Here's to 2022!

As another year draws to a close it's a good time to reflect on where we are and how we got here.

In August 2018 we managed to halt the auction of Birley Spa to the highest bidder. Since that time, we have worked, and worked hard. (6000+ hours, at least)

With the help of volunteers we cleared the front of the building, and have kept it clear as part of our regular volunteer sessions.

We have cleared the garden, a massive undertaking, there is still much to do, but the building had been barely visible.

 With support of Park Rangers and our wonderful Birley Firefighters we have made improvements in the grounds, again there is still much to do. We are currently awaiting the outcome of a NLHF funding bid by Sheffield Countryside Conservation Trust, for more substantial work to be done to restore the pond and surrounding area.

We have hosted Heritage Open Days, very successfully 3 times, with all events fully booked, because the Spa is so special, it is after all not just a local hidden gem, it should be a national treasure.

We have had Halloween at the Spa 3 times, tremendous fun for all involved, the last two events have been over 2 nights as its popularity continues to grow.

This year we had events at Easter and through the school holidays and have the potential to expand on this in future.

We had our first school trip, Birley Spa Primary, the children absolutely loved it! It was wonderful to see so many happy faces, and finally confirm that there are no sharks in the plunge pool!

We have worked with students from Sheffield School of Architecture (UOS) on a Live Project- Reimagining Birley Spa. Through their fantastic efforts the vision for Birley Spa has been brought to life, it is a phenomenal body of work. xd.adobe.com/view/5785d8f2-b6b3-41c5-9301-26c0e57b9841-02d6/?fullscreen

We held our first Christmas event this year, where 100 children visited Santa in the garden. It was a worry that we might not achieve our visitors expectations, given our success with Halloween, but we managed to pull it off, and the feedback from our visitors has been heartwarming and truly humbling.

Over time we have grown, our Facebook group had less than 300 members in 2018, there are now over 1700. Just imagine what we could have achieved had there not been a pandemic. Imagine if we had electricity, running water, toilets, a restored, useable building?
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We have had support, for which we are tremendously grateful, from Asda, through donations for events and the Green Token Scheme. Morrisons, Maddy Wood, community champion, has always been happy to help us when we needed her. Olympus Scaffolding were there for us when we needed help putting on Covid Safe Heritage Open Days. PYO Pumpkins have helped us with Halloween. We have had volunteers from the Give It A Go scheme at Sheffield University Students Union help out on our work sessions in the grounds. Volunteers of all ages have pitched up and done their bit, whether as regulars or occasional contributors, their efforts count. As the saying goes, "Every little helps!", and we're thankful for every single bit of it.

We are here for our community, our heritage, our social history, our nature and our green space. We are all volunteers, we work hard for what we believe in. We believe in Birley Spa. We believe in our community. 

2022 will be our year, it's time.

Happy New Year to All!​