You may wonder who are the people currently planning behind the scenes to hive off a large chunk of Sheffield's property base and facilitate the empire building strategy of sections of the conservation industry. One side effect of their work will be to enhance a few career prospects. This blog can now reveal the names of the individuals involved. They are as follows all attending the 'Action Planning Workshop' on 6th July this year:
Nick Bruce-White RSPB
David Cooper Sheffield City Council
Mick Hanson Sheffield City Council
David Howarth Keir Asset Partnership Services
David Kingsley-Rowe Natural England
Roy Moseley Sheffield Wildlife Trust
Peter Robertson RSPB
Nick Sellwood National Trust
Jon Stewart National Trust
Ted Talbot Sheffield City Council
Roy Taylor RSPB
Sarah Whiteley PDNPA
Do note in reading the above list that there are three names from Sheffield City Council.Not only that but two of those not from SCC were from SCC until recently: David Howarth of Kier and the other Nick Sellwood of the National Trust who must have been useful to NT in knowing the way SCC works. It is the latter who appears to be responsible for guiding the process.
With all this representation from Sheffield the question that jumps out is why then are the Sheffield public not better informed about what is going on and why do questions to officers get answers implying we have no right to know? Who do these people really work for?
The report from this workshop can be accessed here. This comes through Natural England who are here acknowledged.
Comments on this will follow.
Another interesting document from the same source, Sheffield Moors Partnership, is this one. it is a draft Terms of Reference for the Sheffield Moors Partnership and gives us some insights into the way these people think. Note for example the following under Partnership Aims:
o To support one another in difficult and contentious issues, offering advice and if possible a partnership view.
o To resolve ‘local’ issues by working together, using similar practices and approaches, so creating the greater sum of our parts
Rather too many words I think. Why not just say "Close ranks after each cock-up"
2 comments:
Another “facilitated” workshop laden with self-serving and meaningless platitudes amongst a group of people who only represent their own vested interest – and nothing else. Which begs the question of whose interest the three council officers were representing?
I can see how this is going, how “This is a unique opportunity and we can’t miss it“ is going to be sold to us gullible members of the public:
The wild and open nature
Wilderness of landscape
A cherished, wild land landscape
The moors will remain a wild and natural landscape
The Sheffield Moors will be recognised as a diverse and wild landscape
The wild and open nature of the site
wild character and felling [sic] of wilderness
An index to assess landscape character and “wildness”
a diverse network of access routes (from well maintained to wild)
Wild and wilderness??? Have any of these people ever walked a wilderness? Have they any concept of what wild land means? This is evidence of the continuing wilful ignorance of the conservation industry and how they perpetrate a massive con-trick on the British public. Over my way, Pennine Propsects, another organisation deifying moorland and bloated with public funding, intends to hold a symposium in 2012/13 looking at ‘reinterpreting the concept of wilderness in the context of the South Pennine Uplands’!
These people are either stupid, or they have no shame.
Mark, I agree with every word of your comment.
You got there before me. I wanted to get the link up to this appalling document as soon as possible and give maximum exposure to the nonsense in it and the self-serving behaviour of those who claim to be working for the public. Only people who call 'extensively grazed' moorland ‘wild’ could come up with this.
If you tell yourself lies then you won’t hesitate to manipulate public perceptions and plot your way to gain advantage. Self-serving and an ingrained contempt for the public who they think are too stupid to see the confidence trick of ‘united we stand’ and a glossy brochure.
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