ACT NOW TO STOP SCOTLAND'S HISTORY BEING BLASTED AWAY!

The Campaign continues on all fronts.                         
(click here for current full media release PDF)

The campaign to save Gillies Hill enters its fifth year with its prime objective – the preservation of the historic and beautiful landscape on the southern fringes of Stirling – as firm and resolute as it was on Day One of the campaign when it was standing room only in Cambusbarron Community Centre. A campaign waged on several fronts – recreational, historical, floral and faunal, political, legal, financial, and, perhaps most important of all, that of public opinion – will continue to be fought on these fronts with the same determination and commitment as has been manifestly visible these last four years. After all, that strategy has brought results: the announcement by Hanson in the autumn of 2006 that quarrying would recommence on the Hill, was met by the formation of Save Gillies Hill, which was met by…no quarrying. So far. For four years. Just a coincidence? But before we get too self-congratulatory, consider these troubling possibilities: that Hanson - and this has come from more than one quarry ‘insider,’- has been patiently waiting for the momentum of the campaign to slow significantly so that they can begin blasting again with minimum opposition. A tactic often deployed, apparently, by conglomerates opposed by small groups of enthusiastic amateur volunteers: but - once the enthusiasm wanes and the sma folk get, well, smaller – in number – the Big Boys make their move, without the public opprobrium and outrage they would have had otherwise - and earlier; that part of this multinational waiting game also recognises that running a successful protest campaign takes money, a finite resource for everyone, but especially for voluntary groups The Big Boys see that such money takes an awful amount of labour to come by, and, that the work-rate required to raise it isn’t easy. They know, too, that initial and very generous donations eventually, as they must, dry up. They, on the other hand, can afford to be patient; and, when push comes to shove, when, as now the community has actually begun preliminary legal procedures, the Big Boys know just how finite our resources are, and that even four years of campaigning may not meet the cost of going to court. This is why Cambusbarron Community Council has, for the present, halted further legal moves: right now, we don’t have the sums needed. We’re grateful to Stirling Council for matching our funding, but it looks like much more will be needed. And – what’s also needed is a clear understanding of the implications of our community not proceeding with legal action: quarrying almost certainly will recommence leading to the loss of large tracts of the Hill. If there’s no immediate quarrying, Hanson in all likelihood,would, around 2015 or 2016, raise their Murrayshall presence and become much more visible on the ground thus making it more difficult for Stirling Council planners to impose the kind of Hill-saving measures in the 2017 Review that we want. 2017 is a vital year: it is then that a Review of Old Mineral Permissions – ROMP – must be undertaken, 15 years after the previous one: that 2002 ROMP failed to impose the EIA that the law demands. Court action would allow our community to present its case, to point out to the decision makers, in unambiguous terms, the dire consequences of that non-imposition, some 10 years after it should have been in place – and to point out what could still be saved were it to be ordered by the court. Thus much of the Gillies Hill’s social, environmental and historical treasures may yet be protected. And, the other innocent victims in this, the ordinary people who daily appreciate the Hill as walkers, bird-watchers, runners, bikers, nature-lovers, historians - or the thousands who each day, as has happened for centuries, look up momentarily from any approach to Stirling, and are heartened by that beautiful, rising, historic landscape - they, too, would also get justice. We may have right on our side; we may even have legal right potentially on our side (Stirling Council has long recognised its 2002 error.) But unless that right is upheld in a court, we should expect the worst: letters to the local press and protest marches will cut no ice with Hanson, if they have an unchallenged permission in their back pocket. It is galling to think that through no fault on our part, the cost of such a legal challenge means that that error stands, and that the quarriers can ‘legally,’ until it is challenged, begin blasting tomorrow. But, let us repeat our commitment: this campaign, including its legal front, will continue. But – we need help. Not simply financial help, though that would, of course, be most welcome. But the sums required are considerable. We need a ‘Funding Czar’ to take responsibility to try to raise such money as may be required. Or for a small group to do so. And we need more help generally. The present committee has been in place for four years. There is, as this Newsletter shamelessly repeats, no loss of commitment here. The same people are willing to continue in their positions. But, as the campaign has developed, responsibilities and duties have grown: the organisation of the Descent of the Gillies (this year on Sunday 20 June), Big Widstok; this Newsletter; the legal debates with many, many parties, the annual calendar, etc – all require time and effort, all gladly given. But, we also know that, reading this Newsletter, there are people very willing to help when called upon: look at those who did magnificently in last year’s petition to Stirling Council, who attend the Descent of the Gillies, who deliver these Newsletters to 5,000 homes. All we’re asking is for such enthusiasm and effort to become a little more ‘official’ – especially in the area of fundraising for possible legal initiatives. The alternative doesn’t bear thinking about: that sprawling, ugly First World War landscape that is the present Murrayshall Quarry - where the Lake and beautiful rhoddies, azaleas and Scots Pines once stretched up to the Bonnety Tree: some remember it poignantly - replicated on the remaining idyllic, ancient contours of the Hill. (And nearer, much nearer than it ever has been: whatever the ‘official’ boundaries of the quarrying-to-come on the planners’ maps, there will, inevitably, be an additional ‘no-go’ area between it and Cambusbarron. Check out the present quarry top around Murrayshall.) But we can still stop this happening. Not by shaking our heads and holding up our hands, but by channelling our anger (remember those 2007 meetings in the Community Centre) to help - by attending our AGM on 26 May; by once again replicating the Descent of the Gillies on 19 June (remember: the more people there, the greater publicity for our cause, and the greater benefits for Gillies Hill) and to support once again, Big Widstok on 30 July. But this year, please consider helping in a direct and practical way: there’s much to do and many hands make it easier. Above all, we need your help to raise that money to service the most potent weapon in our campaign, our legal challenge to the quarriers. into direct action helping to raise the money needed. The wonderful weather throughout April and early May has shown Gillies Hill at its colourful best: the daffodils and bluebells, the bright greens and browns of ancient Scots Pines and Redwoods; even the timid red squirrels, roe deer and peregrines seem less shy. And, of course, the sublime views and vistas. Are we seriously going to let this all be destroyed?

You might want to raise your hands in surrender. But don’t. We’ve resisted the quarry for over three years. Keep resisting, keep fighting.

Write to your MP, your MSPs, your Councillors. And continue the fight to save Gillies Hill by supporting SGH events and initiatives (these, more than merely legal, are outlined elsewhere in this Newsletter) this year.

Act Now Before It Is Too Late