been reached for the residents of the home. They have taken care to insure that it has been finished to a very high standard and we thank them for that.
The Palmerston Residents Association would also like to thank Wesley Housing Associations Beverley Surgenor for agreeing to let the residents association place a plaque depicting the Smiles Family the history of the family in the local community and connections to Gustav Wolff, and their links to the Belfast Rope Works. This will give the community of Sydenham much pride, the plaque will be placed outside the development with a small garden to enable the community and its visitors to know the Smiles Family once lived on the site that is now the new development, this is a great achievement showing just how local communities and private enterprise can work together in building better community relations. We hope to work with Wesley Housing Association on other projects within the area.
We look forward to the official opening of their new development ,and we wish them every success for the future, they have done a great job in improving the area and making sure that the surroundings complemented the area.
Terry Hoey Chairman of the Palmerston Residents Association is pleased to say we have formed links with a new community group that has been set up in the lower Holywood Road in East Belfast.
We will work together on the proposed new Stadium planned for the Holywood Road in East Belfast, both groups have fears the site will destroy one of Northern Irelands prestigious routes along the Holywood Road and may wipe out a number of the green spaces.
The proposal is to replace the green spaces with 4000 car park spaces, the community groups involved feel this just cannot be allowed to happen, to destroy green spaces to accommodate a car park is unbelievable. We say to the the Belfast City Council to name any other City in Europe that would destroy a park,trees and wildlife habitat to replace with a car park.
The Planned Stadium will cause so many restrictions to the residents of the Lower Holywood Road, also two of our major schools in the area Ashfield Boys High School And Ashfield Girls High School, it begs the question has any thought gone into this plan, we already have a bottle neck at the Knocknagoney Roundabout on the Holywood Road and the Parkway entrances to the Belfast Side of the Sydenham By Pass at early morning and throughout the day.
Our greatest fear would be on a match day, we have a lot of young mothers and senior citizens who travel along the Holywood Road to Tesco and the Holywood Exchange, what would the effect be on them if the Stadium was to hold a rock concert how would they get out to shops. We must remember that our planning services have not taken into account the need for local shops in the communities that will live around the proposed Stadium.
We also fear the volume of new vehicles that will travel along the Sydenham By Pass to the Stadium and new traffic that will also travel along to and from the Stadium along Parkway and the Holywood Road. This will make it almost impossible for local residents to carry on their normal daily lives .
Our community will lose out by the removal of our Children's Park, Football Pitches,and the local site that is used for lighting the seasonal bonfire, also clubs that use the park for model airplane flying it has taken very hard work on behalf of community workers in the area to build a community for our young people, to see the possibility of them losing more resources in an area is beyond belief, the community has already been robbed of one asset to the area that being the Sydenham Youth Hall.
Our groups would like to see a full public inquiry into this proposed site, and to see impact studies on Traffic,Green Spaces,Wildlife and what effect it will have to local residents who live on the lower Holywood Road in their day to day existence. This is a major development planned for the area, we feel that our residents must have a say in this matter before the first sod is cut.
I
am the Chairman of Palmerston Residents Association (the 'Association'), an
organisation which endeavours to represent the interests of and work for the
good of the people living in the area in and around Sydenham in
I
first notified the Department of the Environment / Northern Ireland Environment
Agency (the 'Challenged Party' or 'CP'), of our interest in having properties
at 2 & 4 Station Road, Sydenham, Belfast, BT4 1RE, (the 'subject
properties'), listed in and around October 2007; I mentioned in e-mail
correspondence at this time my knowledge of the connection between the subject
properties and Mr Gustav Wilhelm Wolff, co-founder of Harland & Wolff
shipyards and former MP for the East Belfast constituency.
Around
3 months passed and I had heard nothing further from the CP and therefore was
becoming anxious that any action was not being taken expeditiously as the
properties were in my belief in risk of demolition. I sent a further e-mail in
January 2008 to Mr Kirby at the CP, again enquiring of their position in
relation to the subject properties and raising my concerns that the properties
may be subjected to demolition and therefore requesting that 'spot-listing' be
considered by them. In response to this e-mail of same date, Mr Kirby advised
that the Senior Conservation Architect would be viewing the subject properties
the following day. Copies of the e-mail correspondence referred to in this
statement are attached hereto.
