Moorlands and City Railway

Well done Nigelss - my original post was saying that there should be more like Nigel watching for this story in online and print media and ensuring that the ludicrous inconsistencies and hypocrisies in Ms Birk's arguments are full exposed and dissected via analysis, proof, comments and letters. The official MCR and related groups are limited in what they can say in their defence for legal and tactical reasons, but members and wellwishers can do a good job in ensuring that this woman has her arguments publicly demolished and that she is throwing away her own time money and reputation. At the moment she is getting a clear run and free publicity in some places. Challenge her!

 

How though? We can rant away in this 'private' forum but all the local people that need to read them don't get to see them.

Any suggestions? Maybe a few more letters to the Sentinel/Leek Post might keep it foremost in locals minds?

 

That is why I originally posted my comment on "This Is Staffordshire" in response to the article back in September. That comment was one of several I made to that and at least one other related article as I recall. I did have it in mind to draw the application to the attention of the national Green Party if I could establish if Ms. Birks was still active in that area but I was not able to get the confirmation I required to be able to do so.

Ultimately this will come down to a legal argument and how it is going to go should become clear when the documents are posted (see my previous for link) in the next day or so.

 

I see the agenda is up, but no mention of the Endon business?

 

I just called Staffordshire County Council. The application will not now be considered at the meeting on the 9th November. The current intention is to hold an additional meeting of the panel to consider the application report on the 16th November. Details will be posted on the panel's webpage (http://moderngov.staffordshire.gov.uk/ieListMeetings.aspx?CommitteeId=129) in due course. Note that the new date is not set in stone so if this information is passed on be sure to make this clear.

 

16th confirmed to me by email today, though not showing on their web calendar as yet.

 

I suggest this is slightly worrying news. My experience is that if they are having a separate meeting, it is because they expect 'rent-a-crowd' circumstances. This often leads to Councillors, like Toad of Toad Hall, puffing up with an audience, unusually present in numbers. This could end with the realities being pushed to the background.

You need to read the officer's report and see whether he or she is giving clear advice or whether there is humming and hawing.

All the best to M and C supporters anyway.

 

No cause for concern. The date was rescheduled because the report was still being finalised.

 

Howard's point is a good one though. I've no doubt that Ms Birks will marshall other local residents to form a boisterous and partisan claque. While I despise minority single issue groups for using these tactics they are effective because they generate disproportionate publicity in the local news media, and councillors everywhere are always more concerned about their personal standing than they are about doing what is right.
I hope M&CR supporters would be more mature and responsible than to form another placard waving group, but it will be good to think some M&CR supporters could attend the meeting if it becomes public to ensure this woman doesn't win support by default.

 

I don't think it will happen. I don't think there will be any protests. Given the positive publicity the MCR scheme has received in the press over the past year I suspect Ms. Birks is in a very small minority if she really wants the village green application to succeed. If it is successful I think there could well be a significant backlash from those wanting jobs, transport connections etc, and it has possibly crossed her mind too. Just my speculation...

 

Did not the CVR have a share issue recently. Does anyone know how it went and how much was raised....

IIRC it was to help improve facilities at Cheddleton.

Hope they raised enough and be great to see them built....Hope it wont be too long.

 

Share issue was launched by the CVR at the beginning of 2011 with the aim to raise £450k for both the purchase of Shares in MCR, and the construction of a new building on P2 at Cheddleton that would be financed by both the Share Issue and the NSRT.

This was an additional part of the NSRT's project to improve Cheddleton station as a whole, which includes the installation of the former wodden Crossing gates from Leigh, a new signalbox and the erection of the former Hanley water tower (a lot of the NSRT side of things is being done through the CVLLP).

Support Us

http://www.churnet-valley-railway.co.uk/assets/uploads/CVR_Prospectus_2011_download.pdf

Just over £350k had been raised in total by the start of this year by the CVR . I was unable to attend both the CVR PLC and NSRT meetings this autumn due to other commitments, so don't know myself what was said and where things currently are with either of these plans. I do know the CVR has asked for nominations for the Heritage Director that is mentioned to become part of MCR Board, but that is all that I really know myself. Don't know if any other CVR members can help?

 

I am sure that the law on the creation off new village greens is about to be changed under new planning laws under discusion now

 

Correct, but too late for the Endon application.

 

Re: Village green Application

All documents are now available for inspection on the councils website @ (Browse meetings - Countryside rights of way panel) Lots of information available. It just shows how long these matters take to resolve & how expensive also. Can't see personally how the application will get past 16th Nov.

 

Link to papers .... Agenda for Countryside and Rights of Way Panel on Friday, 16th November, 2012, 2.00 pm

 

One of the witness statments says that the person has used the land for cycling on, from 1997 until 2011, so a quick check of google earth street view, of the level crossing at Endon (taken in 2009), shows the land in question completely over grown and therefore unable to be cycled on.
I only hope this gets thrown out and Ms Birks has to pay all costs.

 

The application seems to be heading for refusal just as I said it would, and must, in October of last year. I have sped read the documents and I think that anyone would be forgiven for not ploughing through every one. I would commend the grounds of objection submitted by Eversheds on the behalf of Network Rail as a perfect summation of the circumstances (although it is perhaps a little unfair to take the OS to task for using "disused" in its commonly accepted way rather than in the specialised railway meaning).

I can hardly think of a better case study than this to illustrate how urgent is the need to reform parts of the Commons Act 2006. My involvement with it before retirement induced a feeling of the utmost cynicism for all the applications that I came across (as I have posted earlier on this thread). If I were a placard-carrying demonstrator (which I am not) my placard would probably say: "Registration is Theft".

Alas, there is no prospect of costs being awarded because the Act doesn't allow for it. Applications for registration carry virtually no risk to the applicant beyond the devotion of personal time and energy. I think that most of us can imagine the total costs of the parties who have necessarily had to employ legal specialists. Increasingly I think that this country now leans so far in its public law to protect the interests of individuals that progress is stifled. I do not want to be harsh on the proponents of the 2006 Act, they were motivated by the best of intentions but unfortunately produced a legal framework that could be exploited by those with more base motives.

 

Unfortunately, despite multiple attempts, I have not been able to download the reports pack. It fails each time before the whole file has been downloaded and acrobat reports the file is damaged and cannot be opened. How frustrating! Is anyone else having the same problem?

(score so far: five attempts, fails at around 70% each time)