Dr Kate Fielden presents the members’ case for the resolution asking the National Trust to reconsider its support for the Stonehenge tunnel and road scheme which would devastate the archaeological landscape.

Neither our resolution nor any members’ resolution presented to the National Trust AGM last Saturday was successful.

Despite our best efforts to inform, engage and spread the word, the voting results for our resolution took us aback:

There was evident support for our cause in the room and on line. So, THANK YOU to everyone who voted, shared posts, retweeted, spread the word or wrote to the National Trust.  Who knows? The Trust might pause for thought after all.

The problem with current voting arrangements is that the majority of members have to vote before they can hear the arguments in debate at the AGM. Thus, all resolutions, including ours, fell victim to the Trust’s newly-introduced ‘quick vote’ box inviting members to support all NT’s preferences for candidates and resolutions in advance of the meeting. It inevitably allowed easy defeat of all members’ motions by a wide margin.

To understand the numbers who deliberately voted against, we have enquired about the number who opted for the ‘quick vote’.  We will report replies together with our AGM video and transcripts as soon as we can.

Above: Double sided A4 handout distributed to participants at the National Trust AGM. This was not available to those following proceedings on-line. We were not allowed to show an explanatory slide to help explain the complexity of the scheme.

• Presentations and key points made in full here.
• Our Press Release ahead of the AGM: National Trust remains deaf to concerns about A303 road scheme
• Summary of the National Trust AGM by staff reporter for the Press Association

Our heroes, aka ‘reception committee’, distributing handouts to AGM participants in soggy conditions together with campaigners lobbying the Trust to stop banking with Barclays, a major investor in carbon polluting fuels.

An amazing 3,277 of you wrote to René Olivieri, National Trust Chairman, and Hilary McGrady, Director General.  If you wish to send them your views about the above or aspects of the road scheme you can still do so here via our website

WHAT NEXT?

We await the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement on 17 November, which will reveal whether the inevitable cuts in public expenditure will drop the most expensive road schemes including the A303 at Stonehenge.

ABOUT THE STONEHENGE ALLIANCE

The Stonehenge Alliance is a group of non-governmental organisations and individuals that seeks enhancements to the Stonehenge World Heritage Site and opposes development that would cause it significant harm.

More about us

THE PETITION against the road has reached over 221,000 signatures.  You can sign and share it  here.