Royal Artillery Museum update mid March 2017

[ianjonesncl]

2 hours ago, Gareth Davies said:

 

All that got in the way last time was:

 

a. They didn't get planning permission.

b.  They didn't get HLF money.

 

Have they found the money now?

 

For Firepower in Woolwich, Gunners 'volunteered' a days pay as we all thought it was it was such a good idea to base a museum in a location with limited footfall and an unrealistic economic plan.

[FROGSMILE]

5 minutes ago, ianjonesncl said:

 

For Firepower in Woolwich, Gunners 'volunteered' a days pay as we all thought it was it was such a good idea to base a museum in a location with limited footfall and an unrealistic economic plan.

I was BK 32 (Minden) Bty at the time and I remember that really well.  What a b****y waste of money....

[seaJane]

6 hours ago, FROGSMILE said:

The A345 is a narrow, winding road that meanders

Having been diverted on to the A345 during one of the many occasions when the A303 was closed last year, and having had to negotiate it in the dark and rain, the thought of a museum-car-park-ful of visitors trying to find their way back home after closing time of a winter's evening is enough to make any other driver blench.

[MaxD]

I had the same problem with getting beyond the application number (it is at the moment only an outline application).  I'll send the planning department an email asking why it doesn't appear.

 

Max

[FROGSMILE]

6 hours ago, seaJane said:

Having been diverted on to the A345 during one of the many occasions when the A303 was closed last year, and having had to negotiate it in the dark and rain, the thought of a museum-car-park-ful of visitors trying to find their way back home after closing time of a winter's evening is enough to make any other driver blench.

I can imagine seaJane, I spent 6-happy years based there with my late wife and, even though the route in both directions became deeply familiar, it remained treacherous and in large part poorly lit in the circumstances you describe.  I don’t see how a museum that desperately seeks visitors can be successfully located there.  The entrance alone was a notorious accident spot because of the blind crest of a hill just beyond it.

Edited 14 May , 2020 by FROGSMILE

[Gareth Davies]

Have you tried to cross the road at Durrington CWGC cemetery?

[FROGSMILE]

3 hours ago, Gareth Davies said:

Have you tried to cross the road at Durrington CWGC cemetery?

Not recently Gareth, but I know how traffic races past the spot you speak of.

[Moonraker]

That's where I realised that a Military Police Land Rover was behind, so I made sure that I was keeping to the speed limit, later asking in Skindles what authority, if any, the occupants might had had over me. No need to remind me, I know I'm veering off-topic.

 

I used to cycle that road many times, and it always seemed pleasantly quiet, but I guess that the development of Amesbury and Larkhill have led to increased traffic levels.

[Dai Bach y Sowldiwr]

2 hours ago, Moonraker said:

That's where I realised that a Military Police Land Rover was behind, so I made sure that I was keeping to the speed limit, later asking in Skindles what authority, if any, the occupants might had had over me. No need to remind me

I will.

Not a lot.

Effectively Citizen's Arrest for arrestable offences only.

 Certainly not motoring offences that are not punishable by imprisonment.

[Moonraker]

Dai, thanks for confirming what I mostly remembered.

[MaxD]

On 14/05/2020 at 07:18, MaxD said:

I'll send the planning department an email asking why it doesn't appear.

 

 

1.  Query sent, application doesn't upload.

 

2.  Auto reply, thank you for your email blah blah

 

3.  Closely followed by what looked like a specific reply at first, coronavirus, all working at home, service levels affected, apologies, can't access hard copies (I didn't ask for that so suspect auto reply 2), haven't got on-line access (!!) , temporary arrangements will stay in place until government says otherwise.  Apologies.

 

Bit of lateral thinking suggests that the 1992 in the reference is the date it was submitted and hence is not related to the Netheravon site (holds good for all that have something that looks like a date in the ref.).

  Perhaps it has mouldered slowly away in the intervening years!

 

Frogsmile - is it the case that the Netheravon activism is related to a Swindon partnership plan (straw clutching here) rather than a formal application?

 

Max

[FROGSMILE]

2 hours ago, MaxD said:

 

1.  Query sent, application doesn't upload.

 

2.  Auto reply, thank you for your email blah blah

 

3.  Closely followed by what looked like a specific reply at first, coronavirus, all working at home, service levels affected, apologies, can't access hard copies (I didn't ask for that so suspect auto reply 2), haven't got on-line access (!!) , temporary arrangements will stay in place until government says otherwise.  Apologies.

 

Bit of lateral thinking suggests that the 1992 in the reference is the date it was submitted and hence is not related to the Netheravon site (holds good for all that have something that looks like a date in the ref.).

  Perhaps it has mouldered slowly away in the intervening years!

 

Frogsmile - is it the case that the Netheravon activism is related to a Swindon partnership plan (straw clutching here) rather than a formal application?

 

Max

Thank you for the update Max, not entirely surprising what you’ve found and perhaps there’s grounds for hope.

 

I’m not aware of any Swindon partnership plan, but I could imagine a reaching out by Netheravon as I think they fall between two stools (Salisbury and Swindon) and feel neglected by the former.

Edited 15 May , 2020 by FROGSMILE

[Gareth Davies]

Wiltshire is a unitary council, as is Swindon. Netheravon is firmly in Wiltshire Council's area (please note that this isn't a geography lesson!).