I
also sent a letter to the Office of the First and Deputy First Minister, dated
A
substantial response from the CP in relation to my letter dated
The
next item of correspondence which I received was a letter from Mr Manus Deery,
dated
After
hearing that the subject properties had been demolished in and around January
2009, but in advance of hearing of the CP's decision, I contacted my local MLA,
Councillor Naomi Long regarding the matter. I am aware that Cllr Long wrote to
Councillor Sammy Wilson MP MLA, Minister of the Environment. In Cllr Long's
letter to Cllr Wilson, Cllr Long posed a number of questions:
1.
Cllr
Long pointed out that it appeared "bizarre" that "at a time when the Northern
Ireland Executive and Belfast City Council are investing in a new Titanic
Signature project to promote the City's links with that famous vessel...that
authentic heritage directly linked to the shipyard is permitted to be
demolished."
2.
Whether
a formal decision not to list the subject properties was taken and if
so, the rationale for this.
3.
Conversely
to 2, whether the BPNs were allowed to lapse, permitting the subject properties
to be demolished.
A
fellow-member of the Association then received a letter from the CP dated
"considered all of the available evidence,
consultations and representations and concluded that the buildings did not meet
the test of Article 42 of the Planning Order 1991 [as amended] i.e. that they
did not meet the test of "special architectural or historic interest" required
for permanent protection as listed buildings."
The
CP then explained its decision in view of the fact that a BPN was initially
served upon the owners of the subject properties:
"The substantive difference between
the initial and final decision by the Department was the establishment that
the buildings were not as unusual and rare as initially thought.....in our
view an argument that they were of special architectural interest could not be
sustained".
I
understand that this view was based on the fact that one of the subject
properties had had its Victorian-style interior added in the late Twentieth
century whilst the other property's interior had been completely modernised.
'External changes' to the property were also mentioned and in the CP's view
this contributed to the decision reached by them.
The
letter also addressed my arguments that the buildings should have been
protected by reason of their historical association with Gustav Wilhelm Wolff.
The CP acknowledges that their own research confirmed the information which had
been provided by me and the Association:
"The structures were indeed part of
his now gone estate known as 'the Den'. However....though of interest, this
was not sufficient grounds upon which to protect the buildings. It did not make
the buildings objects of special historical interest".
To
explain this decision, the CP made reference to Annex C of Planning Policy
Statement 6 (
"in the case of historical
associations, there will generally need to be some additional quality or
interest in the fabric of the building itself to justify listing. Either the
building will have architectural merit in itself or it should be well preserved
in a form which directly reveals its historical associations....[for
example] because of the survival of
certain particular features.....".
In
addition, Cllr Wilson responded to Cllr Long's letter above, and in response
thereto made the following points:
1.
A
decision not to list the subject properties was taken in advance of the
expiration of the BPNs.
2.
As
per the reasons outlined above in the correspondence from the CP to the Querist
dated
3.
The
Minister acknowledged the historic interest in the subject properties by reason
of their association with Gustav Wilhelm Wolff, however he comments that the
association though of interest was not of sufficient 'weight' to justify
listing. The Minister refers as his Department did to
Both myself and
the Association and many of the local residents in our area are deeply
aggrieved by the decision taken by the CP in respect of the subject properties.
Having sought legal advice, I am not satisfied that their decision was correct.
I wish to seek redress, by way of Judicial Review, to challenge their decision
and have same publicly declared erroneous by a Court of law. Hopefully if we
are successful this would ensure the future of other historic properties which
will not suffer the same fate as a result of poor decision making by the public
body in question.
With reference to the recent demolition of the two cottages which made up 2 and 4 Station Road, Sydenham we would like to register on behalf of the local community our utter disgust at this wanton act of historical destruction.
Given the fact that these fine cottages were the last remaining properties of the much larger estate belonging to Gustav Wolff known as "The Den" makes this decision even more absurd.
These cottages were fine examples of period architecture in their own right but coupled with their link to the man who co-founded the world's most famous shipyard, builders of the world's most infamous ship, makes it simply beyond the bounds of comprehension to the residents of this area that three years before the Centenary of the sinking of that great ship, that they should be erased from our midst never to return.
Indeed regardless of any link to Gustav Wolff, these Cottages should have been protected as fine examples of our architectural heritage for future generations to enjoy.
We are at a loss, to begin to try and understand the thinking behind such a grossly misjudged decision.
With the Centenary fast approaching, a Titanic Signature project is underway at the Harland & Wolff site to commemorate that globally recognised event which in turn makes the decision to allow these priceless jewels in our built heritage crown to be bull dowsed out of existence, beyond belief.
Notwithstanding his position as co-founder of Harland and Wolff shipyard he was also for eighteen years the Minister of Parliament for East Belfast which should surely count for something in its own right.
