The National Trust Are Bullies

[chrissa1]

[chrissa1]

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/705146/Melvyn-Bragg-National-Trust-Lake-District-purchase

Here is the link that wouldn't work during the, meltdown

Do you agree?

[jno]

not till I hear what the NT's plans actually are, no.

[237SJ]

I agree with jno. I doubt Melvyn Bragg in an expert on farming/land conservation.

[agchristie]

Well,there's no doubt that Lord Bragg is a very passionate chap where all things Cumbria are concerned.Anyone who has read his novels would fully appreciate that.

There seems more than a tinge of suspicion at the NT's motives but we shall see.

Let's hope that Lord Bragg's and others fears are not realised as it would be a travesty indeed.

[chrissa1]

The opening bid of £200K over the asking price is, bullying tactics to my mind. The area has been farmed for generations and yet they have not purchased the houses and buildings.
What is going to happen to, them? What is going to happen to the rare breed of sheep that have been cared for by the farmer.

I agree with his point that if this had been a billionaire who had bullied his way into the purchase, there would have been an outcry.

No such outcry for the National Trust.

[agchristie]

237SJ > I doubt Melvyn Bragg in an expert on farming/land conservation.

Don't underestimate him.He has an extremely diverse knowledge base.He's not everyone's cup of tea but he's no mug...

[chrissa1]

He was born and raised in Cumbria, too.

[chrissa1]

I totally agree, divebuddy.

[agchristie]

DB - couldn't agree more.

Chrissa - very true.His descriptions of the area shines strongly in his books.He is extremely passionate of Cumbria.

Incidentally,I have all his works signed including his first book 'For the want of a nail' written in 1965 when he was in his twenties.Agriculture is very much a common theme in his earlier novels.

[jno]

the NT aren't spending other people's money, are they? They live off donations, membership fees and sales of fudge in their shops.

[chrissa1]

You misunderstand, jno. The point that divebuddy, agchristie and I were agreeing on, was that, it's easier to spend money that is not, personally, owned by the powers that be in the NT.

[jambutty]

I applaud them if they want it to protect wildlife, but they don't say anything about the sheep do they, which is worrying.

[Old_Geezer]

Unless he knows something the rest of us don't the criticism seems rather over the top. Certainly I see no evidence of bullying; NT just came in with an early bid they hoped would seal the deal for them; which is fair enough.

Granted that the NT says it is interested in protecting wildlife (as opposed to domesticated farm animals) and did not buy the farmhouse (which seems odd to me, but it isn't clear if that is on the strip of land up for sale) but on the other hand it isn't in the NT's interest to destroy part of what makes a place, the place it is.

Perhaps it would be more prudent to ask the NT what it's plans are for the working farm, and try to persuade them it is in the area's interest to keep it going. I take it that it is in the area's interest ? And that the sheep could not be bought and find a home elsewhere ?

[Old_Geezer]

The organisation "personally" owns the money. It's been given it.
Those running the organisation has to balance the budgets and still reach its goals.

[chrissa1]

Exactly, jb. However, the area has been farmed, (sheep farmed) for generations and would continue to be. It is not as if some farming conglomerate want to turn it into the rolling prairies of the USA and decimate the area.

The farmers want it to continue, and farm it as they have, for centuries!!

[chrissa1]

O_G. The NT have made it impossible, by their massive offer for the land, for the farmer who has farmed it for generations, to match, or even come near to try to buy it.

That's bullying in my book. The domesticated animals are a rare breed of sheep. What's going to happen to them?

[chrissa1]

It's still and "organistion's" money. It's not private or personal money, at all.

[Old_Geezer]

And the organisation is spending it as it sees fit.

Of course someone with the highest bid stops others winning. That's not bullying, that's winning the auction.

It's not impossible for farming to continue, but one needs to persuade the new owners (aka the NT) that it is in in areas' interest. Yelling at them rather than talking, is likely to be an unsuccessful negotiating tactic.