A WORD TO THE WISE, A SALE IN DISGUISE?

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At present, Lanarca’s woefully inadequate website attempts to address the most contentious questions with a series of ‘quick-fix’ solutions which it believes are what the public wants to hear.

In reality, all this is an attempt to make it appear as a ‘Public Consultation’, when in actual fact, what is being attempted by Derbyshire County Council is a ‘fait accompli’, an irreversible accomplishment.

After 35 years of being opened as a Country Park, the authority knows exactly what the habits of the Park Users are, and how they come and go, without yet another (£25,000) questionnaire.

Here, in a step-by-step appraisal, are the Friends comments on Lanarca’s and therefore Derbyshire County Council’s questions and answers; Lanarca’s questions are in black;

What is the ‘consultation’ all about?
It is about flannelling the public.

How can I comment?
You can comment and the County Council is supposed to take those comments into account before it makes any decisions about what to do with the Park, which is public open space. However, the way in which the County Council has gone about the consultation does not follow the Cabinet Office Code of Practice on Consultation as set out by the Government, amended and endorsed by the Prime Minister in 2004, which is much more stringent. Everyone must weigh up the facts for themselves as to why these Government recommendations are not being strictly adhered to by the County Council.

How long will the process take?
Supposedly, 3 months.

How much of the Gardens and Park will still be open to the public?
It depends on how much you can afford to pay. Lanarca’s answer to this also states that public access may be extended into areas not currently open to the public – for instance, both the Walled Gardens.

This just shows how hastily this public relations fiasco has been thrown together and just how meaningless it is – The Walled (Kitchen) Garden known as the Old English Garden is open to the public on a year round basis. The Walled (Kitchen) Garden known as the Secret Garden contains polytunnels sponsored by Rolls Royce Ltd., and is used by disabled youngsters and those with learning difficulties from both Derby and Nottingham.

Will I still be able to walk my dog/walk around the lake?
Yes, if you have paid.

Will there be an entry fee for the Gardens and Park?
Here, Lanarca pre-empts any decision by the Heritage Lottery Fund by stating what the conditions will be and that there will be no charge for access to the Park and Gardens (only a ‘maintenance fee’ from the car park, which will also contribute to the provision of associated facilities, whatever that means).

If this is true, how does it balance with this statement, made by the Assistant Chief Executive of Derbyshire County Council, Mr. Gerald Tommy, in a letter to Mr. Phillip Whitehead MEP;

“Access to the Historic Core Gardens is to be guaranteed under any proposal, but controlled access and a payment is considered necessary if their long-term viability is to be assured. Any lottery funding will, I believe, demand such control and a commercial approach”.

This has been the case right from the start with this administration at Derbyshire County Council, at least with regard to Elvaston Castle Country Park.

Why can’t we comment on plans for the Castle during this consultation process?
They don’t want your plans for the Castle – they only want to see a hotel. with 120 bedrooms, conference facilities, Olympic swimming pool etc., As this is planned to extend not only into the courtyard of the Castle, but also to the north (Lake) side, it will destroy forever at least a part of two of William Barron’s Gardens, and possibly the surviving remains of even earlier ones.

What about access by car?
This will stay as it is for now, until they can build a road down the South Drive and relocate the car park by the Golden Gates. That this is the intention becomes clearer if you read the questions on the original Garden Restorations form issued by Derbyshire County Council, in which they first put forward the proposals for an access road via this route.

The County Council and the developers still intend to pursue this. As the South Lodge is listed they will have to enter the Park at an angle and join up with the South Drive inside the Park. This will mean that trees, some of which could have been planted by William Barron will be felled in order to carry out the plan. This road will then be brought down to the Golden Gates where a parking area will be formed. We will vigorously oppose this as it is in an English Heritage protected area. As usual, this has not been publicly announced, only a vague allusion that the main (Fox Covert) car park MAY remain on its current site. Lanarca’s statement continues;

'Within a countryside setting, access is an important issue to be discussed’.

We wish to state here that we most certainly agree with this and the Friends are indeed ready and only too willing to discuss these and other points publicly and openly with Lanarca, or Derbyshire County Council or any of their agents.

We are watching these manoeuvres very carefully indeed and will be reporting our findings as they occur.

Following the returns from the Garden Restorations document the authority placed the entire Estate on the open market lock, stock and barrel. As the returns amount has been previously quoted as 600, this has led, over the last five years, to public indignation which has given way to outrage. There are still many members of the public who are still unaware of this however.

After the marketing of the Estate (at enormous expense to the taxpayer), 15 various concerns came forward with ideas on how to run it, from charitable trusts to commercial ventures. Derbyshire County Council then issued a booklet giving details of the proposals which had yet another questionnaire on the back, entitled How You Can Help and asking five questions, which had a series of tick-boxes containing the ‘options’. In small letters at the bottom of this form it was described as a public consultation. Question 5 was; ‘The Estate should be leased or sold to release substantial income to be spent on key County Council Services – such as schools and social services – across the County, together with tick-box options.

The County Council issued 287,000 of these, receiving by return 2,100. Of these respondents, 63.1% Strongly Disagreed that the Estate should be leased or sold and a further 15.03% Disagreed, making a total of 78.13% of respondents who Disagreed, the majority of them strongly, with the disposal of the Estate. See: Consultation Results

Despite this, the County Council went ahead with its plans to sell a 99 year lease on the Estate. Not only this, it persistently and falsely claimed that 70% of respondents supported the disposal, completely ignoring its own public consultation results. Further to this, a bid by the time share company Seasons Holidays was chosen, which fell through. Seasons was one of the least popular choices with the general public.

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