Currently, there are four things happening:
1. Tarmac have appealed against the rejected planning application for Ladybridge.
2. Tarmac have re-applied for planning permission for Ladybridge, omitting the area of archaeological interest identified by EH.
3. Tarmac and Hanson have submitted proposals to make four areas around Thornborough Preferred Areas for quarrying. Tarmac have submitted three and one of these includes Ladybridge. Hanson have requested to quarry a site called Upsland, this area holds a third "possible cursus", which has never been investigated, if it is a cursus, this should be considered part of the Thornborough complex.
4. Tarmac, the landowners, NYCC and English Heritage are still squabbling over how small the conservation plan area should be. The landowners think it should just bigger than the henges, EH think it should be an area approximately one mile radius of the major monuments, NYCC will agree with the highest bidder and Tarmac want it to be in another county.
Seriously though, when I started this campaign there was a cosy club of silence surrounding Thornborough - Tarmac, the landowners and NYCC happily allowed the destruction of the ritual landscape of Thornborough with powerless EH howling into the wind. After deciding to "do something about it" NYCC have created a cosy club to deal with deciding how best to conserve the area - Tarmac, The landowners, NYCC and EH, with EH firmly taking the minority view that Thornborough and its surrounding landscape is a nationally important site.
In the mean time NYCC have ignored our petition and look set to grant the latest Ladybridge planning application.
So, Thornborough is looking screwed from this end - A conservation plan that promises to conserve an area smaller than the current DEFRA management area and an "enlightened" approach to quarrying that allows the majority of the area to be quarried.
Everybody wants their bit of Thornborough and it seems few people have any fight left in them.
Technically, TimeWatch is bankrupt as we have never been able to replace the money PeteG demanded for the use of his pictures which means we have been unable to carry out any leaflet drops or mailshots other than online. To give you an idea, total sales, donations etc for the last 9 months comes to £25.00, expenditure has been £250-350.
Maybe the truth is, people don't really care enough to actually do something about it, just like it to appear as though they are.
On the positive side, it is good to see that Heritage Action have appointed Stephen Cornwell as the Thornborough Spokesman and hit the local front pages last week.
TimeWatch will continue trying keep Thornborough in the news as I'm sure HA will, but unless a lot more of us get off our asses and kick some, Thornborough is screwed.
