Secretary: Mrs. M Hood

And so Clay Lane Tenants' and Residents' Association was born.

The Building of the Clay Lane Estate.

14th May 1947 - The Estates and Housing Committee recommended that an application be made to the Ministry of Health for approval to erect 200 Easiform homes by Messrs John Laing and Sons Ltd on the Clay Lane site.

18th June 1947 - formal authorisation by the Ministry was given.

23 July 1947 - the Ministry offered a further allocation of 100 BISF homes and it was recommended by the Estates and Housing Committee that this offer be accepted and the houses be built on Clay Lane. There must have been a change of plan for although there are a great many BISF properties in the Wheatley Ward, which Clay Lane is part of, there were none actually built on the Clay Lane Estate.

20th August 1947 - rents. Tenants who do not have an income of over £400 per year: -

3 bedroom houses		11 shillings per week + rates.
2 bedroom houses		10 shillings per week + rates.
People earning over £400 per year: -
3 Bedroom houses		14 shillings per week + rates.
2 Bedroom houses		13 shillings per week + rates.

2nd September 1947 - the committee considered the revised lay-out of the plan of the proposed Clay Lane Estate and this was approved by the Highways Committee later that month on 24th September 1947 - the meeting also agreed that tenders were to be invited for the laying of roads and sewers on Clay Lane Estate.

7th October 1947 - recommended that an assurance be given to the Ministry of Health that, in the event of their sanction be received to the immediate erection of 200 Easiform houses on the Clay Lane site, such houses be let to miners.

19th November 1947 - tenders be invited for roads and sewers. A tender was submitted from Messrs John Laing and Sons for the erection of 200 Easiform (concrete) houses on the Clay Lane site amounting to £248,341 and it was recommended that the same be accepted, subject to them entering into a contract to be prepared by the Town Clerk and that application be made to the Ministry of Health for borrowing £249,000 such sum to include Clerk of Works salary.

21st January 1948 - It was resolved to recommend to the Highways Committee that the new roads on the Clay Lane Estate be named as follows, Wilberforce Road, Jefferson Avenue, Moffat Gardens, Chalmers Drive, Shackleton Road and Livingstone Avenue.

18th February 1948 - A letter read from the Ministry of Health approved the lay-out of site 11, the Clay Lane Estate and agreeing to the acceptance of the tender of Messrs P.P.Taylor (Doncaster Ltd) for the construction of roads and sewers of £34,555.-2s-2d.

24th February 1948 - Letter from Ministry of Health agreeing to the tender submitted by Messrs John Laing and Sons for the erection of 200 Easiform homes on the Clay Lane Estate at a total of £249,581-5s-10d.

18th August 1948 - Formal consent of the Ministry of Health to the appropriation of 46.018 acres of land at Clay Lane was submitted.
A letter was read from the Ministry enclosing formal authorisation to proceed to tender in respect of a further 92 houses and for entering into contracts for the erection of 28 houses on the same site by small builders. The acting Estate Surveyor reported that it was proposed to enter into contracts for the erection of the 28 houses as follows: -

Messrs F.J Flowitt & Sons		6 houses		£7,275
Messrs F. Moss & Son		6 houses		£7,275
Messrs Corfield & Sons		4 houses		£4,850
Messrs Garrity Bros		4 houses		£4,850
Messrs Whittington & Sons		4 houses		£4,850
Mr R Stephenson		4 houses		£4,850

27th August 1948 - Letter from Ministry approving acceptance of tenders to build the 28 properties by small builders at a cost of £34,146 such sum to include £12 per house for thermal insulation less £5 per house reduction in contingencies.

15th September 1948 - A report was submitted by the estates Surveyor with regard to the completion of houses on the Clay Lane Estate, although the usual services to such dwellings were not yet connected. Resolved that in the meantime such houses be let, but that the attention of the tenants is drawn to the delay in completing such services.

28th September 1948 - Committee considered tenders for 92 houses on Clay Lane the tender by Messrs Frank Haslam of £113,639-16s-7d be accepted.

13th October 1948 - Permission to borrow £34,500 for the erection of 28 properties was submitted.

