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Monday 23 October 2017

National Trust AGM Members Resolution for the A303

Reference my previous posting titled "National Trust Members...read this....
STAG had representation at the www.nationaltrust.org.uk AGM, where the vote would have gone to supporting the resolution had it not been for members who read this previous blog and acted on that last posting.   Here are the results of the resolution: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/documents/2017-agm-resolution-voting-results.pdf  Also, partly due to my standing up within the auditorium and giving a plea to the audience to vote against the resolution, telling a few home truths as to how we are affected by the present state of the beleaguered A303, and providing a balanced view from "the other side".   You can watch the AGM for the resolution on the A303 here:
 https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/features/annual-general-meeting
There was a great deal of support for Stonehenge Alliance (SHA) and the bare bones of the motion was to criticize the National Trust's stance in relation to the A303 Stonehenge Tunnel project, indicating it (NT) was going against it's founding principles, World Heritage obligations, ICOMOS's recommendations and implying that the NT were somehow colluding with Government Plans and thus able to secure some unspecified benefits.   The proposers of the Motion however, as they have done in the past, rely on conjecture, and the implication that a longer tunnel would be their solution, despite that plan having been comprehensively rejected in the first round of public consultations by www.highways.gov.uk and not merely on a cost/benefits argument.
Here is the response from the Board of Trustees: "Even if the Government was willing to commit a further £600 million for a longer tunnel, this may not be the best answer.   The WHS boundaries do not reflect the full extent of the archaeology in the wider landscape or the sensitive natural environment.   A longer tunnel could have a negative visual impact on key monuments, impact other sites, including the newly discovered Blick Mead, and two Special Areas of Conservation.   It would also have a greater impact on local communities.  Our view therefore, remains that the focus should not be on tunnel length, but rather on finding the best location for the new infrastructure, an approach supported by Historic England, English Heritage Trust and leading archaeologists".
Dr Kate Fielden of SHA in her Proposal and Summing up of the Resolution is worried that UNESCO could "take away" the World Heritage Status of the World Heritage Site around Stonehenge....So what if it's removed.....will people stop visiting the monument because it doesn't hold WHS status, I think not.   After all, the city of Dresden in Germany lost their status in 2005 because they decided to deal with a traffic problem by building a bridge over the River Elbe, and people from around the world still visit Dresden!!!   Check this out: https://www.reddit.com/r/dresden/comments/6l920l/how_was_dresden_affected_by_the_loss_of_its/
At the AGM, we sat through many ridiculous comments from the other side -  such as, "a one mile road straight through Stonehenge"....it's going underground....what part of "underground" don't you understand?!!!   More scaremongering from someone calling himself "a member for 45 years" and who compares the project to "ISIS destroying Palmyra and the Taliban destroying the Buddas of Bamiyan", must say I found these comments rather sick!!!   As to saving St.Marks Square by concreting the rest of Venice, this comment was comparable with all the other hyperbole we experienced from the SHA cronies.
I take issue with historian and broadcaster Tom Holland, who refers to "occasional bottlenecks" on the A303 at Stonehenge.....Mr Holland, you ought to get out of your cosy London Pad more frequently and experience where we live!   The "occasional bottlenecks" you refer to, are from Thursday through to Wednesday at normal times and all day every day during holiday times!!    Don't forget the figures I provided from Speed Indicator Devices (SIDs) when I spoke at the AGM.    SIDs were put out during a 3 week period in September this year..i.e. not during school holidays and registered 43,000 vehicles west bound and 41,000 vehicles east bound through our village of Shrewton!!!   We have a paucity of pavements in Shrewton, the elderly have to take their cars to the surgery rather than risk walking the 100 or so yards, mothers and children are frightened of the traffic and the speeds, not to mention the fact that cob cottages in our High Street could be structurally damaged.....SIDs registered one vehicle leaving Shrewton within the 30mph area at 87mph!!!!
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