Established by local residents in 1972, the Parkgate Society’s mission is to improve our local environment and conserve the heritage of Parkgate and its unique character.
Our Mission
The Society is essentially a conservation society. An early objective was to promote a conservation area in Parkgate to ensure that the character of the village was not compromised by inappropriate development. In the post-war years a number of developments had taken place which had seen many of the old Georgian buildings demolished to make way for new developments which impacted on the character of the village. In 1973 the Parkgate Conservation Area status was awarded, and with it English Heritage listings for over 30 buildings of significant interest in Parkgate. This gives our area and these buildings a degree of protection against unsympathetic development.
Map of the Parkgate Conservation Area
Our Activities
Publications. We have published leaflets: “This is Parkgate” and “Parkgate Heritage Trail” with the latter complementing the plaques on buildings of historical of interest. Twice a year we publish newsletters for our members - these are also available on our website.
Website. We maintain and manage this website - a source of information about Parkgate, its history, and our work, providing access to our archives and newsletters published since 1972. It also outlines our plans and projects for the future.
Meetings and Talks. Other than during the summer months, we hold our regular monthly meetings and talks, which generally relate to our area and its history. These are held at the Neston Club and are usually very well attended.
Planning and public realm. We look carefully at planning applications across the area, especially those affecting our historic and listed buildings. Our view is that the Conservation Area should have a unified appearance with appropriate heritage style street lighting and street furniture, with more interpretation boards explaining historical background, etc.
Community Spirit Team. We have established a team of volunteers – the Society’s Community Spirit Team – to act as a task force, to carry out litter picking, weeding communal areas and trimming back vegetative growth, flower planting, etc.
Social Events. We hold regular social events and have supported festivals including sponsorship of musical events along with attendance and representation at regional events of similar interest.
Local Authorities. We promote our aims and views, where appropriate, through our links with Cheshire West & Chester Council (CWaC) and with Neston Town Council.
Projects. We get involved in a wide variety of projects related to Parkgate, both conservation and environmental. Whilst in the main our work has concentrated on the Conservation Area and particularly The Parade, we do support community needs and ideas across the whole of the area.
Last Updated April 2022