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patentdragon
As promised, the press coverage of the i.Resist project. Firstly, the letter I delivered to the offices of The St Andrews Citizen by hand last week...
Letter: CLAN Gathering
Dear Sir,
It's that time of the year again - not that the great majority of people in St Andrews will know it. Christians Linked Across the Nation (CLAN) are bringing their "CLAN Gathering" to Madras College, Kilrymont Road for the week of 24-30 July and NOT ONE SINGLE PERSON in the vicinity has been made aware of it.
I understand that these are difficult times financially - the town needs tourist income, and the Council needs to make the most financially beneficial use of its facilities during the school summer break, but why are the needs, and rights, of the local residents ignored? Why are the residents of Roundhill Road, Kilrymont Road, Scooniehill Road and other surrounding streets assumed to be just "sheep", blissfully accepting every Council decision made behind closed doors?
I have been in correspondance with Fife Council for the last few months concerning this event, all, it seems, to no avail - except that both Sir Menzies Campbell MP and Ian Smith MSP have been made aware of the situation, and have been following it with interest, requesting that I pass on to them any and all responses I receive to my communications. My family have requested to attend Council meetings to at least make clear that the neighbourhood cannot be simply assumed to "be on board" with their decision to allow this event in a residential area, but our requests have been dismissed with the words (quoting Localities Manager Kate Hughes) "I do not see how attending a meeting of the operational working group made up of Fife Council officers and partner agencies will benefit you."
Kate Hughes " does not see" what benefit can be gained because it appears that Fife Council are blinkered, perhaps blinded, by the money they can make out of this event, and nothing else. Only benefit to THEM, and CLAN's bank balance, appear to matter.
The only source of publicly available information about this event can be found on CLAN's website http://www.new-wine-scotland.org. From their own timetables, it is clear that the event will be bigger than before, with FOUR tents instead of the three from last year, in addition to their customary "Dwelling Place" in the school's central carpark area - can we therefore expect more than the FIVE THOUSAND attendees and THIRTEEN HUNDRED CARS parked in the school sports field we had to endure last year?
To add insult to injury, Ms Hughes informed me that CLAN will have additional security measures in place, to ensure that those without the proper passes will be (quote) "asked to leave, and if they do not do so, the police will be called and they will be ejected". I understand their desire to ensure a safe event for their attendees, especially when those taking part are paying around £100 a head, but these additional measures appear to have only one key purpose - to prevent surrounding residents from going to the venue to complain - and will also have one added, and I hope unintended, function - to close off a frequently used shortcut between Roundhill Road and Kilrymont Road, open to the public since the school opened. Does this not count as a right of way?
Again, it appears that the local residents simply do not count.
What can be done? The event cannot now be stopped, barring extraordinary intervention by some agency or other - I am still to learn whether the storm damage from earlier in the year has been satisfactorally repaired - but local residents can still make their objections known. On July 22nd, at 7pm, the regular Fife Police Community Engagement meeting will be held at the school - just two days before the Gathering is due to begin - and I strongly recommend any who are concerned should attend, if only to encounter CLAN's security attempting to "eject" us. At least they will not have to wait long for the Police to arrive!
If there is no response from CLAN security, then at least those attending the meeting will get to see the CLAN venues "up close" for themselves, and thereafter take part in what I feel is a very positive forum provided by Fife Police, and which deserves a much greater attendance than it has had previously.
In addition, I request that concerned residents join me in an entirely peaceful protest - if you have tents, pitch them in your gardens, and enjoy your summer. Fly red flags to express your annoyance. You have the right to peace and quiet in your own neighbourhood, and as long as these infringements of that peace and quiet do not go unchallenged, you are silently being assumed to be surrendering those rights, for the benefit of the Council, and those whom the Council gives the "green flag" to do whatever they like on YOUR BACK DOORSTEP.
Nobody asked US.
@i_resist
...and that led to the article reproduced below:
St Andrews CLAN protestor to set up ''peace and quiet'' camp
By Barbara Millar
A ST ANDREWS man is prepared to go door to door to gain support for his peaceful campaign against a Christian gathering due to be held in the town later this month.
Simon Tero told the Citizen this week that he intends to set up a "peace and quiet" camp in his own garden in Roundhill Road, 100 yards from the Madras College Kilrymont campus where the CLAN (Christians Link Across the Nation) Gathering is to take place from July 24-30.
Mr Tero intends pitching a tent, flying a red flag and displaying a banner bearing the legend "Nobody asked us."
"This phrase is the core of my objections," said Mr Tero.
"This event has very much flown under the radar as far as the public is concerned, and any concerns residents might have are being assumed simply not to exist."
He said he had "a volume of correspondence" with Fife Council area services manager Kate Hughes, but that requests to attend meetings of a working group of Fife Council officials and other partner agencies had been rebuffed.
In a letter to the Citizen this week, Mr Tero argued that the event this year is to be larger than before, with four tents rather than the previous three.
"Can we, therefore, expect more than the 5000 attendees and 1300 cars parked in the school sports field we endured last year?", he asked.
He added that the additional security measures being put in place would "prevent residents going to the venue to complain" and also close a frequently-used shortcut available to the public since the school opened.
However, Ms Hughes told the Citizen that she had only received concerns from a couple of residents, adding "they have been kept informed of progress."
She said: "A key factor in the preparations has been the issue of potential disturbance to nearby residents and all reasonable steps have been taken to minimise this.
"The actual session venues within the school have been changed to minimise noise impact, and a timetable for each session has been carefully planned.
"CLAN coordinators will ensure that the times agreed on are strictly adhered to. Starting and finishing times have also been agreed."
Leave to simmer for seven days. I'm definitely expecting someone to whine about infringing their relgious freedoms - I did last year - and I will be submitting another letter in response, and detailing any response to the July 22nd "call to arms"...
