MEMORY LANE: What made the news in High Peak 10, 25 and 50 years ago
10 YEARS AGO
£2m secures rail future: A two million pound investment in the Buxton to Manchester railway line has been hailed as a “massive vote of confidence” in the future of the rural route.
Network Rail announced this week that the line between Buxton and Hazel Grove would close for six days while sections of the track are upgraded.
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Hide AdThe engineering work will enable the removal of temporary speed restrictions covering more than two miles of track - which have contributed to poor performance of train services to and from Buxton.
Hostel ‘still a priority’: Renewed efforts are to be made to find a suitable site for a youth hostel in Buxton - at a time when others across the country are being earmarked for closure.
The Youth Hostel Association says it is still committed to finding a suitable site in Buxton to replace Sherbrook Lodge, which closed in February 2003. Sites in Matlock and Bakewell have been earmarked for closure.
‘Pet penitentiary’ call: High Peak councillors are calling on the government to confiscate dogs from owners who fail to clean up after their pets.
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Hide AdThe call was made after complaints to Whaley Bridge Town Council about an increase in dog fouling in an area where children play, raising health concerns.
25 YEARS AGO
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Hide AdCouncil cash crisis: Derbyshire County Council has sent a delegation to Westminster in a last-ditch attempt to avoid cuts in services.
Tuesday’s delegation included representatives from trade unions and local voluntary organisations who met MPs to discuss the county’s cash crisis in the run-up to a budget meeting.
Savings of £41 million must be found if the council are to fix a budget within the government-approved level of £557 million.
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Hide AdFrosty relations: An icy row broke out last week over who was responsible for the state of the area’s side roads after the recent snow.
Borough councillors were told that their workforce had been instructed by Derbyshire County Council to clear only major routes.
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Hide AdThe county council claims that poll tax capping has forced cuts in its contingency fund set aside for heavy snowfall.
Golf hotel dream: The dreams of visionary councillors were dashed last week when plans to build a hotel on Chapel Golf Club land were turned down.
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Hide AdMany councillors regard the scheme as part of a major revitalisation of the area as an attractive leisure and tourism base.
The plan was aimed at bringing in extra cash without increasing membership.
50 YEARS AGO
Work on G.P.O complete: It is hoped that Buxton’s new G.P.O. sorting office and automatic telephone exchange will be opened late next year, or early 1968.
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Hide AdWork on the building was started less than 12 months ago, and the building itself, positioned at the top of Palace Road, is now complete.
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Hide AdBizarre weather: Some peculiar weather conditions prevailed all over the High Peak on Friday night.
Police Sergeant H. Marshall described how cars and lorries on main roads into the town were brought to a standstill by layers of treacherous ice.
“It was if a giant spray gun had sprayed everything with ice,” he said.
The sergeant also described how he and two constables who went up the Cat and Fiddle road soon after 10pm later found their clothes cracking when they eventually returned to get into a police car.
“We were covered with a layer of ice too,” he added.
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Hide AdSwim, skate & dance: “It would be a good thing to turn the Pavilion Gardens ballroom into a swimming pool with seats for spectators, and have a dance floor which could be put over the top of the water. The swimming pool could also be frozen over for the purpose of ice skating in the winter,” - one suggestion at an ‘Any Questions’ evening by Buxton Townswomen’s Guild.