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Thursday, 2 January 2025

Westminster debate

During November last, over 3 million people signed a petition to have the country return to the polls in another General Election....The petition achieved a debate in Westminster Hall and this is the link and detail of that up and coming debate: https://whatson.parliament.uk/event/cal49810

Westminster Hall debate

6 January 2025 

from 4:30pm until 7:30pm

e-petition 700143 relating to a general election


Sunday, 22 December 2024

Robbing Peter to pay Paul....

Oh well, you see I'm Rachel Reeves the Chancellor of the Exchequer, 
and I'm allowed to do what I like at any cost! 😓

I hope you read this post "Shot herself in the foot etc" following Labour taking office on 5th July 2024 and.... we're all aware by now, of the rash decisions made by this Government...decisions badly thought out with little or no experience of the subject at hand or long term thinking and, here's just one of those decisions: https://staga303.blogspot.com/2024/07/shot-herself-in-foot-going-forward.html
Of course, making decisions of this nature may seem right at the time, but this type of decision doesn't come cheap.  The other announcement made by this government, is the self created £22 billion black hole in the country's finances, tho' the Independent Fiscal Institution (IFI) have never been able to substantiate this £22 billion black hole, which was apparently created by the previous government, and aren't we reminded of it every time, any of the life inexperienced MP's either talk to camera or write a newspaper article.....not only are we all sick of hearing the term "black hole" but it's now boring to hear.....just get on with the job or stand down!!!  Didn't the last government inherit another type of "black hole" when they took over from Labour in 2010 and took years to balance the dosh, when along came Mr Covid and it all fell apart again!!!
So, to get back to the cancellation of the A303 Project as per my blog in July this year.   There is a cost to this and it doesn't come cheap either! National Highways, a government owned organisation, will pick up the bill, so ultimately, you and me will pay.  They say that, to wind down such a high level project, this being for work already carried out in preparation for the green light, which has now turned red!!!! cannot be costed right now but the BBC link below provides an insight into that cost.

My thanks to a resident of Shrewton for requesting a "Freedom of Information" which has now produced an article that tells us just some of the cost of that cancellation and the reasons there in.  here's what he posted on S.O.S Shrewton yesterday.....https://www.facebook.com/groups/166415460189511

"The public cost of the now-cancelled A303 tunnel has risen to £179.2m. I made a request under the Freedom of Information Act, and National Highways responds that the cost will increase further. Although it does not have to pay compensation for cancelling the major contract with an international consortium of engineering companies, it will still have to pay for work already untertaken. It states: “National Highways is liable to pay for reasonable costs and these are being considered. These activities take time.” The final cost is not yet known."

When I started STAG back in October 2013, the cost of the project was already at £46m of wasted time and effort and that, just on meetings and deliberations over some 20 years...along come Labour who in 2007, cancelled the project, allowing costs to rise expodentially. With nothing going on for the next 6 years, following my petition to get the traffic moving on the Stonehenge section of the by now, over capacity A303 and to stop the rat running through the village of Shrewton, with the help of local MP John Glen, a debate took place at Westminster Hall where it was agreed the project should re start .....In July this year, when The Chancellor, Rachel Reeves took office - (who it appears, has a certain resemblance to Cruella DeVille) cancelled it - again!!!! it was already to GO!! Some preparation work during this autumn and into the spring on 2025 and the tunnelling machine could move in.

Now! from tax payers money, she will have to pay the ongoing costs to cancel the project....who knows how much, but standing presently at £180million!!!!!!! By the way.....have you signed the petition yet.....

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/700143?fbclid=IwY2xjawHVB1NleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHccGlRQm-2Sl89AWvjVc4qvR3-AEWp3vRrqLODwY7_bZK3UBJj9bU5cWqw_aem_TBg-HdI3kcKmhE7kEaheCQ

Wednesday, 13 November 2024

This beggars belief from Stonehenge Alliance.......!!

