Along with Cllr Ian West, I used my right to, an allowed 3 minute presentation - taking only
1min 45sec, I took the centre chair facing some 10 other Councillors, having prepared my ground only minutes before! Following this and a show of hands.....the application was thrown out by 8 votes to 2.....BINGO! We do hold some weight after all!
Here's a precis of my posting on 16th January where I commented about the "lack of joined up thinking:
Applications have been submitted to www.wiltshire.gov.uk to extend both the
coach park Ref: 14/12106/FUL and the visitor vehicle/car park Ref:14/12107/FUL
Apparently www.english-heritage.org.uk did not envisage such an increase in visitors and as Simon Thurley CEO of EH previously said..."we are a victim of our own success."
Whist we as locals, are pleased that the visitor numbers have increased by 300,000 in the first year, therefore contributing toward the economy of Wiltshire, no provision was made for this increase at the outset when detail for the New Visitor's Centre was conceived, and now we have a situation where more of Wiltshire's rural countryside will be taken up....for them to....as
Cllr Ian West commented "build themselves out of a problem" and we know they will continue to do so!
Everyone agrees.......the Visitor's Centre was built in the wrong place and is too far away from the monument, therefore contributing to the already queueing traffic on the A303. Visits are now taking longer as more artifacts of interest are added, making the previous one and half hour visit, now reaching 2 - 3 hours.
The present car park is already a blot on the land scape, especially when the sun shines onto cars parked, making a dazzling and distracting eyesore which does not lend itself to our beautiful rural County......so, now they want to extend this for even more cars, a further 26 coaches along with 50 staff vehicles. You can see the plans, comment or object to the foregoing on Wiltshire County's web page under :
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