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THE EDITOR
WRITES
by
Neil Wallington
When the news
finally came through in mid-May that the Department of the Environment
Inspector has allowed the planning proposal for the Fire World Museum
at Weedon in Northamptonshire, it seemed the end of a very long year.
For it was almost 12 months to the day that the Public Inquiry was held
at the offices of Daventry District Council. We expected to hear a
decision within 6 months but it has taken a full year for the
bureaucracy to finally produce the outcome we all hoped for. There are a
number of conditions to the approval, but most of these were known to us
at the time of the Public Inquiry.
You may remember that in the last edition of Saved, Norman
Dickerson, the Trust Chairman described this process as 'The Planning
Tortoise meeting the Central Government Obstacle Course'. I don't think
I can add anything to that!
To remind everyone what the Weedon scheme for Fire World looks
like, I have repeated an artist's impression of the proposed building
elsewhere in this issue together with a historical summary of the
origins of the Trust. All those who have an interest in the rich
heritage of the fire service must be thankful to the far-sightedness of
that small band who formed the Trust all those years ago. That the
Weedon scheme is now in focus and a reality is a tribute to their belief
and commitment to the creation of a National Museum.
This edition of Saved has been postponed a number of times and I
would thank members for their patience over the past months. We were
repeatedly promised the Inquiry decision from March onwards, and we
delayed publication in order to carry the news.
From this edition onwards, it is the intention of the Friends Council
over the next year to publish two editions of Saved
(Summer and Winter) together with two Newsletters (Spring and
Autumn).
We hope that there will be plenty to report upon over the immediate time
ahead, not least of which will be the expected increase in Friend's
activity at Weedon.
There will clearly be plenty of opportunity for Friend's to offer their
help and assistance in a variety of tasks which will
need to be tackled even before the Museum can open in a limited
manner. Both the Trustees and the Friends Council will
be meeting over the next few weeks to determine the precise way
ahead and begin to plan for the programme involving the necessary
interim building work at Weedon. News of the opportunities for Friends
to get involved at Weedon will be promulgated in the first of the
new Newsletters shortly.
This is truly a very exciting time after all the delays and despondency
that went with the past year while we waited for the outcome of the
Inquiry. Now our goal is in sight, even if there is a lot of hard graft
still confronting us.
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