HOW YOU CAN HELP

If what you’ve seen on this website makes you angry, then take action now to help our campaign. Opposition to Tarmac’s future plans is mounting ~ but the priority aim is to STOP THE QUARRYING THAT IS TAKING PLACE WHILE YOU READ THIS.

People who care about their heritage are distraught at the destruction of more than 200 separate archaeological features at Nosterfield Quarry alone, but have been told that nothing can be done to stop the current quarrying operations “because the proper procedures have been followed.” That’s because the designated agencies either can’t (English Heritage) or won’t (NYCC is unwilling to pay Tarmac compensation for loss of profits).

In “Destruction of Archaeology” (click here), we question those procedures, but the fact remains that the only authority with the power to act quickly in this situation is the present Government. Although Tarmac has got there first by funding the Labour Party, central government, if sufficiently pressurised by public opinion, can always find taxpayers’ money to pay for emergency action ~ and S31 of PPG 16 gives it the power to do so in this case (click to view relevant legislation). So please lobby the relevant Secretary of State, Tessa Jowell MP, who is well aware of Tarmac’s plans for further quarrying at Thornborough, and demand that your local MP does so too. (view our letter writing campaign). Please send a copy of your letter(s) to: The Friends of Thornborough, Kiln Farm, Nosterfield, Bedale, DL8 2QX

You can make your feelings felt now by:

• Supporting our letter-writing lobbying campaign ~ Click here

• Signing our on-line petition ~ Click here

• Objecting to Tarmac's application to extend quarrying on to Ladybridge Farm ~ Click here

• Helping to publicise this scandal to a wider audience, we have produced a poster which is available in PDF format. In order to download and print this you will require the Adobe PDF reader available for free download from here. We recommend that the poster be printed in colour onto white card to give the best results. Please download our poster, print it and then display it. If you have problems with PDF format documents click here to visit an html version of the poster which should print directly from your web browser.

• Download our appeal and print landscape copies to give to your friends and relatives.

• If you want to become a Friend of Thornborough or give a donation to our cause email us at info@friendsofthornborough.org.uk or call our press officer: Mike Sanders, on 01609-777480 in the UK. The only way to guarantee the preservation of the henges and their surviving landscape setting is to buy the land and associated mineral rights. The capital costs involved make that a long-term objective and the National Trust is unable to help, but a great deal can and must be done in the interim. At the local level, development of a heritage field trail, an exhibition centre, descriptive literature and an audio-visual presentation will start educating visitors in the significance of the discoveries to date. Expert help needs to be purchased on some issues and, ideally, we should employ a full-time professional to run the campaign. We rely entirely upon donations and local fund-raising to cover our costs, and grant schemes seem to require matching private funding.

• Volunteering personal help in your spare time by contacting info@friendsofthornborough.org.uk. The few amateurs who form the core of the Friends need help with relevant legislation, the aggregates industry, objecting to planning applications, hydrology, ecology, local history, sensitive tourism development, cultural parallels world-wide, successful campaign models, fund-raising, publicity, artwork, etc.

• Telling us if you know of any famous people who would be prepared to endorse our campaign. It seems that, in this personality-obsessed era, the one way to ensure effective media coverage of an issue is to gain the public backing of well-known names.

Many thanks for your support, and do feel free to offer any practical suggestions to forward the aims of our campaign ~ the Friends of Thornborough.