Influencing

Our Society’s constitution requires our Executive Committee members to provide benefits to the people of St Ives and the surrounding villages (within the boundaries of the former Rural Council) by –

• protecting the town’s heritage and development, specifically by promoting the preservation of buildings or sites of historic or architectural importance;
• promoting high standards of planning and architecture and the improvement of public amenities;
• educating the public in the geography, history and architecture of the area to imbue /increase civic pride;
• drawing attention to sites which need publicity and attention.

We do this by promoting St Ives in our day-to-day interactions, through the delivery of a programme of talks, workshops and visits for our members and visitors, through exerting influence on Town and District Councillors regarding local planning projects, through awarding Black Plaques to historic buildings, and through collaborating with other local organisations, businesses and community leaders whose activities affect or overlap our own strategic vision or who could be engaged to support us.

The Civic Society’s influence was clearly demonstrated at its founding in 1968, occasioned because the County Council planned to locate a new roadway within the town, slicing off a significant part of The Waits/The Broadway and demolishing Holt Island nature reserve and Hemingford Meadow. The town revolted, dug deep into its pocket to pay for legal representation to challenge the Council in the Courts – and won! In 1980 a new bypass was built, named Harrison Way after the Society’s first Chair and Secretary and it, and the bridge, were formally opened.

Other examples have been the preservation of the New Bridges, the purchase of the Corn Exchange as a community resource and we raised resistance to the Council’s intention to remove the War Memorial just to create more parking space!

More recently, we have initiated the Forum for the Regeneration of St Ives Town (FoRSIT) to collaborate collectively with Councillors, local organisations, community leaders and residents to convert planning comments received during the Neighbourhood Planning process into viable plans for revitalising the town and boosting its economy.