No doubt it will be an affront to the readers of this statement from whatever area or community they come from.
However this brazen act raises more questions than it answers.
Where else in the world would allow such a handsome link to the past to be erased from public view without complaint?
Would the United States of America have allowed these houses to be demolished if Harland & Wolff had of being based in New York or San Diego?
Would any country in Western Europe have acquiesced in the destruction of its valuable built heritage in this way?
Indeed, can you imagine ANY country anywhere else in the world that would treat such a valuable resource with such distain?
It is without doubt one of the most ridiculous situations to have befallen this country in terms of historical erosion.
For far too long Sydenham has received bad press and has been viewed by some as an area to be avoided.
An area with few positives to it name.
How wrong an assessment this is?
The work undertaken within our community, for our community, by our community has been nothing short of remarkable in recent years.
The goodwill and generosity of our people to commit their free time to community events and attempts to present a confident, vibrant face to the world has been humbling to be a part of.
Our work to put Sydenham back on the Map in a positive light is ongoing and will not cease.
Alas, something that could have helped us to tell the positive history of former residents is no longer amongst us.
In those Cottages we had a potential heritage site for a global audience, right on our doorstep.
They could have been incorporated into the main Titanic Project at the Harland & Wolff site and could have helped to put the great area of Sydenham, back on the world map.
This would have gone some way to restore pride in the name of Sydenham and given our youth something to hold on to and call their own.
We must question the determination of the Environmental Heritage Service that these Cottages were not suitable for listing and call upon them to provide full discloser for their findings to support their determination.
Indeed, we were expecting receipt of that report in advance of the
determination but sadly to this date, it has not been received despite repeated requests.
If it is the case that current legislation could not provide safety for these Cottages given their historical links then the legislation requires an urgent root and branch review.
If new legislation is required for the future then that must be the immediate task of our law makers.
We call upon the Minister of the Environment, Sammy Wilson to put on public record his response to this tragic event.
He was quick to applaud our efforts in getting the properties spot listed but has been slow in responding to the news of their destruction.
If he shares our view that a miscarriage of justice has taken place in relation to the destruction of these properties then he is duty bound to make his position clear to the people of Northern Ireland and beyond.
However if he takes his lead from the Environmental Heritage Service as the best people to make the determination then this is a classic case of the tail wagging the Dog.
We have heard much in recent years about the benefit of having local Ministers instead of direct rule Ministers and how the future will be brighter for all as our elected representatives are closer to the people and acutely understand the needs of our Community.
We have also heard with much fanfare about the need for Northern Ireland PLC to be managed effectively and all available opportunities grasped with both hands.
This determination then begs the question, who is in charge of Northern Ireland PLC?
Is it our elected representatives or faceless unelected bureaucrats?
Who is really in charge?
We have placed our trust in the people we elected to run this society for the betterment of the community now and to secure the valuable legacy of the history we can all be proud off for the future.
If a review of this case confirms that it would have been in the greater good of the wider community that these Cottages remained standing then we can only conclude that the people standing on the bridge of the good ship Northern Ireland do not in fact have their hands on the lever of power.
They have left the direction of this issue to others.
And if any review finds that the decision made is correct and there was no value in retaining these properties then quite clearly there is no forethought of foresight of the bigger picture at the very centre of our policy makers.
If this sad situation contains no lessons for the future and there are no changes in the light of such an error, then we are surely heading towards a metaphorical iceberg of our own making and the consequences will be sadly predicable with more of the same to come.
Neil McAdam (Spokesperson)
Palmerston Residents Association
Once more we have seen Cllr Naomi Long standing up for the people of East Belfast, the silence of other MLAs in East Belfast deafening. The people have a lot to thank Naomi Long for as she was the first MLA to voice her support regarding the listing of Gustav Wolff The Den on Station Road and two cottages that once stood there. She has given us her full backing in all we tried to do to save these cottages for our history and more important our children's history.
We see her as a champion for the working class people of east Belfast, once again she is the first to show her support for the community. We have to challenge our other MLA's and ask why did this happen, why were the residents not told when the building was listed by letter from the Heritage Service, and why was the developers told that the building was not being listed days before the date expired, why were the residents not given a chance to see the report the heritage carried out on the cottages
The residents look to the Heritage Service to save our history and our children's history, we feel they have let the people of Northern Ireland down and questions must be ask from the Principal Conservation Architect Mr Manus Deery as to why he failed to respond to the Residents Association, he claimed in his letter to them on 28th March 2008 he would be in a position to provide a substantive response within a few weeks. We also have to ask where the MLA's are now who came out in support to save the cottages, we want to know what questions the MLA's are going ask the Heritage Service, why has Sammy Wilson kept silent, when he appeared on the local TV stations he was in support of saving our history for our children, should we ask Cllr Sammy Wilson why he let this happen.after all you know the importance of our children and their history.
