[Acrylic-bob]

Not content with no reply to my second email of questions, I fired off a reminder. Pestering pays dividends - the reply took 21 minutes.

However, the content of the reply left a lot to be desired. It appears that the ownership of the panopticon will be vested in HBC, as will the responsibility for access and maintenance;" They will be responsible for the maintenance in exactly the same way as they are now, nothing will change."

Intitial funding of £50,000 will come from the North West Development Agency and is ring fenced, so that it cannot be spent on anything else. if we choose not to have one of these things then the funding is withdrawn. Funding for the upgrade of paths etc. is not certain.

I also asked whether the designer, Peter Beard had sucessfully brought any similar projects to completion, and if so what were they. I was referred to his website, which, as far as I can see, does not contain one completed project. Beard, she says, is working with "some" local schoolchildren, whom she describes as "The future users of the Coppice". How nice. What about the current users of the Coppice?

The existing monument and shelter will, apparently, remain in situ, though she has mentioned that they will be cleaned of graffiti.
I omit the remainder of her depressingly enthusiastic padding on purpose.

It seems that in Ms Knight's view this is a "done" deal and one, moreover, that we would be foolish to reject. The only option now is to lobby individual members of the Planning Committee and bombard them with objections in the hope that when this project comes before them they will have no alternative but to reject it.