2021 A number of turn-ups ... and not just for planned Shrovetide
Concluding our look back at some of the biggest stories of 2021, GARETH BUTTERFIELD reviews the second half of a roller-coaster year for Ashbourne. In part one we looked back at January to June, while this week, we round off with July to December.
JULY
A refreshing weekend of fun and frolics returned to the town, as Ashbourne Festival’s Streetfest bounced right back. The colourful spectacle took over the town’s streets, this time running alongside the Picnic in the Park.
Barring a few sharp showers later in the day, the weather was fine, and lockdown-weary audiences soaked up the thrilling atmosphere.
However, it wasn’t all good news at the start of July. Coronavirus infections had started to be detected in Ashbourne again, following a pattern that had been picked up nationally and, although nearly all restrictions were due to ease in July, there were fears the brakes might be put back on soon.
News of a potential new wave of Covid-19 led to Ynot Festival organisers calling off yet another festival in 2020, as they were already struggling with a lack of financial support and another late cancellation could be catastrophic.
In other news, district councillors were poised to decide on whether the town’s controversial Black’s Head could come back to Ashbourne, and plans were mooted to give a month of free parking to help traders recover from the pandemic.
Derbyshire Dales District Councillors rejected calls for an investigation into the “inadequate” bin collections that had been reported earlier in the year, and “Freedom Day” finally arrived on July 19, but with case rates reaching the same level as the January peak, many people were still seen wearing masks, or not embracing the new freedom at all.
Despite promising signs the vaccine rollout was keeping hospital levels down amid the latest coronavirus surge, organisers of the Ashbourne Soap Box race called off the 2021 event, as uncertainty over further restrictions and safety concerns led to a lack of competitors signing up.
However, as July drew to a close, the number of new cases finally started to show signs of waning, despite the record spike, and there was fresh optimism for the rest of summer and the autumn months, not to mention the big summer events still in the pipeline.
AUGUST
ONE of Ashbourne’s key summer events, the Dovedale Sheepdog Trials, was able to go ahead at Blore Pastures, and we learned of plans to divide the former Bargain Buys store into two or three shops, in a bid to attract a broader spectrum of businesses.
Kerbside garden waste collections were due to be suspended for a month, despite householders having been asked to pay for them for the first time in 2021, as the bin collection crisis worsened, and a new maize maze opened off the A52 near Ednaston.
Plans for a managed selection of mountain bike trails in Bradley Wood had been widely welcomed by townsfolk, who thought it could be just the ticket for bored youngsters in the area, and students from
Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School posted a strong set of A-level and GCSE results.
Ashbourne Show bounced back in spectacular fashion in August, with more than 11,000 people pouring into Osmaston Polo Ground for what felt like a relatively normal return for the celebrated one-day event.
Derbyshire County Council promised to review the town’s social distancing measures, and it gave us all hope that the unsightly plastic bollards would be removed – but Ashbourne Town Team said it wanted to see more space for pedestrians becoming a permanent fixture.
House prices in the Derbyshire Dales had risen at their fastest rate in over two years, it was revealed, and an opening date was finally set for a reborn Callow Hall, which would start welcoming guests in September.
We ended August with news that Covid-19 infection rates had started to creep up again, following a short, sharp spike that saw cases shoot up ahead of “Freedom Day”.
SEPTEMBER
THE month of September began with a massive clear-up operation for Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School, as a family of travellers that had set up camp on the school’s playing fields off Cokayne Avenue finally departed, leaving a disgusting mess in their wake.
The bin crisis continued into September, with food waste collections remaining suspended, and crews unable to take excess waste, as they battled with a backlog.
Organisers were forced to call time on the Dovedale Dash, after the National Trust withdrew permission for the annual race, which was expected to attract hundreds of people in November.
Pressure that had been put on the landscape in the spring and summer was behind the change of heart.
There was fresh hope for a more attractive Memorial Gardens as work began to demolish the dilapidated bandstand and plans were firmed up for its replacement, and other projects to improve the green space.
Town councillors almost came to blows over the “mammoth task” of clearing and sorting items loaned to Ashbourne Heritage Centre, which was due to be evicted from its Church Street base.
The councillors agreed to lend volunteers some space in the Town Hall to start sifting through the haul, much of which had not been documented and could be owned by anyone.
Ashbourne boat builders scooped another crop of awards in the Matlock Bath Illuminations, and plans were unveiled to transform the former Speedy Hire depot in Station Street into a soft play centre.
GPS and nurses were preparing to roll out the first coronavirus booster jabs, but cases remained worryingly high, and Dove Radio launched on the digital airwaves, bringing back presenters who worked for the former Ashbourne Radio station.
Town councillors rejected plans for a managed mountain bike trail in Bradley Woods, despite many believing it was a perfect way to keep the cyclists that use it under scrutiny and ensure safety for pedestrians, and Serco spoke out with plans to reign in the bin collection crisis.
Villagers in Hulland Ward leapt
into action to find “Granny Pat”, Patricia Greatorex, an 84-year-old dementia sufferer who had been missing from her home for 30 hours. Mountain rescuers later found her sitting in a field a few miles from her house, missing one shoe, but safe and well.