17th November 1948 - Tenancies of new shops were listed although as yet there had been no mention of shops being built: -

Grocery and Beer Off		Mr F Duddington.
Ladies & Gents Hairdresser		Mr J.H. Codling.
Butcher		Mr A Woodwood.
Chemist		Mr D Groom.
Greengrocer		Mr H Morton.
Fish and Chip Shop		Mr C Hannaby.
Boot & shoe Repair		Mr L. Wood.

15th December 1948 - formal consent to borrow £113,350 to build 92 houses.

19th January 1949 - tenders for electrical installations in 92 brick homes at cost of £2,852-17s-4d be accepted. Estate Surveyor to proceed to tender for surfacing of roads and flagging of footpaths on Clay Lane.

16th March 1949 - Tenders for above listed work awarded to General Asphalt Co. of London at cost of £16,224-16s-6d.
An application was submitted by Mr Morton for permission to erect a temporary shop on the estate which was agreed.

15th June 1949 - Permission to borrow £17,700 for roads and flagging.
Letter from Ministry approving 2 more houses and 12 old peoples bungalows plus the contract with Messrs Willey Bros. for the erection of 4 houses.

19th October 1949 - Letter submitted to Ministry of Health for the approval of 12 bungalows at a cost of £10,889-15s-0d by Works Department.

16th November 1949 - Temporary garage for PC Barton at 10 Chalmers Drive.

15th March 1950 - Health Committee applied for housing accommodation with regard to a service tenancy for a midwife on Clay Lane.

19th April 1950 - Permission for use of temporary expedient of 5 Jefferson Avenue as polling station on the occasion of the Municipal elections on the 11th proximo.

21st June 1950 - Plans for shops submitted to Ministry of Health.

17th July 1950 - rent for new homes: -

1 Bedroom bungalow		8s-3d + rates.
2 Bedroom bungalow		9s-4d + rates.

20 September 1950 - Works Department estimate for the erection of 14 homes on Clay Lane permission to borrow £14,000 to include salary of temporary Clerk of Works.

30th September 1950 - tenders for the erection of 7 shops and flats, Works Department estimate £15,985.

26th October 1950 - District Valuer land on Clay Lane for school site £1,790. It was 1953 before the school was ready to take its first pupils. The school was named St George's Church of England Primary School and inherited its name from the old St George's School (1816 - 1953) which was demolished to make way for the expansion of Doncaster town centre in the area near the cattle market.

15th November 1950 - formal consent given for the building of 14 homes.

20th December 1950 - Approval for shops at a cost of £15,985.
£2,643-6s-8d for re-turfing 12,200 square yards of verges and open spaces to be carried out by the Parks Department.

21 February 1951 - Formal consent for loan of £16, 250 for 7 shops and flats above.

18 April 1951 - rents for shops an economic rent +25% exclusive subsidies be fixed to be reviewed after two years + rates.
Some time later the Clay Lane Working Men's Club was built but sadly no community centre.
Approx. costing: -

200 Easiform houses		£249,000
28 Houses		£34,500
92 Brick Houses		£113,350
12 Bungalows		£10,889-15s.
14 houses		£14,500
7 Shops with flats		£16,250
Roads and sewers		£34,555-2s-2d
Electrical installations		£2,852-17s-4d.
Roads and pavements		£17,000.
Turfing verges		£2,643-6shillings-8d

Life was very difficult for the first tenants as they were living in the middle of a building site with work going on all around them. There were no tarmaced roads or pavements at first and as the name Clay Lane suggests the estate was built on an area of yellow clay which was picked up on their shoes, pram wheels etc every time the tenants went out.

When the estate was built it was a much quieter area with a more rural feel than at the present time. On the western boundary what was a quiet country road is now a busy dual carriageway Wheatley Hall Road which links into the A18 on the south side and onto the nearby M18. The northern boundary has been transformed from a quiet country road into a very busy road carrying a great deal of heavy traffic into the now industrial and commercial developed areas between Clay Lane and the River Don and the still growing areas of Edenthorpe and Kirk Sandall. The eastern boundary is clearly marked by the railway embankment carrying a once busy mineral line to the pit at Armthorpe and other areas of Doncaster. This line is now relatively quiet compared to twenty years ago. This setting is why the locals often refer to living on the island of Clay Lane.

