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ELVASTON CASTLE - WALL OF
SILENCE
Question: What can't you see, hear, or
touch but you can feel? Answer: The WALL of
SILENCE from ALL of our elected representatives
in local government in the City regarding the
appalling prospect of having our magnificent
Elvaston Castle and Country Park given away to
private developers by their renegade colleagues
at the Derbyshire County Council. It seems that
plunder, non-reason and plot are now such normal
affairs that they can be quietly swept under the
carpet and if anyone notices, hard luck, the
serfs and peasants don't matter once you've
tricked them out of their all-important votes.
The Friends of Elvaston, using the appropriate
acronym FOE, seem to be the only voices speaking
out at the insane idea of a few witless and
unimaginative fools in local government, throwing
away what isn't theirs in the first place. I've
said it before, the words 'cloth' and 'cap'
spring to mind. Are these administrators from the
same short-sighted and brainless species that
knocked down Darley Hall, Markeaton Hall, The
Mayor's Parlour, most of the remaining
interesting mill buildings in Derby and next, the
Bus Station?
The Friends have been distributing information
packs throughout the City and surrounding areas,
and apparently, the County too, where there is a
great deal of support for them and their cause,
and I am informed that they have a thriving
branch in Chesterfield. More power to their elbow
I say. On 3/9/04 their Borrowash Branch presented
a petition against the sell-out, 33,000 names, in
Downing Street. It was supposed to be presented
to our little tony, but he did a runner and left
it to one of the servants. There was an
interesting response to this in the Derby Evening
Telegraph from Councillor Bob Janes, County
Council cabinet member for community services. He
is quoted as saying:
"... Elvaston Castle is not and
has never been for sale. We've been clear from
the outset that public access to the park must be
maintained and ownership will remain with the
County Council ..."
This is typical double-speak from a politician.
Bob Janes is the man who is also quoted as
stating, "It's only a footprint that's being
offered for lease; the Castle, the outbuildings
and some land in between." This is masterly
understatement, in other words, the centrepiece,
the hub, the place around which everything else
exists, it's raison d'etre. In any case public
access to the park, however limited it may
become, thanks to golf courses, tennis and squash
courts and swimming pools is still 'public
access' in the reasoning of a politician. Having
plenty of gloss with which to 'paint over' the
truth is a pre-requisite for the job.
Perhaps we ought to examine more closely the
statement, "Elvaston Castle is not and has
never been for sale." This seems to
contradict the statements made in the Commercial
Property section (pp12), of the Derby Evening
Telegraph's 'The Business' supplement, dated
Tuesday, October 12, 1999. In an article by
Colston Crawford, under the headline, 'Castle
offers free hand to willing investor,' Councillor
Walter Burrows, chairman of the council's
environment services committee, refused to rule
out any possible uses of the park. "The
ultimate aim is to find a viable future use for
the building." To that end, the council says
that it would prefer a leasehold agreement with a
private investor, so that it could retain some
control over the development of the site. But all
parties admit that if the ultimate way forward is
to dispose of the property altogether, that is
what they will do.
There then appears a typical estate agent's 10 x
15 cm box advert, by the joint agents, local firm
W.K.Marshall, and FPD Savills, London-based
property experts, and a photograph of Elvaston
Castle, with bullet points of it's assets. The
heading states: 'On the instructions of
Derbyshire County Council, Derbyshire, The
Elvaston Castle Estate,' (followed by it's
proximity to the City, the M1, and the East
Midlands Airport).
There couldn't be a clearer message. The County
Council appears to have made a futile attempt to
con one, or both of the sides involved. Either,
it was attempting to con the general public into
thinking that all that was really intended was
for some kindly concern with money to come along
and take it over for 99 years, that it wouldn't
really be 'lost' forever, or they were trying to
con some stupid company into thinking that if
they stuck out for more, they could buy the place
lock, stock and barrel, or, even more arrogantly,
they thought that they could con everyone
involved. The County Council seems to be the last
to admit, even now, that you can't run with the
hare, and hunt with the hounds, no matter how
much taxpayer's money you've got to play with.
That it also requires wit, imagination and above
all commitment, to take on a big project of this
kind. And, that stealing doesn't pay, no matter
how good you think you might be at it. Perhaps
Councillor Janes should get together with
Councillor Burrows and decide whose version of
events, if they have been reported correctly, are
to be believed. Finally, isn't it time to be big
enough to admit that you've made a terrible
mistake, that people actually want to keep THEIR
castle and park, and hand it over to the Elvaston
Castle Estate Trust, to be run on behalf of the
public, not for the benefit of a few fat cats?
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