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It’s now a fortnight since the National Trust’s membership voted overwhelmingly to ban trail hunting from Trust land yet the Trust’s response has been to say the vote has provided a useful basis for discussion but was only advisory and they’ll announce their own decision “later in the year”.
It is to be hoped that everyone recognises that both the response and the delay are in defiance of the democratic will. It is hardly a mystery what is now being planned: a very much-delayed, very low profile statement saying that Trail Hunting will still be allowed but with stricter safeguards.
The delay cannot be justified and stricter safeguards will be pure window dressing. As has been illustrated in a video recently viewed by millions of people, if someone wishes to be cruel, whether to a fox or a horse, there is no way it can be prevented by “safeguards”.
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More Heritage Journal views on artefact collecting
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The Tulip Tower has finally been cancelled by the Government. Historic England will be delighted as it has consistently opposed the proposal on the grounds it would interrupt some sightlines to the Tower of London.
And yet, it is passionately lobbying to totally destroy a million sightlines to Stonehenge, another UNESCO World Heritage Site!
A clear statement justifying this fundamental inconsistency is surely owed to the public.
By Nigel Swift
In my opinion there’s a horrible disconnect between the genuine love and respect for the past exhibited by so many decent members of the public and the endless high-profile grabbery of 27,000 metal detectorists. Recent discussion of ARCHI UK, a phone based facility allowing detectorists to pinpoint 190,000 archaerological sites of interest (for a purpose we all know perfectly well), reminded me of my 2015 visit to Kempsey, Worcestershire, where I wrote about and photographed this:
“Not all of Kempsey’s past is cherished though. Some of it is being exploited. Like every village by now probably, Kempsey has been visited by metal detectorists under the unique Bonkers British legal umbrella which says they needn’t tell anyone about 99.98% of the historical finds they come across. One wonders just how much cultural knowledge of its past that has cost Kempsey bearing in mind that ARCHI UK, the database aimed at metal detectorists, lists 271 archaeological and historical sites within 10 km of the centre of the village!”
So, archaeologists of Britain, how about less claiming that Wayne is doing a fine job and a bit more mention of Kempsey?
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More Heritage Journal views on artefact collecting
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Written Statement: Road Review – Llanbedr Access Road
Lee Waters MS, Deputy Minister for Climate Change
The climate emergency makes it imperative that we avoid investment that increases carbon emissions, especially in the next 15 years when most cars on the road will still be petrol and diesel vehicles.
The Llanbedr Access Road scheme has been taken forward by Gwynedd Council with funding from Welsh Government. As the scheme is at an advanced stage of preparation the panel chair was asked to ‘fast-track’ its review of the Llanbedr scheme.
I have received and reviewed the chair’s report.
The review focussed on two questions:
- Has sufficient consideration been given to non-transport solutions and solutions other than those increasing private car capacity on the road network?
- Has sufficient consideration been given to whether the road proposal will lead to increased CO2 emissions on the road network, or cause significant impediment to achievement of our decarbonisation targets?
This review of the Llanbedr scheme also took into account Wales’ Well-being Goals; the new Wales Transport Strategy Llwybr Newydd; Future Wales; Planning Policy Wales; the forthcoming Net Zero Wales low carbon delivery plan; and the current review of the WelTAG transport appraisal process.
The Panel Chair visited Llanbedr to see the location of the road scheme, and met Gwynedd Council, Aerospace Wales, and Welsh Government officials with responsibility for regional development, industrial transformation and transport infrastructure in North Wales. A written representation was received from Cymdeithas Eryri / the Snowdonia Society.
The chair’s report concludes that the proposed scheme does not align well with new Welsh Government transport and climate policy, and advises that it is not taken forward. The report can be accessed at: https://gov.wales/roads-review-panel-llanbedr-access-road-and-bypass
However, I am committed to providing funding for the development and implementation of an alternative package of measures to address the negative impact of traffic in Llanbedr and in other villages on the A496, whilst also encouraging modal shift and reducing CO2 emissions. The package can also consider access requirements to the airfield to support associated developments. I have asked my officials to work with Gwynedd Council to commission Transport for Wales to develop an alternative package for consideration, in line with the chair’s recommendations. Any Welsh Government funding for this package will be via the Local Transport Fund and subject to the usual application process.
The huge vote to ban trail hunting is only “advisory“!
Everyone, but everyone, knows the Trust has been desperately trying for years to find a way to let its hunting friends carry on so in a few weeks look out for a plan to “increase scrutiny” on hunts.
We think we can help them with that:
A plan that involves anything less would suggest resistance by the hunting lobby. But what business of theirs would it be?
Trust members have voted overwhelmingly for trail hunting to be banned from Trust land. The majority was so large there’s no room for procedural tricks to reverse it, like in 2017.
But not so fast: “The vote is “advisory“! “The Board of Trustees will now reflect on the outcomes and we will be back in touch with members through our usual communication channels in the weeks that follow this meeting.”
A body that has fought tooth, nail and fib to keep this “sport” for two decades may well try to do so again. How? Well, as we said last week, look out for the announcement of “new” and “stricter” rules for trail hunting which will enable it to continue.
In the meantime, thanks to all who voted to end it. (We couldn’t help reflecting that given the chance they would also now vote to remove the Trust’s support for the Stonehenge tunnel. Perhaps that’s why they haven’t been given the chance!)
What happened in 2017:
“While the motion [to ban it] was endorsed by 28,629 member votes, with 27,525 against, it was ultimately defeated after the counting of 3,460 proxy votes, which were authorised to be used at the discretion of other members and the trust’s board of trustees.”
You must have heard them ad nauseam: “I’m not in it for the money”. So in 2011 we thought we’d test them with this:
“From today we are asking all detectorists to pledge, via the Comments section of this article, that if they find Treasure in future they will renounce at least 50% of their reward in order to make it easier for it to be acquired by Britain’s financially stretched museums.”
Not a single one offered to do so. Let’s see if any of today’s 27,000 will!
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More Heritage Journal views on artefact collecting
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“Good morning – I hope you slept like a phloem sap-stuffed aphid”. [ (C) Henry Rothwell ]
As the Autumn days get shorter and greyer and with the clocks about to go back, we thought it would be good to cheer everyone up with this uplifting image “Rollrights Spring”, by one of our founder members, Jane Tomlinson.
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We’re particularly proud that this week one of Jane’s celebrated illustrated maps (showing bird migration routes) was featured in the BBC’s Autumnwatch!.
The Heritage Journal 
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