JennyMorgan

Marsh, by the time the monkey has been lost it will be too late. Best keep on your toes. Do you really believe that the battle is not real? No, well you would say that!

Good to see a Jenny Morgan is featured in the editorial! A valuable addition to any Broads library.

Going back to heritage I have often made mention of ethos, not entirely unrelated, or the lack of appreciation of it at Yare House. I don't suppose it has a legal basis as such nevertheless it does exist. Whilst our forebears have killed and hunted for generations that can not be an excuse for the continuation of such activities. On the other hand we remain relatively free to roam where and when we wish, so why should that 'right' continue? People virtually fight tooth and nail to keep footpaths open, well, they are rights of way just as are our tidal waterways. Lose one right and that heightens the risk of losing others. Moorings are another example, in years gone by we freely moored pretty much where and when we wished, those days have gone. Once our ancestors freely sailed across Hoveton Great Broads, another 'right' lost. I have long regarded the present executive as being untrustworthy, that he achieves his 'vision' with a gently gently, lose the monkey approach. The little people have certainly given inches and lost a few miles. Had the the more recent Broads Bill gone through, unchallenged, then we would have lost many, many more miles. The ethos of the Broads has always been pretty laid back, rules kept to a minimum, accepted or changed by common consent, those days have gone, obsessive control is now the name of the game. These blessed road signs are just another example of the erosion that has become a feature of Yare House. Do I honestly believe the assurances that we have been given? Do I heck! To many examples of loud pronouncements that are later forgotten or are subsequently adjusted and re-adjusted. Not so long ago we were told 'no signs', ho ho ho, see what I mean? Perhaps a few of us feel that we have a loss of trust, what comes next I wonder? Devious, untrustworthy and manipulative are words that immediately spring to mind.

Have watched it, once! In days of my youth Mr Pritchard would have been called a scavenger. As one who can't walk past a skip without looking for items of interest I have to admit to being one too. Got to say that I have never really taken to Mr Pritchard for whatever reason, maybe it's his manner.

Vaughan, you mention 'them'. If it really were an elected and suitable them with decision by consensus, rather than a minimal, carefully selected committee of 'chairs' kowtowing to their revered leader then maybe I would have greater confidence.

Hear b****y hear! Sorry about the naughty word but the Authority has for far too many years ignored our cultural heritage thus I can only endorse and wholeheartedly welcome Polly's enlightened comment. To navigation I would add the freedom to roam our waterways as we have for generations but I have to agree with Polly, navigating Broadland is the core activity. Without it the Broads would not exist as we know it. Our freedom to roam is under threat, I have no doubt about that.

Indeed. I can think of a CEO of a well loved quango to whom that would more than equally apply to!! Just a thought, indeed a purely hypothetical question, if JP were told that he could have his real BNP but with one proviso, he had to accept Sandford, I wonder what he'd say? Trust . . . . . . . .

But it has tried, namely The Broads National Park Bill. https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/decision-later-on-broads-national-park-1-690236

Please excuse me repeating an earlier comment where I pointed out that he has said that he's 'content that the Broads is a national park'. Not so much what I think that he might or might not believe, more a case of what I have read.

I have long wondered at the value of the Broads Plans. Grand visions so often forgotten.

Not entirely!

I would like to see a copy of that letter, just to put my mind at rest you'll understand. I'm sure that DEFRA will have a copy.

I believe that it is a Parish dyke, you can always waddle down there on a sunny day, there might be someone about that you can ask. Most Parish moorings have a waiting list but it does help if you live locally, have a straight family tree going back at least five generations and a tendency to go ooh ahhh when an aeroplane flies overhead. Being a Norwich City season ticket holder is a real deal clincher.

Check out the above website and its contact address. 'Tis Yare House, home of the Broads Authority! Read into that what you wish.

Effectively a clear admission that at this moment in time the Broads is not a national park. Thanks for reminding us of this one. Once again it all boils down to trust, or the lack of.

