Moors Consultation

I've already referred to a consultation going on about the Eastern Peak District Moors which adjoin Blacka Moor, This is a very special news item and potentially a very important consultation indeed. That makes it even more regrettable that there are significantly problematic aspects to the process. The importance is because it covers a huge area of publicly owned land on the edge of a major city and inside a national park. And the land mass involved surrounds Blacka on three sides. The prime concerns are as follows:

1. The consultation is very badly publicised indeed and information about it (if you are lucky enough to have received any) is at short notice.


2. The consultation is being carried out at the worst period of the year when many people are on holiday.


3. Tagged on to the issue about the Eastern Moors is a consultation about the Sheffield Moors which is on another basis making a dog's breakfast of the process. It's important to realise that SCC has not made any decision to lease their properties to the consortium yet and that some kind of separate consultation would be expected before they do so. Nevertheless the decision will be based, so we're told on the outcomes of this consultation with 'the public' who as we've said have not been properly informed about this process.

4. This consultation is not of the 'blank sheet' kind but is more of a top-down focus group exercise determined by the needs of the management to get a snap-shot of consumers views to help craft the presentation of their management plan - much of which is already pencilled in.

All that said, we should do our utmost to engage and get our views expressed. Surely nothing can be as bad as the SWT consultations through their RAG group. The healthiest approach to local involvement will as usual be a 'scientific' approach sceptical of anything that smacks of presentation, PR and fashionable marketing jargon.