About the Society
The society was formed with the merging of the Greenmount Society and
the Tottington and Walshaw Civic Amenities Society in May 1992. The
latter was founded in 1979 whilst the Greenmount Society began its life
many years earlier.
What is a Civic Society?
A Civic Society is a local, voluntary organisation, registered as a
charity and whose members are concerned about the environment, working
to prevent its deterioration and to promote its improvement. We are
concerned about local amenities and fight to preserve, maintain and
improve them.
We are not merely a protest group, seeking to oppose all new development
or the demolition of old buildings, though, sometimes, this must be
done. We shall put forward positive ideas for improving a street scene
and for removing eyesores as well as objections to out-of-character
development. Our aim is to ensure nothing worthwhile is destroyed and
that nothing mediocre is built.
The area covered by the Society is that of Walshaw, Greenmount, Tottington and part of Hawkshaw.
What has the Society done?
Society activities have included:
- walking footpaths to keep them open
- conducting surveys of buildings
- influencing public opinion with booklets, exhibitions, talks and comments in the press
- expressing local opinion on environmental matters, especially to the local authority, by using friendly discussion, to influence the authority’s outlook.
Some of the talks and exhibitions have covered subjects such as:
- Kirklees Brook
- Croal Irwell Valley
- West Pennine Moors
- Policing
- Tottington Mill
- Genealogy