Silverlands Action Campaign silverlands action campaign

Newsletter 6                14 December 2001

Friday Night Candle Lit Vigils Continue

Every Friday night 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. outside the entrance to

Silverlands.  Please support if you can, every person counts.

Come along and find out the latest information.  See you there.

Home Office Consultation Meetings

There have been a number of consultation meetings between various community groups including the Council, SAC, schools, pre-schools group, adjacent residents, Thorpe Park, Local Health Authority, White Lodge, and faith (church) group.  Representatives from the Home Office have included Tony Raban, Project Manager, Eithnie Wallis, National Probation Service, and Donald Findlater from the Wolvercote Clinic.  Key points from the meetings: 

·        Home Office admitted that they had no structured process to follow

·        Residents were given escorted off-site excursions, typically there would be 2 escorts to 12 residents.   Excursions in the past had been to such places as shopping centres

·        The criteria for location of the site had been developed after the Silverlands site had been selected

·        Donald Findlater asserted that Silverlands was not located within a community

·        Tony Raban is pulling together the facts for Beverley Hughes who will make the decision, he is not making recommendations

·        Two residents have photographs establishing the fact that Silverlands directly overlooks their properties

Overall, questions were answered economically and only with persistent probing were the full and complete answers forthcoming.   Depending on who you speak to there were two very different impressions of the meetings.  Some thought that it was a genuine fact gathering exercise whilst others believe it has been nothing more than a cynical PR exercise.  

The Legal Position

A solicitor representing SAC has written to the Home Office, stating that we will fight the legality of any decision to site the Wolvercote Clinic at Silverlands.  Our solicitor, from a major London firm, believes that we have a strong case to mount a legal challenge and secure a judicial review.  The grounds for the legal challenge would be the process used for deciding on the site location and the fact that refurbishment work continued on the site whilst the decision was supposedly being reviewed, along with the human rights issue.

Silverlands Action Campaign Legal Action – Fundraising

We now need to be prepared to mount a legal challenge if the decision does go against us.  All donations/contributions for our fighting fund should be made payable to Silverlands Action Campaign and sent to the contact address below.  Thank you to those who have contributed & supported so far.

The Final Decision – When?

Feedback from the Home Office has been contradictory.  One person has been told that they are working to reach a decision as soon as possible.  Others have been told they are not working to a specific timetable.  It may well be that the timing is ultimately a political decision.  So, in answer to the question when can we expect a decision, we simply do not know. 

Philip Hammond To Meet Minister

Philip Hammond has secured a half hour Adjournment Debate on Tuesday 18th December when he will be able to put his concerns about the

ill-considered proposals to the minister Beverley Hughes.  Members of the public are free to attend this meeting which will be held in Westminster Hall which is close to the House of Commons.  Please phone the number below if you require further details

What You Can Do

You can register objections to the proposals or ask for your specific questions to be answered by writing to:

               Beverley Hughes MP, House of Commons, Westminster, SW1A 0AA

Copied to: Councillor F Barden, Copse End, Lyne Lane, Chertsey, KT16 0AW

                      Philip Hammond MP, House of Commons, Westminster, SW1A 0AA   

WITHOUT YOUR HELP WE FAIL!

 

Contact Us At:

Silverlands Action Campaign, Moorewell House, Lyne Lane, Lyne, KT16 0AJ

By phone on 07960 828113                   By Fax 01932 874547

e.mail to silverlandsgroup@hotmail.com

Internet -  silverlandsgroup.org

Everything in this newsletter is provided in good faith and we accept no responsibility for any inaccuracies in any information provided to us in good faith. If we have made any statement which is incorrect in any way please contact gus and we will correct it as soon as possible.