We say thank you to Naomi Long for the work you do in our area and the support you give to the Sydenham community and the hard work you undertake on behalf of the Community.
The Palmerston Residents Association
Will make A statement in the next few days
Chairman
This is what is left of the Den on Station Road Sydenham Belfast the last remaining part of the history of the shipbuilding in Northern Ireland.The cottages that once stood on this land were bulldozed at 7.15 am on the 19th January 2009.The Residents Association fought long and hard to save the buildings for future generations, however as we the people of Sydenham should have by now realised our views are irrelevant,for to long people have done what they want within our community without asking the community what they want.
This is something different the Sydenham Community were not informed of the decision by The Northern Ireland Environment Agency as to their findings or the decision not to grant listed building status on the two cottages. We also question the departments decision to inform the owners without informing the Community of its decision.
The Residents Association are keen to work with all the government agencies to try and bring about change in the Sydenham area, but we find it hard to swallow when they totally ignore the people they represent,it is unthinkable a major government department would take this attitude. It is not unreasonable to ask why they did not keep the residents association informed of any decisions they were intending to make, this would have allowed us to enter into talks with the owners of the site, where we could have discussed having a permanent memorial for the founder of one of the largest shipyards in the world.
We want our government agencies to help us and involve our community when reaching decisions and to direct and guide our communities in the way forward. We must ask the question as to how can we achieve this when we see a government department like the Environment Agency overlook the people who have ask them for guidance and expertise. We only ask them to look at the site in question and give their opinion as to whether it was worth saving and discuss with the community of its findings.
In our history we have seen what happens when government departments walk over communities treating them as if they do not exist. We in the residents association look to government to work for the people who elect them and it is small communities like Sydenham and the residents association that are trying to bring real change to the area we look to government departments for guidance and help but our community feels it is irrelevant.The residents association ask the question why has our MLAs let this happen.
How can we afford to let another part of our great shipbuilding history be wiped of the map. Do we need to look at the laws that govern historical buildings, or do we need a change of leadership at the top of the historical building unit before all of our history is gone forever. We look to other major cities all over Europe even the Soviet Union, Germany, have held on to their history but we seem to remove it when ever possible.
It was with great regret that the residents association learnt of the demolition of the cottages at 2-4 Station Road.
The Residents Association successfully lobbied for a spot listing which expired on the 16th January 2009 and the cottages were demolished on the next working day.
The Community Telegraph covered the story in full when the spot listing was granted.
The Residents Association will be in contact with a number of elected representatives and media outlets in the coming days to highlight the story.
The DOE were contacted and asked to outline their position:
"The Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) is aware that two historic buildings previously the subject of a Building Preservation Notice (BPN) were demolished early this morning. The notice which temporarily protected the buildings for six months expired on 16 January and the owner required no consent to carry out these works.
"BPNs, often referred to as 'spot listing', were introduced for the first time in 2003 to protect historic buildings which are in danger of demolition or major alteration. For a period of up to six months the buildings can be protected as listed buildings, giving the Agency time to carry out detailed research and consultation. At the end of the period NIEA must decide if the structures should be permanently listed.
"This process was carried out in regard to these buildings and following detailed research it was decided that they did not meet the test of the legislation which requires a listed building to be of 'special architectural or historic interest'.
"At the time the BPN was issued the buildings were thought to be: 'good examples of late Victorian estate lodges with unusually high quality interiors'. Further research revealed however that only one of the two had an apparently high quality interior but that this dated from the late twentieth century rather the late nineteenth. Combined with other alterations to the buildings over the years this meant that in the view of NIEA an argument that they were of special architectural interest could not be sustained.
"The buildings also had some historic interest because of their association with Gustav Wilhelm Wolff, a former MP for the area and one of the founders of the shipyard company Harland and Wolff. They were built as part of his now gone estate known as 'the Den'. However this association, though of some interest, was not sufficient grounds on which to justify listing. Annex C of PPS6 in addition states that: ' in the case of historical associations, there will generally need to be some additional quality or interest in the fabric of the building itself to justify listing. Either the building will have architectural merit in itself or it should be well preserved in a form which directly reveals its historical associations (eg because of the survival of certain particular features)'. These buildings were altered since Wolff's time and did not directly reveal such historical associations.
