Derbyshire Caving Association
Information Circular 2004/4, July-September 2004
NEXT DCA MEETING
DCA Council - Sat. 27 November 2004, at 10am, Monyash Village Hall
The Hall will be open from about 9.30am with tea, coffee and biscuits on tap. The Old Smithy Cafe, next to the Pub, does an excellent breakfast from about 9am.
DCA AGM 2005 - Sat. 19th. February 2005, 10am. Monyash Village Hall
DCA MINUTES ARE NOW ON THE WEBSITE
Minutes
of DCA Meetings and Officers Reports to Council Meetings will now be posted on
the DCA website as soon as possible after the meeting has taken place. (They
are in pdf format and can be downloaded and printed using the pdf reader
already on the website.) Already posted are the AGM 2004, April and July 2004
Council Meeting Minutes. Our thanks to DCA webmaster Paul Johnson for arranging
this.
PUBLIC LIABILITY INSURANCE
At the DCA Council Meeting on 17th. July the subject of P.L.
Insurance for cavers was discussed in detail. (See item 5.5.c of the Minutes
and P.T.Mellors' Report - now posted on the DCA website.) An outline offer of
renewal had been received from Perkins Slade, DCA's brokers, but we were not
sure of the situation re. BCA. It was agreed that in principle DCA wished to
support a national insurance scheme through BCA but had a responsibility to its
insured members not to refuse the Perkins Slade offer until we were certain
that a viable alternative was in place. It was felt we had insufficient
information to make a final decision at the meeting on 17th. July but it could
not be left until the next Council Meeting on 27th. November. Hence a meeting
of DCA Officers has been arranged for 22nd. September at which a decision will
be made and those insured through DCA will be informed immediately afterwards.
DCA's Legal & Insurance Officer and BCA's Insurance Manager are liaising
closely in seeking the best way forward. The Officers' Meeting is at 8pm. at
the Orpheus C.C. Cottage, Parsley Hay. If any members would like to be present
at this meeting they are welcome - contact Jenny Potts if you don't know how to
get there.
CONSERVATION / ACCESS
If you have any queries or problems relating to access or conservation in the region you can e-mail all the DCA Conservation and Access team members on access @ theDCA.org.uk. Team members are:
Devonshire Mine
On 9th. September the
entrance to Devonshire Mine was reported to be blocked by large rocks which had
been deliberately placed against the gate. Enquiries established that this had
been done by persons unknown without the permission of the Landowner and that
the Landowner was happy to have the rocks removed and access re-instated. A
working party has now cleared the gate and a notice will be placed by the
entrance to the mine explaining the situation with regard to access. It appears
that there may have been some problems recently affecting other residents in
the road - in particular thoughtless behaviour by young people coming down the
road after a visit - and this has upset someone locally. (Problems reported
relate to noisy behaviour, dropped litter, etc.) It is important to emphasise
to all party leaders that young people MUST BE SUPERVISED PROPERLY, both when
walking up the road to the Mine and when they leave after their visit.
CO2 In
Knotlow/Hillocks and Pollution in Knotlow
Excess CO2 was reported in the Knotlow/Hillocks connection
(Meccano Passage) in mid-July and confirmed later that week by other cavers
using detector equipment. Later in the month other cavers reported that the
problem appeared to be no longer present. As always, be alert for the symptoms
of excess CO2 / depleted oxygen levels which appear intermittently in this
system. Dave Webb, DCA Conservation Officer, has now replaced the book in the
ammo box at the base of the climbing shaft of Knotlow Mine. The format of the
new book is slightly different to allow one page per entry and to encourage a
fuller report and contact details from those who wish to provide more
information. For example it helps to know the prevailing surface weather
conditions and if there is any muck spreading going on. Otherwise everything is
back to normal and we would thank you in advance for your continued support.
Dave has placed a summary in the box of the most recent entries prior to the
last book becoming waterlogged. Please don't hesitate to contact Dave or a
member of the team at access @ thedca.org.co.uk if you need, or wish to
provide, further information. Many thanks again for your help.
Youd's Level
Pollution
Following on
from concerns regarding pollution in the entrance adit to Youd's Level
expressed at Underground Conservation Forum and Cave Liaison meetings, DCA
Conservation Officer Dave Webb visited the site with Dave Ottewell of the
Environment Agency on July 13th 2004, as planned, to inspect and take samples.
As the site is in an SSSI it is necessary to pass through the pollution in
order to carry out monitoring duties - clearly an unsatisfactory state of
affairs. Dave Ottewell has submitted the samples taken for analysis and we are
hopeful that something positive will come of our efforts.
Peak Cavern Access
Access to Peak Cavern will
begin again at the end of October and continue till March next year. As usual,
please contact John Beck to make your booking: email john.beck6 @
btinternet.com (note amended email address) or write enclosing S.A.E. and
remember each member of the party must be prepared to show evidence of P.L.