Of the original 356 houses plus 7 flats just over a third of the properties have been bought under the "Right to Buy" scheme. With the problems in the homes market making it more difficult to sell we now have a small but growing number of private tenants on short leases in ex council properties.

The opening of the primary school in 1953 was followed by the building of a second school Curlew Middle School which opened in 1958.as by this time the estate was complete and the number of children on the estate necessitated the need for expansion of education facilities. Curlew School was built on the other side of Barnby Dunn Road on the northern edge of the estate. In the 1970s Hungerhill Comprehensive school was built at nearby Edenthorpe with parents on the estate been given the option of having their children going to this new school which is now the accepted system for children of the estate until they sit their GCSEs at 0 level. By 1994 the estate had gone the full circle and pupil numbers were falling at both the first and middle school and under the rationalisation of education in Doncaster it was decided to close Curlew School and make St George's a 4 to 11 primary school with a custom built nursery with 60 places. Although the residents had fought the closure of Curlew School on earlier occasions it was accepted that, sadly, it was not practical to keep it open any longer and the building of additional classrooms and the nursery at St George's site seemed a good option with the oldest year group going up to Hungerhill Comprehensive School a year earlier than they had in the past.

St George's and Curlew were amalgamated. In consultation with both boards of governors, tenants and residents on the estate, Diocesan representatives and the local church members it was decided that a new name was needed for the new school so St George's School became St Aidan's Church of England Primary School with just under 100 pupils in the main school plus 60 nursery places 30 in the morning and 30 in the afternoon which serves not only the estate but nearby communities of Edenthorpe, Kirk Sandal and Wheatley. The headteacher of St Aidan's is Mrs Marian Wharton and the Chairman of the Board of Governors is the Rev David Goss.

Like local authorities all over the country Doncaster does not have the resources it needs to carry out all the work the tenants would like. At the moment the properties on Clay Lane are in a reasonable condition. All the council houses have had UPVC windows fitted over the last two financial years, the Council has also given a commitment that all council houses will have central heating under the capital receipts initiative by the year 2002. The first phase of external painting will take place this financial year to some of the properties and hopefully be completed next year which will enhance the appearance of the properties. The most serious and possibly costly work that needs doing is to the Easiform properties, these concrete industrial type houses are suffering from 'spalling' of the concrete exposing the re-enforcing material to the elements and needs attention as soon as possible.

Sadly the other major problem is more of an environmental problem which is caused by the change in attitude to their council properties by of some of our newer tenants and residents. Older tenants and residents who have lived on the estate for anything up to 50 years took a pride in their gardens as much as in their homes and can remember the days when an officer of the council would put a card through the door if they did not do so, sadly even when they are able bodied it is not the case today. All that is required is that the grass and hedges are cut regularly no one is expected to be a budding Alan Titchmarsh (I nearly said Percy Thrower and that would have shown my age).

The seven shops which were originally built to serve the estate now face a big challenge from development in the area Tesco has a large store 1 mile away Sainsburys has a store across the road from the estate, Lidl and Netto have opened a stores within a mile of the estate. There are large national DIY, electrical etc stores all within a mile of the estate and this has made it difficult for anyone to sustain their business within the small shopping parade on the estate. We still have the newsagent, post office, chip shop, gent's hairdresser, and an electrical shop (recent relocated business) but one shop relies on external custom for its survival with one shop been empty. Over the last few years several of the shops ceased trading because they got into financial difficulties, sadly a sign of the times not only on Clay Lane but on many estates throughout the borough.

The Tenants & Residents Association meet on Tuesday evenings 7pm -9pm at St Aidans School during term time.

Councillor surgery first Monday in every month 6.30pm - 7.30pm (If the Monday is a Bank Holiday then the surgery moves to the following week).

Over 60s meet in Clay Lane Club on Wednesday afternoons.

Mother and toddler group "The Rainbow Club" meets at St Aidans School.

Friends of St Aidan's toy library contact school for details.