Unfortunate that it was Dr Goebbels who said it but even the evilest of humankind can make an astute comment at sometime in their lives. Back to our Doctor, it might have been in a Broads Plan but I am sure that I have read that it is hoped that by 2030 the Broads will be a national park.

No mention of the Searchers! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silence_Is_Golden_(song)

I don't know that I ever heard it on a disc but I saw them perform several times and just have a memory of them singing it.

All a question of trust, or lack thereof.

As well as the Searchers! Think that the Tremeloes had the bigger hit though. Loved the music back then.

The Searchers too!

A common tactic is to pick off one authority at a time. Dear so and so, a certain person or authority has agreed to allow the placement of BNP signposts, can I also count on your support, or words to that effect. Gently gently catch the monkey. Ask the question before the public gets wind of it, Bobs your Aunty!

Yes. He has confirmed that he is content that the Broads is a national park.

First of all I admire Tom for putting his head above the parapet and the way he handles himself. I also fully understand the position in which finds himself. Thank you, Tom, diamond geezer that you are. I do hope that you remain with us. There are many good folk at the Authority, you are one of them. For those of you, should I say who are up on the fence, please consider this piece of history combined with a smidgeon of facts & opinion. Three times now our elected government of the day has turned down requests for the Broads to be designated as a national park under the National Parks legislation. Remember that the House of Commons is a democratically elected body. Numerous are the sights of letters from various Ministers, over time and also recently, confirming that the status of the Broads is unchanged, that it is not a national park. Despite this an appointed, rather than elected, executive officer has used his position and powers to undermine the decisions of the elected House of Commons. In doing so, I am firmly of the opinion and belief that misleading statements and actions have been made in order to achieve the belief by the public that the Broads is indeed something that it is not. If after reading the above folk remain content with such actions then so be it. Personally I am not a great believer in using lies to achieve a personal ambition or agenda.

There damned well is, and even if you don't know it then I suspect that most of us do! Emphatically 'No', the Broads is NOT a national park, find me the legislation that says it is. That is a fact despite all the huffing and puffing from above. Granted I didn't really expect an answer one way of the other but it would have been good if JP had been honest to himself if not to us and admitted that the Broads actually is not a national park. Wussername asks who would we. or I , vote onto the Broads Authority? In principle I would say 'leave well alone' but it is not as simple as that. The situation that we are in right now is no fault of the BA as such, more the obsessive control of just one man. Okay, so i'm making it personal but when the CEO at the BA was in the form of Professor Aitkin Clarke there was not the animosity, and loss of trust, that we are seeing today. One man has amassed far too much control, even down to the makeup of committees and the like. The ethos of the present executive is one of excessive control. The lead has to come from the Authority itself, not from its executive, they are there to get the job done, to do what is expected of them. We. and the Authority, needs to stop, think, and start again. In its original form the Authority was well conceived and well lead. As it is, thankfully, the Authority's workforce do what is reasonably asked of them and they generally do it well. So back to the question of being a national park, where has the lead come from on that one? I was on the Navigation Committee when the Broads National Park Bill was put before us. It was clear that we were expected to support it without question, almost as if it were a fait accompli. The lead and the drive came from the Executive, that much was entirely clear. So where has it all gone wrong, who lost the trust that the Authority as a whole once enjoyed? All only my opinion of course, but in my book the lead should have come from Authority members and their Chairman, not the executive, it was if the roles had been reversed. So who would I vote for, not really the issue, but I would like to see a Broads Authority Chairman independently elected who is both willing and able to take back control from the executive on behalf of the little people of Broadland. If anyone wishes to argue the point then so be it, but on this one I won't be changing my mind, sorry! I've watched the Authority from conception, through its birth and development to where we it is today. This national park vanity project has become utterly devisive, things were a great deal better before it reared its ugly head. Things were were far better when we were just NP happy family members.