ACCESS: A Retrospective and Update

Update as at 9/12/2025

In around 2022, I wrote on this homepage with the hope that ACCESS, an organisation established almost 20 years previously, would experience a revival. The original plan was to redevelop the website, introduce new sections, and breathe new life into our activities. However, circumstances have shifted, and these ambitions have not materialised as intended.

ACCESS Achievements Over Two Decades

During its 20-year history, ACCESS has made notable contributions to the local community. Among our achievements are:

  • Saving Little Oak Plantation, securing its designation as a Local Wildlife Site, and ensuring a Total Tree Preservation Order (TPO) was established.
  • Successfully opposing Taylor Wimpey’s proposal to build a 99-house development on the Forest Grass land behind Forest Road.
  • Researching previously unrecognised footpaths, which were subsequently acknowledged by Nottinghamshire County Council, preserving them for future generations.
  • With community support, submitting and having recognised a number of sites of local heritage by the local council.

None of these successes would have been possible without the active involvement and support of the community.

Challenges and the Decision to Pause

On 19th March 2019, a meeting was held where it was agreed to place ACCESS into ‘slumber mode’ due to a decline in community interest, despite appeals for new, younger committee members to succeed the existing team. The adoption of a new local plan was anticipated, but this did not come to pass. The situation was further complicated a few months later by the onset of the COVID pandemic, which severely limited all forms of social interaction.

Maintaining the Website and Subsequent Events

Despite these challenges, we continued for the next few years in ‘acting roles,’ keeping the website active and updated. The intention was to provide new residents with insights into the community’s development and to make available any useful information we had published.

Regrettably, support continued to dwindle. Among the remaining original committee members, one underwent a heart bypass and was also battling cancer, another had nearly lost their sight, and a third was contending with cancer and advanced age. Given these circumstances, it was decided at a meeting on 21st August 2023 that ACCESS should be formally dissolved. This decision had not previously been communicated on the website, though it was likely that most residents were already aware. I am now addressing this omission, with and by some assistance in website programming.

A Personal Reflection and Future Hopes

On a personal note, I am reluctant to let ACCESS fade away entirely. Our community deserves better, and I have been pursuing several initiatives that I hope to share with you in the New Year. These efforts are aimed at deepening our appreciation and understanding of our local heritage and environment.

Therefore, I repeat my earlier request: please continue to watch this space for future updates.

Peter Olko

 

 

About the Photographs

All the photographs featured above were taken within our local community. If you click on a picture, you will be able to view the next one; click again to explore the full current range.

 

 

 

 

 

Template Features

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Parent Category: Demo Content
Category: Template Features

photo19Local heritage assets are those that are not statutorily designated, such as Listed Buildings which are designated by English Heritage.  These local heritage assets help build a sense of local identity and distinctiveness, a sense of history, place and belonging, and the designation of a site as a Local Heritage Asset is in itself a material consideration for planning decisions.

Assets may be added by nomination from a local heritage group, Parish Council or from interested members of the public. This is what ACCESS undertook in 2013,when after much research the following assets were sent to ADC to be considered on their Heritage List and added .(see Bold items). Many thanks to Bob Collier for compiling and photographing the assets and Mrs Pearson for use of her husbands book - "Annesley through the Ages"

Please click on the picture/name to get a resume of the asset. All ADC Assets, in the locality may be found here or direct from ADC here (you will have to zoom into the ADC map)

a)" Little Oak Plantation", Annesley Woodhouse. Heritage number 917

b)" Osier Wood"/ Osierbed Wood Sherwood Business Park- Heritage number 918

c) "Ancient field boundary/Hedgerow" between Lords of the Manor, Annesley Woodhouse. Heritage number 912

d)"Hedges and Banked Hedges along Toll Road/Old Turnpike Road", Annesley Woodhouse to Selston. Heritage number 911

e)" Limestone quarries and Old Lime Kilns", land North & South of Toll Road/Turnpike from Annesley Woodhouse to Selston. Heritage No. 913

f)"6 Miners Cottages" built by "Annesley Miners Company", Nos 1-6, Newstead Road, Annesley. Heritage No. 916

g) Miners Cottages built by "Annesley Miners Company", Nos 7-24 Derby Road, Annesley Woodhouse

h) Annesley Rows, 160 Miners Cottages built by "Annesley Miners Company", Annesley

i)" Malthouse Corner Wall", Junction Skegby Road/Forest Road, Annesley Woodhouse. Heritage Number 914

j)" Framesmiths Workshop", Salmon Lane, Annesley Woodhouse.  Heritage No. 925

k)" Southfields" - "Tudor Lodge", Salmon Lane, Annesley Woodhouse. Heritage number 924

l)" Old Free School, "The Sycamores", Salmon Lane, Annesley Woodhouse. Heritage number 923.

m)" Site of Cobblers Workshop", Ashfield House, Forest Road, Annesley Woodhouse

n) "The Sycamores"  Old Free School, , Salmon Lane, Annesley Woodhouse. Heritage No 923

o) "Forest House, Old Blacksmith, Wheelwrights and Carpenters", 106 Forest Road, Annesley Woodhouse.  Heritage number 920

p) Retail outlets six 3 storey built houses "Green Cottages", Forest Road, Annesley Woodhouse. Heritage number 922

q) "The old Co-op" converted from 3 houses on Forest Road, Annesley Woodhouse.  Heritage number 921.  

r) Forest Tavern - Public house, Old Farmhouse, 1 of only 6 dwellings on Skegy Road (in 1851), Annesley Woodhouse. Heritage number 915

s) "Saint Johns" Church, Skegy Road, Annesley Woodhouse

t) "Cherry Tree Cottage", 58 Skegby Road, Annesley Woodhouse

u) "The Homestead", Skegby Road, Annesley Woodhouse

v) "The Baptist Chapel", Main Road, Kirkby Woodhouse

w) "The Old Granary" Willow Cottages, Forest Road, Annesley Woodhouse.  Heritage number 919

 

Items without an Heritage link, were already on ADC Heritage list.

 

 

 

 

 

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Parent Category: Demo Content
Category: Template Features

We integrated reflection script with this template. So, you can add reflection to your images without editing them in Photoshop.

Beside that, you have full control over the reflection height and opacity.

How to add reflection effect to the picture

reflection effectAdd class="reflect" to any image you'd like to have reflection effect, and you are done!

To control the effect's height, use class="reflect rheight25". In this case, height of the reflection will be 25% of the image height. You can also, control opacity of the reflection. Use class="reflect ropacity60" and opacity will be set to 60%. You can also combine height and opacity, in example class="reflect rheight25 ropacity60".

 

 

 

 

<img class="reflect ropacity60 rheight25" src="images/stories/demo/reflection.jpg" alt="reflection effect">

Details
Parent Category: Demo Content
Category: Template Features

You can define overall template width as well as widths of the left hand side and the right hand side columns with modules. All of this is done very easily in the template configuration. Main content area will be calculated to fit best between the left hand side and the right hand side column, no matter what values you entered for them. Also, if you don't have left or right modules published on certain pages, main content area will occupy their space.

 

widths

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Parent Category: Demo Content
Category: Template Features

leafThis template has support for 21 module positions. All module positions are collapsible. If no modules are published on some module positions, those module positions will automatically collapse. Check available module positions and their layout.

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