Moorside Cottage

[PhilipRou]

This is a current 'hot potato' - the Society's subcommittee has made a Freedom Of Information request for sight of the report on the independent survey conducted for the absentee freeholder.

Unfortunately the request has been deferred . . . . . watch this space!

Take a look at the Moorside Cottage pages on JP137.com http://www.jp137.com/mh/index.php?slab=moorside-cottage

[RogerS]

It certainly looks as if things are slipping back a bit.... There's more rubbish in the garden again..
I think we may need to ask Sue Anderson if there are any other 'avenues' we can explore.....This current one seems to be exhausted?....

Meanwhile, the Cottage continues to deteriorate...... a cynic might think that's exactly the intention......
I couldn't possibly comment on that view, of course...

[RogerS]

Well, looks like I was wrong on the suggestion that the deterioration might be intentional......it was good to see Mike Stokes (father of the cottage owner Matthew Stokes) at the group meeting on Wednesday.

From his comments there, it looks as if the cottage will hopefully be renovated after all.... and in the not too distant future.

As is often the case in these situations, there needs to be approval of plans to build 3 houses on the land at the bottom of the original garden. Approval of that development could 'enable' funding to go towards renovation of the cottage.

Sounds like the best option presented so far, and if it all drags on too much longer, there may not be much cottage left to renovate!...

So, fingers crossed I think....

[PhilipRou]

Following Mike Stokes' brief talk and Q&A on Wed 8th April, on behalf of his son Matthew he presented the Society with a copy of the Moorside Cottage survey report. In the first instance this had been requisitioned by the Council, and later they famously withheld it from us, even when looking down both barrels of a Freedom of Information request. I can't make up my mind whether the Council's action was brave or foolhardy - it would need a fancy lawyer to argue that one

Mike Stokes also presented the Society with copies of site layout plans - one based on Land Registry data, the other associated with the proposed development.

As anticipated, the survey report simply makes observations about the condition of the thatch, structural timbers and other building components. It contains nothing sensitive or controversial, just building repair and maintenance issues.

The site plans indicate that the position of the cottage, its historic boundaries, and its access off McWilliam Road will remain unaltered. Inevitably there will be grey areas and potential discrepancies that need clarification, but the overall picture is that the cottage and its site are to be retained for the future.

The enabling development proposal (which will produce funds to renovate Moorside Cottage) is currently in the consultation stage with Bournemouth Borough Council's Town Planning Department. This involves land purchased from the rear of No. 3 McWilliam Road some time ago, with separate driveway access.

The enabling development comprises three small dwellings, each with car spaces and gardens.

Earlier proposals by others have involved larger properties and more of them - some even taking up Moorside Cottage's land for new buildings or constructing driveways for access. None of that is proposed. Matthew says that he has noted objections to earlier enabling development proposals, and is offering a solution which he believes avoids all of those earlier issues.

Matthew Stokes says that he wishes to live in the cottage - and he's wanted to do that since first shown the property by Goadsbys, some 20 years ago.

Mike Stokes left a small stack of business cards with his personal mobile number, and invited members to put any further questions to him - and he'll do his best to answer, or obtain answers.

Before leaving for his sponsorship duties as a Poole Stadium that evening, Mike Stokes expressed his long-held interest in Moordown's history, paid his membership fee to join the Society (Membership No. 50) and will attend future meetings.

On checking with Matthew and Mike the day before the meeting, it seems that NONE of the representations made by the Society's Moorside Cottage sub-committee to the Local Authority have been passed on. So now we know - circular floor-level filing cabinets are the Council's preferred option.

[oldbiddies]

Hello everyone, we are attempting to join the 21st century, but aren't too sure about the smilies etc.!

The copy of the report that Mr Stokes gave MLHS at our last meeting simply confirmed our worst fears about the condition of the cottage. It does not give any expert opinion. Why were we refused sight of it by BBC when it is couched in very general terms? Was this just another delaying tactic?

It must be borne in mind that the report itself is now 16 months old ,and therefore the condition of the building can only have deteriorated further.

