Steve Wood wrote: > I did repost your original message onto the HNBOC message list and got > the following reply from John Dodwell: > - > Martin is wrong about this not having aroused as much concern as > Marsworth did. It has led to the matter being on the agenda for the > April meeting of British Waterways Advisory Forum where Sue Day, Phil > Prettyman and I (among others) will be raising it - in front of BW's > chairman, a number of non-executive directors and the chief executive. > - > We'll have to see how they respond though as you say it sounds like it's > too late. Did anyone contact English Heritage?
Martin is not wrong about it. It is only being raised at BWAF because I brought it to the attention of Sue, Nigel and others - although, even as I did so, it was probably already too late[*]. The Burscough situation has aroused concern amongst small circles that have become aware of it but there is nothing like the outcry that occurred over Marsworth. It may have the same level of concern amongst BWAF participants but it certainly hasn't amongst the general waterways fraternity. My original "news item" about the demolition on 23rd March (See http://is.gd/b8eJc ) has still only had one comment added - and that was from someone who agrees with the demolition. In what is probably the most popular waterways forum someone has said that they felt much of the Marsworth outcry was over loss of boaters' facilities rather than loss of heritage. On the same forum the only muffled outcry over Burscough was over the boaters' facilities there being closed for 36 weeks and not about the loss of heritage. [*] It was only when I saw a message from BW about the closure of the facilities that I deducted that part of the Burscough site was being demolished and it took me some time to find out just what was being planned. -- Martin Clark Pennine Waterways Website http://www.penninewaterways.co.uk
