A WORD TO THE WISE, A SALE IN DISGUISE?

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THE FULL STORY SO FAR OF EVENTS SURROUNDING THE ATTEMPTED DISPOSAL OF ELVASTON CASTLE COUNTRY PARK BY DERBYSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL
(We advise EVERYONE who cares about the Castle and Estate, to read this carefully)

Derbyshire County Council constantly refers to Highgate Sanctuary as its preferred partner. The Friends of Elvaston claim that what is proposed is not a partnership in the recognized sense of the word, as claimed, but is, in actual fact the handing over of the management of our Elvaston Estate, to a private company, by way of a 150 year lease.

The reasons for this are clear. The following is extracted from a letter from Nick Hodgson Chief Executive of the Derbyshire County Council, to the Heritage Lottery Fund on December 23 1999.

“One of the issues which has been identified by Lorna McRobie, Director of Gardens and Landscapes for English Heritage, and other consultees is the need to ensure that there is a clear strategy for managing the site as a single unit”.

Recently, the Chief Executive of Derbyshire County Council has stated that the authority intends to dispose of the Elvaston Estate, on a 99 year lease, (150 years applied for), to Highgate Sanctuary. We leave it to your own judgement as to what this amounts to.

The reason that the idea of the takeover is quoted as a partnership is because Highgate Sanctuary, being a private commercial company, is not allowed by the rules of the Heritage Lottery Fund to apply for the funding itself. Derbyshire County Council has to apply but then intends to hand over the management to Highgate Sanctuary. Tanya Spilsbury of Highgate Sanctuary has stated publicly that Highgate will take over the management of the Estate.

This is what the Heritage Lottery Fund states regarding the involvement of private companies;

Our guidance on our public parks states that an application must be from a not-for-profit organisation, however we do welcome partnership working, which can include private owners or businesses involved in the partnership. We are very clear that such applications involving partnerships must be led by a not-for-profit organisation and need to show that the public benefit is greater than any private or commercial gain.

As Highgate’s plans for turning the Castle into a 120 bedroomed hotel with conference facilities, Olympic swimming pool and gymnasium, which sits at the centre of the planned restoration area, and whose golf course would be adjoining it, Highgate Sanctuary can hardly be called a not-for-profit organisation by any stretch of the imagination.

Derbyshire County Council and its agents Lanarca, and the developers Highgate Sanctuary are attempting to create the impression that by restoring the Gardens and turning the Castle into an hotel they will revitalize the Estate and guarantee its future. This is quite true – it will guarantee its future – as an Estate which once belonged to the people and to which all but a tiny fraction will be denied access unless they can afford to pay up to £10 a visit. Strangely, this is Derbyshire County Council and Highgate Sanctuary’s idea of proving that ‘public benefit is greater than any private or commercial gain’.

Councillor John Harrison has stated that only a peppercorn rent will be charged for the lease and that any monies from the sale of the lease will go directly to the benefit of Highgate Sanctuary.

In the opinion of the Friends this equates with giving the Estate away. What possible gain or return could this give to the Derbyshire taxpayer? We buy your house and then give you the money from the sale straight back for which we charge you a very low or nominal rent! How does this benefit the public?

The so called Public Consultation run by Derbyshire County Council via the website and on-the-ground surveys to be carried out by Lanarca is a complete sham.

The Heritage Lottery Fund has ordered the ‘consultation’ before the granting of public money can be allowed under the rules. This is because the sum involved, £10 million, is so large. The East Midlands has never had such a high amount granted to such a project in one payment and it is ironic that such an enormous amount of money will only benefit a private company, not the general public, who are being duped.

What the so called ‘consultation’ is supposed to do is to ensure that even-handedness takes place in all such potentially controversial areas of development such as this highly contentious and disputed attempt to dispose of Elvaston Castle Country Park.

If this were to be a properly carried out consultation it would begin with the following questions to the general public, which owns the Estate;

Do you think that amongst its questions, Lanarca should ask whether the Estate should be run by a not-for-profit trust for the benefit of the community?

Do you think that Lanarca should be stating on its website that it intended that the Castle be turned into an hotel?

Is this really giving you a choice in the matter, or telling you what is to be, irrespective of how many people might disagree with it?

Do you agree with the proposal to spend £10 million on the restoration of Elvaston Castle Estate Core Gardens to William Barron’s original design?

If you agree with the restoration and it means the loss of the Park, would you still say yes?

IF YOUR ANSWER TO THE LAST TWO QUESTIONS IS YES, THEN YOU HAVE JUST LOST YOUR COUNTRY PARK, INCLUDING A LOCAL NATURE RESERVE, WILDLIFE HAVEN, WILDFLOWER MEADOW AND THE POTENTIAL DESTRUCTION OF THE ECOLOGY OF THE LAKE AND RIVERS DERWENT, TRENT AND THEIR TRIBUTARIES, DUE TO THE NITROGENOUS FERTILISER AND PESTICIDE RESIDUES RUNNING OFF THE GOLF COURSE INTO THEM.

If you don’t agree with the questions presented by Lanarca and think for instance that it would be better to RESTORE THE HOUSE and infrastructure first, you should be able to clearly say so.

This, however, is definitely not the case! You are not asked! You have no choice, you have no voice. You can disagree but your disagreeing will not change anything. This is not proper public consultation as outlined in the Cabinet Office Code On Consultation issued by Tony Blair in 2000, updated in 2004.

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