Not only are they taking the credit (if in fact that's the correct word) for Rachel Reeve's decision, they're looking for yet more money from you folks to go back to court.....for why?!   This time they think that by going to court, they can 

overturn the legal judgement that the DCO will remain in place for the next 4 years....in otherwords they want the DCO hung drawn and quartered, so that it cannot be resurrected at any time in the future.

This is what's in their bank account, while they apparently....go back to court!!!!  



£137,173 


5 days to go....

pledged of £140,000 stretch target from 4308 pledges 

Save Stonehenge World Heritage Site

               Determined to protect the Stonehenge landscape for future generations          

We’re applying to the Supreme Court

"After the disappointing news from the Court of Appeal, we’ve decided to make an application to the Supreme Court. We believe the issues at stake: the protection of World Heritage Sites and that ministers should know the detail of what they’re taking a decision on, are too important to be left hanging. Plus of course the planning permission for the proposed new road and tunnel remains in place and could be resurrected at any time should the politicians change their minds (up to 4 August 2028)

Before making this decision, we asked our supporters what they wanted to do, and overwhelmingly they said we should continue, at least for the moment. We now have to get our application in to the Supreme Court before the end of November. However, we’re unlikely to hear back for 4 – 5 months as to whether we’ve been successful or not.
Most of the costs for doing this are already covered but we are still a few thousand short if you are able to spare anything towards this case.
Many thanks, 
Chris, John and Mike
Save Stonehenge World Heritage Site

This is their claim...
Fantastic news! We’ve stopped the road! 

Today, the new Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, cancelled the scheme, calling it a “low value, unaffordable commitment”. In doing so she has ended years of upset and concern.Our huge thanks to everyone who has helped us win the battle and stop the dualling of the A303 across the World Heritage Site and the harm it would have caused. However, while the scheme has been cancelled on affordability grounds, its planning permission remains intact. On that point, the Court of Appeal will still be considering its judgement on the legality of the decision to approve the scheme which we expect to be handed down in the Autumn. We will keep you posted on this.  In the meantime, savour our collective success!
Many thanks for your support
Chris, John and Mike

If you're prepared or even interested enough to know if they might get away with this, here's the link : ttps://localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk/planning/318-planning-features/30223-changing-development-consent-orders 

There's a lot of reading here, but the relevant section is "The PA 2008"
with the relevant Part 1, and Part 2 appearing to be covering the
fundamentals: one thing is certain, Stonehenge Alliance/SSWHS would need
to clearly demonstrate (they) 'have an interest in the land' - which
they would have difficulty in justifying unless e.g. National Trust or
English Heritage would agree to this/these bodies purchasing title to
the land (Stonehenge WHS).

Friday, 20 September 2024

I'm livid with one....Mickey Kyrle

Or perhaps that's just what Micky wants, maybe he's a lonely old sod looking for responses!!!  He certainly considers himself an expert on matters A303 and all things Shrewton related.  Well let me tell him, he is NO expert and clearly knows nothing about Shrewton and it's problems.  He's obviously not read this blog....now with over 101,000 viewings, where he just might update himself on official figures and stats and the stuff he's written here is way off the beam and will anger and upset every Shrewtonite - of which I am and remain so after 32 years albeit having moved to Scotland because of the - NON traffic he refers to!!   For him to personally insult and verbally attack both a Shrewton villager and Parish Councillor is just downright ignorance and not very intelligent. 

 If one Goolges "Mickey Kyrle" he tells us he considers himself a nice person....this is what he says about himself on You Tube: "I Like to help people all the time. I've got a heart of gold until someone tries to mine it then I'm a monster. My life isn't perfect but it's peaceful and its how I like it. I don't claim to be perfect and never do but will keep moving forward. Mickey198424@hotmail.com" Well, Mickey has certainly shown his true colours in the following comments in Salisbury Journal following the closure of the A303 last evening and a fatality.  They have invoked a huge response...like I say, maybe he's lonely....this is what he says in: 