 

 

[MaxD]

I knew there was a Swindon connection somewhere:

https://www.figheldean.org/2020/04/21/royal-artillery-museum-ram-update-18th-april-2020/

Max

 

[FROGSMILE]

I suppose it’s the old story of wanting hordes of tourists to come and spend locally, which I think is a white elephant.  I can’t imagine that the museum will create significant local jobs either, but perhaps there’s some desperation.  The local area certainly suffered badly when first SWW closed, and then Airfield Camp, apart from the Parachute Club I think, although I’m not sure if the HQ Gurkha Bde has remained?

Edited 15 May , 2020 by FROGSMILE

[ianjonesncl]

On 13/05/2020 at 22:22, ianjonesncl said:

 

For Firepower in Woolwich, Gunners 'volunteered' a days pay as we all thought it was it was such a good idea to base a museum in a location with limited footfall and an unrealistic economic plan.

 

On 13/05/2020 at 22:29, FROGSMILE said:

I was BK 32 (Minden) Bty at the time and I remember that really well.  What a b****y waste of money....

 

The proposal in the business plan is £6.8 million comes from the Royal Regiment - £3.5 million from the existing RA Museum funds and a 'loan' from the RA Charitable fund, though on the pessimistic visitor numbers (35,000) it will take a few decades to pay back. Hopefully the target visitor figures of 91,000 will be achieved. 

 

That leaves £800,000 from Royal Artillery charities …. which I suspect will be Gunners 'volunteering' a days pay and appeals to those of us that remember 'Farndales Folly' appeal.

 

 

 

[FROGSMILE]

I fear that this sort of thing often seems to happen when the very senior individual heading up the appeal lives in the past.  The intent to ‘save Woolwich’ as the RA’s centre of gravity was a battle already lost, and although like everyone else I loved the ambience and wonderful sense of presence of Woolwich’s remaining garrison, it was as plain as a pike staff that it was a doomed project, to all but the most obdurate.

Edited 16 May , 2020 by FROGSMILE

[Gareth Davies]

A counter view: Woolwich had transport infrastructure, Larkhill/Netehravon doesn't. 

[ianjonesncl]

35 minutes ago, Gareth Davies said:

A counter view: Woolwich had transport infrastructure, Larkhill/Netehravon doesn't. 

Unfortunately the transport infrastructure did not help as the footfall showed. Even when you got to Woolwich it was not particular well signposted. 

 

 

 

 

[Gareth Davies]

Fair enough.  

 

One of my favourite films is Field Of Dreams but I don't think 'build it and they will come' applies to Netheravon. But I guess someone probably argued the same about Bovington.

[alantwo]

The application S/1992/1318 was for outline planning permission and was submitted in 1992, this predates the Wiltshire Planning Explorer map hence there is no information or link. There does not appear to be an application presently with the local authority as per the information in Max's post above. The Explorer map and can be found at:http://wiltscouncil.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=74a353612a934bd48fee1f2bc564cdd8 and the application once submitted should appear on there.

 

For those that wish to do so the local authority will take written representation of support or objection through the consultation period, albeit after an application has been made. The consultation time limit is usually 21 days, but I suspect it will be open for longer for a major project.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Regards

Alan

 

[FROGSMILE]

6 hours ago, Gareth Davies said:

A counter view: Woolwich had transport infrastructure, Larkhill/Netehravon doesn't. 

There were two significant shortcomings for the Woolwich option that I can recall.  Most tourists and visitors tended to visit Central London and the public transport to travel South of the river was notoriously grotty, and car parking a problem.  The second issue was local crime, as that part of South London was full of so-called sink estates.

Conversely Larkhill would have been able to piggy back off what had then been proposed as the Stonehenge Visitor Centre and it was astride the main London to the South West holiday trunk route, the A303. It was also clearly aligned with the new ‘home’ of the RA, and the Army’s Salisbury plain footprint in general.  There were generations-worth of army families who were likely to maintain footfall year round and not just during periods of holidays and summer tourism.

Edited 16 May , 2020 by FROGSMILE

[MaxD]

On the positive side, it all gives us locals something to watch, mostly with bemusement, from the sidelines.  It keeps the Salisbury Journal in stories too.

 

Frogsmile touches on the Stonehenge Visitors Centre saga, the first proposed site for which, believe it or not, was literally in the field directly behind the house we then lived in, almost resulting in the sale of the house falling through!).

 

A constant for I don't know how many years has been the A 303 by-pass/tunnel/flyover/cutting/whatever - still in progress.

 

Now, since before 1992, the siting of the RA Museum, inside the wire, then near the racecourse, now at Netheravon to interest us, all part of life's rich tapestry.

 

Max

 

 

[FROGSMILE]

1 hour ago, MaxD said:

On the positive side, it all gives us locals something to watch, mostly with bemusement, from the sidelines.  It keeps the Salisbury Journal in stories too.

 

Frogsmile touches on the Stonehenge Visitors Centre saga, the first proposed site for which, believe it or not, was literally in the field directly behind the house we then lived in, almost resulting in the sale of the house falling through!).

 

A constant for I don't know how many years has been the A 303 by-pass/tunnel/flyover/cutting/whatever - still in progress.

 

Now, since before 1992, the siting of the RA Museum, inside the wire, then near the racecourse, now at Netheravon to interest us, all part of life's rich tapestry.

 

Max

 

 

[ianjonesncl]

The saga continues.....

 

The Master Gunner has issued a letter which states he has received a letter the Chief of the General Staff withdrawing the support of the lease of Avon Camp West to the Royal Regiment of Artillery and suggesting a 'strategic reappraisal be conducted' . 

 

Back to the drawing board.

 

Ian