Insurance cover.
Derbyshire Dales District Council
proposals to require a licence for all groups wishing to abseil on Council
owned land
In June DCA Secretary Jenny Potts
was made aware of proposals by DDDC to require a Licence/Insurance and to place
other restrictions on groups abseiling on Council owned land. Although this
appeared to refer in the first instance to High Tor, Matlock, it could also
apply to other sites and may therefore have the potential to affect caving.
Following submissions by DCA and other local interests the Planning Policy
Manager has written to say that he is currently reviewing all the comments DDDC
have received on this matter with a view to presenting them to Committee in due
course. He also said he would endeavour to advise interested parties of the
date that this matter will be reported to Committee.
DCA Handbook Updates
The full set of eight DCA Handbook update sheets has now
been sent out to all members as follows: New front cover; 2:3/2:4; 2:5/2:6;
2:7/2:8; 2:11/2:12; 2:15/2:16; 3:9/3:10 and 4:1/4:2. If you haven't received
these or if any are missing, please contact Jenny Potts.
"The Lead Legacy"
A new book has just been published by the Peak District
National Park Authority Lead Rakes Project in partnership with English Heritage
and English Nature, 2004. "The Lead Legacy - The Prospects for the Peak
District's Lead Mining Heritage" by John Barnatt and Rebecca Penny. 111 pages;
includes photos, maps, surveys in colour. You can obtain a copy for free but
you will need to pay for postage (probably about £3.00+). Contact
Phillipa Davey, 01629-816383, to request a copy.
EVENTS, TALKS & FILMS, ETC.
China Caves International Symposium,
24-26 September, R.G.S. London.
Details for
the China Caves International Symposium are now available online at
www.andyeavis.com. This site will be
updated regularly as more details about the programme are confirmed. In the
meantime, there is a feedback form with which you can register interest and
reserve accommodation in London. If you would like further information about
the hotels available, please email mel @ andyeavis.com. We look forward
to hearing from you and if you have any queries at all or would prefer to
receive information by regular post please contact Andy Eavis or Mel Hannam
either via this email address or by calling 01482 648658.
Cave Art & Archaeology, Tuesday
28th. Sept. at Peak District Mining Museum, Matlock Bath
Starting at 7.30pm. (Museum open from 6.30pm.) Free
admission. Two slide presentations:
7.30 - 8.30pm. Cave Archaeology in the Creswell Region. Speaker Dr. Andrew Chamberlain, University of Sheffield.
8.30-8.45pm. Interval.
8.45-9.15pm. Cave Art in the South of France. Speaker Bernard Chandler (Featuring Lascaux Cave, famous for its cave paintings) Notes:
HIDDEN EARTH 2004: Brewery Arts
Centre, Kendal, 1 - 3 October, 2004
Details
are now on the Hidden Earth Website at
www.hidden-earth.org.uk
Pre-Conference events at Dalesbridge Centre, Austwick on 29 & 30 Sept. & 1st. Oct.
Pre-Conference field trips, including caving trips, are being organised in Yorkshire, based at Dalesbridge, to link in with the China Caves project. Meet on Wednesday evening at Dalesbridge. Details on Hidden Earth website as they become available or contact Bookings Officer Wendy Williams on 01749-679839.
Caving Film & Winter
Mountaineering Lectures
A 'Best Of Kendal
Film Festival' evening is being organised at the Showroom Cinema in Sheffield
on October 13th which will feature, amongst other films, Gavin Newman's award
winning film 'Wookey Exposed'. The evening will start at 8.15pm, cost £7
full and £5 concession, last for 2½ hours and consist of 7 films
(caving, skiing, kayaking, mountaineering and climbing). See
www.heason.net for more information.
DCA/BCA Cavers Workshop, February
2005
Planning is already in hand for this
event - further details and exact dates from Nigel Atkins as soon as we have
them. Contact: Tel: 01283 210666, Fax: 01283 210777, Mob: 07831 449919, Em.
nigel @ pennineorganisation.com
SUSS THREATENED WITH CLOSURE
Sheffield University Spel. Soc. have been told by "USport" (a joint partnership of university and union which runs all the sport and is not answerable to the students) that they are to be closed down before the new term (along with 7 other "outdoor activity" clubs). SUSS are attempting to fight this and may be able to form a separate club, not financially supported by USport but linked to the University in some way. They are concerned that an attempt may be made by USport to sell off their equipment to outside caving clubs before they are able to sort things out, so they appeal to clubs: please do not attempt to buy caving gear being sold off in this way. Advice is being sought from Council of Higher Education Caving Clubs, BCA, DCA and BCRA - everyone is trying to help.
FOR YOUR NEWSLETTER / NOTICEBOARD
www.theDCA.org.uk - dca @ theDCA.org.uk
18th September 2004