"The traffic through Shrewton is no worse than it was beforehand, to harp on about the tunnel is bonkers. Shrewton is a small village surrounded by farmland which generate income and the farmers aren't going to allow their land to be dug up due to a bunch of imbalanced people moaning that an extra few cars coming through Shrewton that doesn't exist. I've got friends and family in Shrewton and they tell me the issues you highlight have been present for decades, so get over yourself. The tunnel costing more than £1.7 billion was a waste of time and taxpayers money at the very least. The bottleneck section needs to be widen and let's get on with it and shut up moaning, this would cost only a couple of million pound and improve the road infrastructure and take the non-existent extra cars out of Shrewton to satisfy the individuals complaining. More cars equals more trade for local businesses but if that's not allowed then tell all local businesses in Shrewton to pack up and leave as I'm sure that then you'll have really something to moan about. Some places don't have shop in their village etc and yet your complaining about the apparent extra cars that don't exist, what a delusional individual and we all wonder why the area is falling apart with individuals like this in charge of the council, my mind boggles. Shrewton needs more homes on designated brown areas aka building areas deemed safe to do so and to leave all farm land alone, if Shrewton doesn't grow towards Amesbury and Durrington it'll disappear. As for your comments on rat runs of Shrewton it's not possible to drive through Shrewton like a rat run or racecourse due to the hard corners and the river running through it. The roads aren't wide enough to do what you claim and its the reason why the r2 is being effected as the roads are becoming awkward to navigate due to overgrown vegetation from gardens etc but yet homeowners complain there's little public services. Cut back the vegetation and street lights could be seen, corners can be seen, road markings can be seen, bus stops can be seen, stick to the designated paths that are in place and keep vegetation off the paths so they can be used by children etc. For maybe once these village cllrs need to grasp a dose of reality if you don't want the world at your doorstep then buy a huge acreage and live in the middle of it, better yet build a home underground and be that loner you so want to be. Utter twoddle from this cllr and clearly get another person in there with common sense and youth to them and let's get on with making life's better rather than destroying soo much to suit the NIMBYs like this cllr."

And here are some of the replies: 

↪ in reply to Mickey Kyrle Freddiesaunt 18th September 5:07 pm What rambling nonsense. Will you allow your child to walk home from school along that busy road with no pavement? No, didn’t think so. You know nothing about life in Shrewton. Last Updated: 19th September 7:42 pm

↪ in reply to Freddiesaunt Local resident 18th September 6:21 pm "I agree with your comments.  I moved to Shrewton nearly 40 years ago, for many years it was possible to walk around with little fear of being knocked down. The closure of the A344 changed all that (thanks to Wiltshire Council) and the traffic situation now is totally unacceptable. I have never heard anyone say a lot of fuss is being made about nothing (the opposite is true) so where Mickey Kyrle's 'friends and relatives' live is anybody's guess and perhaps Mickey would care to tell us where all the businesses are that are benefitting from the traffic. From 23 August to 2 September there was a Speed Indicator Device with a traffic counter data logger in place in Shrewton's London Road, in that time over 41,000 vehicles passed through with a maximum speed of 68mph being recorded (this road being a 30mph speed limit)." Last Updated: 9 hrs ago

It does appear that Mickey has really got his dander up.....

↪ in reply to Freddiesaunt Mickey Kyrle 19th September 8:21 am Freddiesaunt wrote: "What rambling nonsense. Will you allow your child to walk home from school along that busy road with no pavement? No, didn’t think so. You know nothing about life in Shrewton."

This is what Mickey says....."Oh yes of course only you dwellers know what happens in Shrewton. Get a grip on yourselves no parent allows any child to walk anywhere unescorted and if you do you're a truly a bad parent. I visit Shrewton often and all I see here is utter twoddle. Privileged individuals which is a minority wanting to rule majority as only their opinions matter. Very few vote in Shrewton and look at what's on offer for cllrs. Instead of asking for everything and give nothing think of others for once. If you have no paths demand for them as by law there has to be paths for pedestrians, oh that's right Privileged individuals don't want paths outside their homes. Cut back the vegetation like you're all been told to do for decades now that effects the main roads and maybe just maybe paths will appear. If you don't want progress then cut Shrewton off from the world and shut up, the UK is flat broke due to incompetent individuals running the UK, cllrs demanding from MPs to get super expensive projects done but nothing as simple as a road widening etc. Don't blow a horn for the misgivings of others if you refuse to help those that may need it, furthermore paths will be put in once Shrewton agrees that it needs to be evaluated for better quality infrastructure. Stop being backwards and be forwards, I'll be in Shrewton in the next couple of days and will enjoy the scenery of overgrown vegetation and beautiful homes that I can see". Last Updated: 19th September 3:49 pm 

