Oh dear, Oh dear, Oh dear! Back at the end of the year we fired of an FOIA query to Wiltshire Council as we suspected that English Heritage were playing fast and loose with their authority - or abject lack of it - over the A344.
Today, we got a very helpful and yet totally unexpected reply from them. The first surprise was that the question was answered under the Environmental Information Regulations rather than FOIA - I need to look at that in more detail, there may be other ways we can use this legislation. The second and far bigger surprise lay in the contents of the response. Look at the bits in bold in particular:
Request for Information –
reference RFI - ENQ00535-REQ001
Thank you for your request for information received 30 December 2013. I
apologise for the delay in responding,
Section 39 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 requires us to respond
to requests for information about the environment under different
legislation: the Environmental Information Regulations 2004, rather than
under the Freedom of Information Act. The definition of “environment”
under this legislation is very wide. I consider that the
information you
have requested relates to the environment and must therefore be dealt with
under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.
In response to your request officers have provided the following:
The attached draft document outlines the arrangements under which English
Heritage should manage access through the gates for all users exempt from
the TRO restrictions. The document was
drafted by EH, confirming they are
fully au fait with the implications of the TRO.
It has been brought to the attention of
Wiltshire Council that the road
has been unavailable for use by authorised users at certain times of the
day, principally when the Visitor Centre is closed. English Heritage have
been advised accordingly. A response from EH has, to date, not been
received.
All gates, when works are complete, will
be supplemented with a Kent
Carriage Gap, which will allow all non-motorised users to pass and repass.
These have not yet been provided or completed at all gates, and some
temporary barriers appear to have been placed so as to obstruct lawful
use.
The Council has not withheld any information in relation to this request
under the exceptions of the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.
The document drafted by English Heritage, all ten pages of it can be found here.
Wow -what an admission. If English Heritage are "obstructing lawful use", then it would seem to me that they were breaking the law. When STAG were planning our demo back in December, we were left in no doubt, by Wiltshire Police, that if we were to obstruct the highway unreasonably by our actions, then we WOULD be arrested for obstruction. It will be interesting to see if Wiltshire Police have (or will now) apply the same rigour to those responsible for this admitted breach of the law.
We also need to know if and when, knowing that an obstruction of lawful use had occurred, Wiltshire Council informed Wiltshire Police of this? If they didn't why not, Moreover, who knew and who decided not to inform the Police? How many were involved?
It may not be straightforward as English Heritage seem to be acting as agents of Wiltshire Council in controlling access to the A344, so it might be Jane Scott, leader of Wiltshire Council, who might carry ultimate responsibility, but obstruction may just be the tip of the iceberg..
Another question needs to be asked about whether Wiltshire Police themselves might have been mislead by English Heritage on the 17th and 18th of December and subsequently. What were they policing on those days? What were their orders in relation to people wanting to walk, ride bikes or horses along the A344? That's a question we will certainly be asking.
This all makes life very difficult indeed. If English Heritage can't be trusted to adhere to the law, how can they be trusted in any future dealings in relation to the A344 or Byway 12. Moreover, how can they be trusted when it comes to future plans for the A303? A public apology for their actions and an immediate removal of all obstructions would be a good start.
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