Park Cottage (Charles Ingham Bandroom)
Orginally the cottage in Marple Memorial Park was a lodge at one of the entrances to the estate owned by the Carver family. There was also a similar one at the entrance from Stockport Road but this was demolished in the 1950s. In recent years the remaining lodge was home to retired park worker Jim Heald and he lived there until his death in 2004. Jim gave over 45 years of service to the park he loved through a variety of jobs and even after he retired in 1994 he still helped in the park, clearing up litter and keeping it tidy voluntarily. One of the Friends group's very first projects was to campaign and raise funds for a bench to commemorate Jim's contribution to the park and this is located near the play areas within sight of his former home.
Since Jim passed away the cottage has remained empty and been in decline. Due to deeds and covenants placing restrictions on the use of the land and buildings in the park the council has had difficulties in finding a suitable permitted use for the cottage. Thankfully they have also been unable to sell or demolish it.
The Friends of the Park felt it was important that the cottage was not simply left boarded up and allowed deteriorate until it was no longer viable and have maintained a dialogue with the council since it became empty to try to ensure that this did not happen. It was way beyond the resources of the Friends group to to do something useful with the building, which needs extensive renovation, so we were delighted when The Brass Bands of Marple came up with a proposal to turn the cottage into a practice room and their first permanent headquarters. This is a particulary fitting community use for the building due to the bands' links going back to the Carver family and the Hollins Mill.
The bands' proposals will cost a lot of money, much of which has still to be found, but they have worked very hard and are making great progress. A lease has been negotiated, planning permission granted and work on refurbishing the cottage itself is expected to begin in the spring of 2011.
Rather than attempt to keep track of progress here we're pleased to provide a link to the Brass Bands of Marple's own web site: www.charlesinghambandroom.co.uk where you can read more about this great project and find out first hand exactly how well things are going. The Friends of Marple Memorial Park wish the bands well with their plans to bring new life to the park cottage and will support them in any way we can.
