Green belt will be lost to unwanted project

To destroy the ancient woodland for a garage is not only sinful it is destructive, the woodland lent itself to the fuels that fed the fires on which the Blackburn Valley depended.
How the service station planned by Extra at Smithy Wood could lookHow the service station planned by Extra at Smithy Wood could look
How the service station planned by Extra at Smithy Wood could look

Time changes everything and destroys our past along with misplaced garages.

The area is famous like the valleys of Sheffield for their rivers and mills.

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Up the road from Ecclesfield church, towards Grenoside, the district known as The Wheel derived from the mill which used to stand on the tiny brook which trickles down the northern slopes of Birley Edge.

The Rev. JR Eastwood in his extensive history of Eccelsfield conjectures that this is the grinding Hull and Wheel held by Alexander Scirtcliff in 1520 but there is no written records to substantiate this theory before the dissolution of the monasteries, the priory at Ecclefield belonged to the Convent of St Anne near Coventry, and is known that the monks owned a corn mill.

This is probably the mill which later became the paper mill that worked on the dam remaining by the working men’s club and is now used by the local anglers.

In 1794, this mill was running as a cotton mill and as such it continued until 1840.

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The water mills on the Blackburn Valley begins at the top with Whitley to the paper mill at Eccelsfield onto Upper Corn Mill down to Nether Corn Mill to Wragg Wheel Butterthwaite Wheel Grange Mill, Ecclesfield Row, Blackburn Wheel, Meadow Hall, Blackburn Forge into River Don.

Having witnessed first hand the flood water on the Blackburn Valley 2007 the wheels that were driven were powered by the same water power.

Should the garage go ahead look at what damage it will cause and look at the history which will be lost.

The Blackburn Valley is an accident waiting to go wrong all the way down to Meadowhall.

Lastly I wonder how many acres of green belt will be lost to this unwanted project.

FH

Sheffield