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I have had an e-mail from Nigel Gilding, of the Communities Against Delamere’s Destruction (CADD) Campaign Team, asking for news to be circulated widely about plans to change the use of Delamere Forest.
He says:'We are holding a public protest rally at the visitor centre next Sunday at 1pm. We are asking all groups who use the forest to try and support us by turning up on the day and hope to generate good media coverage if we can show sufficient numbers. We are suggesting that forest users should arrive in the manner they would normally use the forest, dog walkers should bring their pets, cyclists, their bikes etc.
The more people we get there, the bigger the impact will be, so please try and join us and spread the word to any group that may be interested. It will be one hour towards a very important cause and everyone can use the forest afterwards - a great day out!'
The demonstration is to be held at the Delamere Forest Visitor Centre, Linmere, CW8 2JD.
The protest is to take place on Sunday 25th March at 1pm and is scheduled to last around an hour. 'People opposed to the plans are concerned about the environmental impact of the extra traffic from a minimum of 110 extra vehicles a day driving on previously 'pedestrian only' Forest Tracks. The campaign group have estimated that vehicles will travel over 200,000 kilometres per year on forestry tracks alone.'
Adrian and I were at the 'Defend Delamere protest' today, along with our families. It was great fun, and there were at least 500 people present, as well as horses, dogs, bikes, wheelchairs, prams, children and many people who had never been to a protest before! 🙂
Nigel Gilding of C.A.D.D. writes on on the website http://www.cadd.me.uk
'Thanks to all who attended our protest on Sunday, we could not have asked for a better response than you provided. When arranging something as public as a protest of this nature it is always difficult to know what support to expect. I'm very pleased to say that we were not, in any way, disappointed.
C.A.D.D. and it's supporters made it's point well. Estimates of numbers vary wildly from 350 to 500, I'm just pleased that we showed a significant presence and community voice against this overdevelopment.
It did not go unnoticed that the temporary overflow car parks adjacent to the visitor centre were closed this weekend. They would normally have been opened, especially as the weather was fantastic and visitor numbers would have been up. Instead, the gates remained closed and shortly before our protest, FC staff were deployed to 'head off' traffic on the approach road to stop every car and tell them the car park was full. The Station car park also filled up quickly which resulted in cars being diverted to Whitefield - a significant distance from the visitor centre protest. Anyone would think they didn't want to consult with the people - I should also add that no comment forms were available in the visitor centre for the third week running as they had 'run out' of them. The FC will deny any underhand tactics, just as they deny chopping down dozens of deciduous trees in Kingswood to make way for the luxury lodges. In short, they are taking the local people for idiots and riding roughshod over people's very genuine concerns. It is interesting to note that the FC declined an interview with the ITV Granada crew on site yesterday. They were telephoned beforehand and still they declined - this despite the Delamere Project Manager being on site.
Our forecast for the adjustment to the actual planning application after this so called consultation is this:
Reduce by 8 lodges down to 70.
Allow parking to remain on Ashton Rd, except around new spur road up into Kingswood.
Question: What's not shown on the draft plans?
Answer: A Forest Retreat
Every Forest Holidays site has one of these. It normally includes a bar/lounge area, small cafe and shop.
In addition, there is normally a laundry and in this case there will also be some form of sewage treatment plant.
Question: Why are these facilities not clearly identified
on the draft plan?
Answer: Because people hiring these lodges will be spending their money in the 'Forest Retreat' - much of the forecast spending of £35K per cabin per year ( a spurious claim, yet to be backed up by Forest Holidays), will be in this facility and into existing Delamere franchises - not much of this spend will be in the local economy - sorry, but that's the reality - don't fall for the headline grabbing figure of £2.7m per year as it just won't happen. They are also keen not to show too many new buildings in the forest during their consultation period.
In short, the 'consultation' is just a box that needs to be ticked by the FC and FH. It keeps being referred to by representatives of the FC as a "Robust consultation". It's a shame that the draft plans don't appear to have been robustly checked for accuracy prior to being released.
We can't stress enough how important it is to write to your MP and local councillor (as well as the Forestry Commission). You can find details of your local councillor and MP by clicking on this link and entering your postcode:
Find Your Councillor and MP
Please also ensure you have told friends, family and neighbours about the proposals and ask them to register a complaint. We can stop this if the powers that be understand the strength of public opinion. If you do nothing, then the plans will be rubber stamped.
Email is now up and running - you can email us with any information or comments at SaveDelamere@hotmail.co.uk'