in reply to Mickey Kyrle wilts resident 19th September 9:45 pm - "I stopped reading after your first sentence - "The traffic through Shrewton is no worse than it was beforehand" ABSOLUTE BALDERDASH The levels of traffic have increased by many, many times over the last decade, and not just at weekends but on every single day of the week - but what do I know I only live in the village! In my opinion the twaddle you referred to in your letter was written by you." Last Updated: 3 hrs ago 

So! Mr Kyrle.....get yourself updated before putting proverbial foot in mouth and stop being an expert on stuff you know nothing about!!!!!

Tuesday, 27 August 2024

Saturday, 24 August 2024

I didn't expect anything more from this government!!!


So! at last, I've received a response from the PM following my letter to him on 31st July 2024 the same day as I wrote to The Chancellor, Rachel Reeves and sadly, her department have not seen fit to respond as yet and we have to assume this is it!   
There was no surprise in the reply, and of course the letter is not actually from the PM's office at all.  In reading the letter, I was very tempted to correct some of the punctuation to allow it to scan properly.  I doubt very much that the PM or the Chancellor have the time to read my blog and therefore would have missed the bit on my post about Rachel Reeves shooting herself in the foot : https://staga303.blogspot.com/2024/07/shot-herself-in-foot-going-forward.html
This bit here......
"Whilst this blog was mainly a campaign to stop rat running through the nearest village to Stonehenge - Shrewton, it's not all about rat running, but also about opening up the west country, including Somerset, Devon and Cornwall, by unlocking the traffic bottleneck past Stonehenge on the A303, where it can take up to 2 hours to travel 3 miles....clearly, Ms Reeves has never sat in that queue!!!  By progressing with this now over costed project - all down to Stonehenge Alliance's continued whingeing and their lies - tourism, alone would allow the project to pay for itself, but sadly she's just killed that and Devon and Cornwall will suffer as a result.   Has she ever thought about the truckers who have to sit in the queue and who can't rat run, when all they want is to deliver the goods on board and get back to their families.  Of course, she's just another person who sits at a desk in London and makes decisions for the rest of us and is apparently, entitled to do so!!"

I've managed to unearth a letter from Salisbury's MP John Glen to the Chancellor of the time.....
The Rt Hon George Osborne MP which explains all.   Although early on in the campaign, it confirms and belies the present chancellor's statement that "The A303 scheme was ultimately set to deliver low value for money" etc 4th para in their letter.  The letter confirms that the project would in fact pay for itself and some.  Sadly, with all the delays and procrastinations, the letter is somewhat out of date and costs have risen exponentially as a result.  
So! the long term benifits of achieving a cohesive upgrading of the A303 where single carriageways punctuate this direct trunk route to the West Country, have been arbitrarily swept aside, citing unaffordability whilst competely discounting the financial benefits for the future!!!

DO THE SUMS MS REEVES!!!!!






                                                          





Thursday, 15 August 2024

The A303 is the main arterial route from London to Cornwall

And by pulling the plug on fixing the a303 passing Stonehenge, the present government have also prevented the little village of Winterbourne Stoke from becoming a safer place.  The by-pass for this village was part of the package and so the residents continue to have the same misery they've experienced for years going forward.....bonkers!!!   

Please sign this petition especially if you ever have need to use the A303.....


https://www.change.org/p/urge-parliament-to-insist-on-a-bypass-for-winterbourne-stoke-village/psf/share?share=1&short_display_name=Janice&source_location=petition_page&allow_actions=true 


It's surely time that this government learned that life is......

NOT A ONE SIZE FITS ALL!!!!