Our report about the deliberations of Wenhaston Parish Council has ignited a furore! An official complaint is apparently in the process of being made to the Trust. We must stress that, as faithfully reported (see the previous blog), more than one councillor stated on the evening of Wednesday November 25th that they would support the SRT if it were to build a railway that “went somewhere”, and was “a decent length” to make it “worthwhile”: this is not (and has never, sadly, been) official Parish Council policy. A close perusal of the blog wording will clarify this – it did NOT say that “the Council” as a public body had this opinion. We stand by the accuracy of the report, and also by the fact that such a report was made: the comments were made in an open meeting, and were therefore in the public domain as soon as stated. It is perhaps worth noting that representatives of the PC, a Wenhaston resident, and some District Councillors gave exactly that same opinion at the April hearing (also public) of our Planning Application, and almost identical comments were also made at the 2012 planning committee – so none of this is particularly new. We are sure that we don’t need to reiterate our belief in free speech (under the law), freedom of expression (ditto), and the absolute freedom of the press (ditto). We will, however, repeat that this blog does not necessarily reflect company/Trust policy – though of course it may – as it is independent – hosted on, but not censored by, the Trust website. More than one blogger is involved – and in fact any interested member is perfectly entitled to participate, as is any supporter or sympathiser, provided that they agree with the fundamental Charitable Aim of the Trust (qv).
Meanwhile – please support this very worthy charitable cause, now (submissions end on Thursday Dec. 3rd). Don’t let the NIMBYs destroy so many people’s harmless dreams and hopes: you can submit your representations in two ways. For those of you who have access to the internet and want to use it for this purpose you can make your submission through the Government’s Planning Portal. This is the link that will take you there: http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/planning/appeals/online/comment All you have to do is click on ‘Appeals Casework Portal’ and then, when the page appears, enter only the numbers 3134437 in the ‘Case Reference’ box. That will take you to the correct page where you will be able to make your representations as an Interested Party/Person. On that page click on the tab ‘Make representation’. Alternatively you can send an email direct to teamp2@pins.gsi.gov.uk, quoting Reference APP/J3530/W/15/3134437 but please also remember to quote your full name and address. Thanks to everyone out there who supports us.