"The owner was informed by NIEA of the conclusion of its consideration in advance of the expiry of the Building Preservation Notice."
Terry Hoey the Chairman of the Palmerston Residents Association has spoken of his fears of XLP,HLH,EVB,he wants to raise the profile on these disease Terry Hoey s and make our doctors and hospitals look further when they see a child with glandular fever.
Hospitals and doctors must be aware of the signs to look out for with these diseases, it not enough to see a child and think it is glandular fever,my grandson was ill for a few weeks on seeing the doctor was prescribed calpol when he had a very high temperature his mum and dad took him to the hospital. After tests were carried out he was diagnosed with glandular fever. after a period of time Cavan's doctor felt he should be recovering as he was not blood tests were taken and sent to Bristol children's hospital and Great Ormond Street. Cavan was then taken by ambulance to Bristol Children's hospital where they had diagnosed HLH from his blood tests. More tests on Cavan revealed EBV and XLP
XLP is passed on by the mother and it affects only the males in the family. There are a hundred families in the world who have it but they cannot say how many may have it where it has not yet been triggered. The more people who ask their doctors about XLP the more they will look into this disease.
HLH can affect both sexes and happens in children also, (HLH)is a rare disorder affecting young children at a very early age ,but is found in patients of all ages patients with active HLH too many histiocytes as well as lymphocytes (another kind of infection- fighting cell)both of which are so-called white blood cells that may cause inflammation (swelling,redness,heat,pain,and loss of function) these cells then begin to penetrate and accumulate in the good tissue and cause damage to a variety of organs some possible sites of involvement include:bone marrow,lymph nodes,liver,spleen,skin,membranes surrounding the brain,spinal cord,or,more rarely, the brain its self.
What Causes HLH scientists do not yet know all the complicated process involved in this disease. There are two major forms of HLH one known as primary form,is inherited the other is known as the secondary form, the disease develops secondary to inappropriate (abnormal)activity of the immune system this can occur after the use of immunosuppressive therapy and/or infections researched by (Histiocytosis Association Of America)
Terry wants to see all woman screened in early pregnancy to check if they carry the gene to enable the family decide the way forward.These diseases are dreadful and the treatment is huge terry wants all our parties to look at this and encourage our health service to be on the look out for these diseases
Terry Hoey has set up a Trust Fund for his grandson Called The Cavan Tommy Hoey Trust he would ask anyone who wishes to donate to the fund to do so by cheque to
The Cavan Tommy Hoey Trust (Ireland)
C/O 86 Palmerston Road
Sydenham
Belfast
Co Antrim
Northern Ireland
BT4 1QD email terryhoey@the-cavan-tommy-hoey-trust.org
Terry would also like to thank the people who have all ready given to the fund. We would ask anyone wanting to hold fund raising events for Cavan to please register with either of the trusts.
We would also like to thank all the people of Cornwall Cavan's home town of Bodmin for all the great work they are doing for the trust and the events that are going on to raise funds we have set up a trust in Cornwall it is
The Cavan Tommy Hoey Trust (Cornwall)
C/O Jen Gendall
6 Springwell Mews
Lovelane
Bodmin
Pl31-2QP email jen.gendall@the-cavan-tommy-hoey-trust.org
We are looking for sponsors at present as we will be setting up Cavan's new web site interested parties contact the organiser@the-cavan-tommy-hoey-trust.org
Hi everyone would you think in this photo that I could have XLP,HLH,EBV, that's the problem you don't know Because it is one of my genes that is wrong and the problem is not everyone in the world knows what XLP,HLH,EBV,is either I don't want to be cheeky DO YOU KNOW WHAT THEY STAND FOR I don't think so because this gene has only been found out in 1997 and this gene is very smart as it takes on the face of different illness mine started with Glandular Fever that would not go away.
PLEASE HELP ME AND THE CAVAN TOMMY HOEY TRUST GET THIS WORD OUT AND HELP US
TO SAVE LIVES IN OUR YOUNG CHILDREN SO PLEASE HELP LOBBY OUR MLAS FOR SCREENING OF THIS GENE
Donate to Cheque's Only Please
The Cavan Tommy Hoey Trust (IRL) C/o 86 Palmerston Road Sydenham Belfast Northern Ireland BT4 1QD
The Cavan Tommy Hoey Trust (Cornwall) 6 Springwell Lovelane Bodmin PL31 2QP
Contact Northern Ireland Terry Hoey Contact Cornwall Jen Gendall