Plans were unveiled for a bold new look for the forgotten pedestrian walkway at Shrovetide Walk, and Ashbourne did not escape the chaos of a short-lived fuel crisis, which saw all the town’s petrol stations drying up for a few days.
OCTOBER
THE month began with frustration for thousands of mobile users, as network problems the EE lingered for weeks, leading to a lack of signal in the town centre.
Derbyshire Dales District Council discussed a review of its public spaces protection order, which was due to expire at the end of the month, which bizarrely proposed to allow dog fouling in cemeteries, driving and parking on green spaces and an end to dogs being exercised off the lead on Fishpond Meadow.
Ashbourne Town Team crunched the numbers following a month of free parking concessions given by Derbyshire Dales District Council and it became apparent businesses were being adversely affected by high charges and a flawed payment system. A new system allowing drivers to pay for parking with their phones was launched.
Brailsford Ploughing Match was the latest big event to bounce back, with thousands flocking to a muddy Bradley Pastures.
As bin collections continued to recover from a strike, staff absences and driver shortages, hundreds of people signed a petition demanding an independent inquiry into the way the crisis had been handled.
The Ashbourne Royal Shrovetide Football Committee said it was continuing with optimistic but cautious plans to put on the game in 2022.
Eighteen months after the Black’s Head saga began, the town council was still calling for answers over whether it might finally take ownership of the carving and the Green Man Gallows sign.
With the town’s sports and community pavilion starting to take shape, the volunteer team behind it picked up an award for their efforts to secure the million pounds needed to get the project to completion.
Bird flu made an unwelcome return, with a case detected in South Derbyshire.
NOVEMBER
UNIONS battling Serco over pay finally reached an agreement, bringing to an end the risk of further strikes over Christmas.
As the Government made a U-turn on the controversial Environment Bill, which would have given a green light to firms pumping raw sewage into rivers, a study into which local rivers had seen spillages included a handful of watercourses, including the Bentley Brook.
Hundreds of people turned out to enjoy the seasonal spectacle of the town’s free firework display. Its success led councillors to rethink their plans to switch to a more environmentally friendly light show in the future, and they also discussed early plans for a platinum jubilee celebration, in summer 2022.
Ashbourne’s Remembrance Day parade returned to form after a subdued commemoration in 2020 and the town council made a formal request to take on ownership of the black’s head and the Green Man gallows sign ahead of a meeting of Derbyshire Dales District Council.
The district council agreed a £24,000 probe into the bin crisis, and a further outbreak of avian influenza put more areas of the countryside into restriction and control zones.
A weekend of wild weather led to an exciting few days, as heavy snowfall and Storm Arwen made for challenging conditions, with a long list of school closures.
November ended on a sobering note with news of a new Covid-19 variant of concern detected in South Africa. Omicron, as it had been called, was detected on November 24 and six South African countries were added to the UK’S red list amid concerns it may be more transmissible and have the ability to evade protection from vaccines.
DECEMBER
A HANDFUL of district councillors prompted local outrage by branding Ashbourne as “racist” as tempers flared during discussions over the future of the Black’s Head. It was proposed to hand it back to the town council, on the agreement that it could never go back up in St John Street, pending ministerial approval to separate it from the gallows sign.
Emergency measures were announced as the threat from the Omicron variant increased as it was massively more transmissible than the Delta variant. Masks became mandatory in shops and on public transport.
Town and district councillors demanded a public apology in the News Telegraph and on television for slurs made by district councillors as they decided on the fate of the Black’s Head.
Ashbourne’s market was going from strength to strength, with a host of new stallholders setting up on Shrovetide Walk to capitalise on the Christmas shopping period.
Ashbourne Town Team unveiled plans for a complete rethink of Compton, Dig Street and St John Street. The plans included wider pavements, more priority for pedestrians, and a continuation of the temporary one-way system in Compton.
A late night shopping event gave traders a seasonal boost, with the streets lined with people to watch one of the biggest ever lantern parades, and tills ringing with festive purchases long into the night.
Fresh speculation arose over the history of the Black’s Head sculpture as a stone version of the caricature emerged in a garden in Church Street, and town councillors decided to carry on with combustible fireworks – but they promised to plant trees each year to mitigate the free event’s carbon footprint.
A vision for a transformed Shrovetide Walk, complete with sculptures depicting the game, was given the green light by planning committee members, and the announcement was made that we would never again see a New Year’s Day bridge jump at Mappleton, as the owners of the land that would accommodate hundreds of spectators withdrew their permission to allow the fields to rewild and recover from influxes of tourists earlier in the year.
With the threat of Omicron and with uncertainty over Christmas plans, the Government made the surprise announcement that the booster rollout would be stepped up – and NHS workers felt they were carrying the sole burden of fighting the threat.
December ended with the traditional announcement of the two people turning up a Shrovetide ball in 2022 – fund-raiser Bay Spencer and sportsman Roger Jones.