Do you think that there is ANYBODY out there who can prevail upon Mr Stokes to undertake some temporary remedial work e.g.cover the thatch and clear the rubbish PDQ?

Surely it is in his own (or Matthew's) interest to stop any further deterioration ( which will only incur more expense )if he is serious about wanting to live in the property eventually.

Do we need to organise a militant march on the Town Hall to get them to take some action!!?

Finally, there is a rumour amongst the neighbours that there is drug dealing at the cottage with interesting odours emanating from the open windows!

[PhilipRou]

Well done with the technology, ladies! Smilies are widely used in social media, and very easy - you just click on one that expresses the right 'mood', and the code for it is automatically placed at the cursor position. You can only see the actual smilie when the message is published. Click on the Preview button to see how it will look.

With my 'Building Eng' hat on, all roof frame repairs and other directly associated internal works need to be completed before any thatching can be done. It's exactly the same for tiled or slated roof coverings.

There are two main approaches to temporary roof covering - sloped and vertical.

A sloped 'temporary' covering actually implies a long-term solution. A durable waterproof fabric (eg one of the Monarflex products) is draped and tied over the sloping surfaces, with drips formed at the lower edges to shed rainwater. Because a thatch needs to breathe (or it will sweat, rot and cultivate fungus), a clear airspace of 50mm or more is needed across the entire sloped surface, between the underside of the sheeting and the top of the thatch - this is done with a lightweight timber framework and steel bolts. Skyhooks would be good.

An alternative to waterproof fabric is galvanised corrugated steel panels, which can be laid with an overlap like huge roof tiles, again with a timber ventilation framework. This has an even longer-term 'temporary' solution profile.

Yarn approaching. A thatched cottage we renovated some years ago had its roof topped with rusted corrugated sheets for so long that they became mentioned in English Heritage's Listing descriptor on the green cards they keep at Swindon. Immediately the new and beautiful thatch had been installed, the local Conservation Officer demanded that the corrugated steel sheets be reinstated on top !! However when invited to put this request in writing with a view to publication in the next day's newspapers, he didn't pursue the issue. Time now for an appropriate smilie

The other approach is to 'cocoon' the whole roof volume with vertical side sheeting and a corrugated steel 'flat' roof above, laid to a 1:40 fall to ensure that rainwater drains off quickly. This configuration requires a scaffold framework for the duration, and allows work of every kind to proceed inside the 'cocoon', in all weathers. This approach is usually more costly that the sloping version, but implies that work is in progress.

You'll appreciate that I'm merely a techie, with no magic wand to wave over the political, financial, town planning or other bewilderments.

[oldbiddies]

Thanks for the technical info in your last post. Being only "lay" mortals we did not appreciate the complications of any "temporary" work on the thatch. We have been a bit preoccupied with preparations for our walk around Moordown tomorrow but are considering whether it would be advisable to pay a visit to Mike Stokes to keep the pot on the boil, so to speak. Has anybody got any thoughts or suggestions about this

[PhilipRou]

Well, Mike did leave business cards with his personal mobile number so that MLHS members could make contact, ask Qs etc. I see no reason not to take him up on his offer

He said that if he couldn't answer any Qs himself, he'd make enquiries of others.

It might be easier to ask Qs by e-mail, or simpler still, I believe Mike intends to attend the next MLHS meeting on 10th June. In e-mail correspondence just after the last meeting, he said he has no Poole Speedway commitment that evening so could stay for the whole thing, rather than rush off.

[oldbiddies]

We have been in touch with Mike Stokes by email and are arranging to have a meeting with him at the end of the month when he returns from holiday.
We will be asking questions in the hope of getting a clearer picture of the situation and of Matthew's plans - with luck

[oldbiddies]

Just to keep you all up to date. We have been in contact with Mike Stokes and are in the process of hopefully arranging a meeting with him before next Wednesday's meeting.
Although we have also written to both Sean Burke at the Planning department and Sue Anderson, neither of them have replied. Should we be surprised. We will let you know how we get on.