A positive future for Shakespearian tranquillity

Following a meeting with Stratford upon Avon MP, Nadhim Zahawi, Save Shottery looks forward to the possibility of a Shakespeare heritage site on land behind Anne Hathaway’s Cottage

Save Shottery talks to Residents Against Shottery Expansion about Shakespeare’s legacy. RASE meets with Stratford District Council on the subject of Planning. SDC talks to Shakespeare Birthplace Trust about its Trustees on the Board. Stratford MP, Nadhim Zahawi talks to us all from time to time, but separately.

There has never been an occasion when all the opponents of the massive Government-supported housing scheme on land west of Shottery have come together as one to discuss the huge threat to Stratford. With the High Court appeal lodged by Stratford District Council against the Secretary of State for Communities’ decision due to take place in April and May, getting these various organisations to be more transparent and communicative in the near future is highly unlikely. So, what next?

One forum                                                                                                                                                      When Save Shottery met Nadhim Zahawi on 1 February, we put it to him that he might chair meetings convening all  the scheme’s opponents. Following his passionate Parliamentary speech to Nick Boles and Eric Pickles in November, what more might he do now to gather together what could be a very powerful response, if united and co-ordinated?

Mr Zahawi stated that he would be more than happy to invite Save Shottery to a meeting of StratfordVision, after the High Court Appeal judgement is known. Attended by both Stratford District Council leaders and the Director of Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, this forum could be a useful vehicle to discuss what might happen next.

When invited, Save Shottery will be more than happy to address Stratford Vision, whatever the High Court decision. The real sense of social and environmental injustice that fired us up to run the Save Shottery campaign in autumn 2012 is still alive and kicking in 2013.

It’s worth pointing out at this juncture that, nowhere on its website does Stratford Vision even refer to the Shottery housing development. It’s as if this potentially most disastrous of all schemes is all happening in the background.

Stratford Vision is a voluntary body, comprising members from local government, business, culture and tourism. The organisation aims to re-energise, recreate and reward the people of Stratford on Avon.  Founder, Denys Shortt, says  “I feel communication is absolutely key - not only communication between organisations but also communication of the Vision... We believe that the current strategic thinking at Council level needs to focus on what makes Stratford on Avon ‘special' - namely that the town produced William Shakespeare and is home to the globally iconic Royal Shakespeare Theatre and a range of properties where Shakespeare and his family lived their lives.”

Save Shottery intends to remind Stratford Vision of these words.

Proactive protection
Stratford bodies cannot persist in being against everything. The town needs to get on the front foot and take an active, united approach to land as important as that west of Shottery.

To this end, Save Shottery would like to propose that Shakespeare Birthplace Trust work in collaboration with Stratford District Council, English Heritage and other interested bodies, such as the RSC and Warwickshire County Council, to create and protect this site, this land it owns behind Anne Hathaway’s Cottage. We would like to invite Shakespeare societies from around the world to take part in an international fundraising campaign to buy and own this land and keep it in special trust for Shakespeare lovers now and in the future.

Save Shottery believes that heritage organisations have not done enough to safeguard this irreplaceable legacy during this struggle.  Nobody, apart from Save Shottery, has encouraged SBT to seek funding in other, more positive ways, rather than selling land. As a result, Nadhim Zahawi has also agreed to write to English Heritage on our behalf, to suggest that it play a useful role in the aftermath of the High Court decision.

Stratford’s plethora of organisations owes much to past culpability and division. Enough of that. There’s too much at stake. Save Shottery is more interested in the future than in the past. We are proposing this Shakespeare heritage site now, ahead of the High Court decision, because we want to appeal positively to the various parties involved to come together to see what we might achieve as a united force, for the value of Shakespeare in Stratford, for Stratford. Those who come after us will judge us on our behaviour, so nothing else will do.

While there is not much we can do between now and the High Court case, therefore, Save Shottery is already looking beyond that decision to a positive future of greater collaboration and more effective custodianship of Shakespeare’s legacy.

Lifting the lid on Shakespeare Birthplace Trust

Shakespeare Birthplace Trust will not come out and tell the world its true position, so we thought we’d do it for them.

Consider this...

The Trust has consistently said it is against development on the land it owns behind Anne Hathaway’s Cottage in Shottery, Stratford.

The Trust now says it is waiting for the outcome of the legal process at the High Court to be followed by Stratford District Council in an attempt to overturn the Secretary of State’s decision to allow the housing development to take place.

Whether Stratford District Council wins or loses the High Court case, it will still be up to Eric Pickles, the Secretary of State, to make the final decision.

If his final decision is to stop the development, the Trust will be vindicated in its consistent statement opposing development without having to lift a finger or spend a pound. All the work will have been done and the money spent by Stratford District Council (£300K to date) and organisations like RASE (Residents Against Shottery Expansion – thousands to date, over 20 years) and Save Shottery (two self-employed people who cannot earn any money while fighting this).

If Pickles’ final decision is to progress the development, the Trust has the choice of selling the land willingly (for more money), or unwillingly via a Compulsory Purchase Order (probably for less money). In either case, the Trust can say that its hands are tied and, given the situation, it is better to sell for more money. Then, the development will go ahead and there will be some harm to Anne Hathaway’s Cottage (as the Public Inquiry and Secretary of State acknowledged). But the Trust will get lots of money for the land and probably a new car park and visitor centre.  Anne Hathaway’s ‘romantic’ environment will have been altered forever, but, hey, it isn’t the Trust’s fault, is it? In which case, the public can only mourn the loss and feel sorry for the Trust.

Win-Win, thinks the Trust                                                                                                                            Either way, the Trust thinks it will win from this situation – as long as it sits tight, does nothing and says even less. However, last week proved that the Trust did not enjoy being in the spotlight, when it thought that Stratford District Council was going to take all the flak. Now, the Trust sits under the same glare as the Council, the developers and the Secretary of State. It knows it cannot escape.

What would you do in its position? Its latest statement claims that ‘Trustees have a legal responsibility to act in the best interestsof the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust’. But the Trust is governed by a UK Act of Parliament known as the 1961 Shakespeare Birthplace Act. This means that it ‘owns’ the Shakespeare houses in trust for the nation. Doing what’s best for Shakespeare Birthplace Trust means doing what’s best for the nation. Taking developers’ money to build a car park and get a better visitor centre is pure heresy, given that damage will be done to Anne Hathaway’s Cottage and garden by selling the land to developers.

This is a charitable Trust with £21 million of reserves. It has a rolling annual income of about £8 million. Why does it need to sell land? Just what is going on here behind the scenes? Both the Charity Commission and the UK Government need to take a long hard look at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, how it is governed and why it thinks it can act with impunity, by ignoring the wishes of local and national citizens, never mind the tourists of international countries who bring in that income.

There are some huge aspects to be investigated. Is this a dereliction of duty under the 1961 Act? Can a Trust governed by Act of Parliament be so secretive and deny the public access to its Board Meeting minutes? Isn’t it in the British public interest for citizens to know what the Trust is about and why it is not coming out against the Merchants of Venice?

End game
We have said all along that the Trust should come out of its defensive shell and say no to developers up front. It may lose a few millions by doing so, but will gain much in local, national and international kudos and support for doing the job it was invested with.

Having come out, the Trust should then work with local organisations - Stratford District Council, RASE, Nadhim Zahawi MP and Save Shottery - to present a united case in the upcoming High Court case and say No to Pickles, Yes to Preserves.

Hiding behind twice-yearly Trustee gatherings (many do not even turn up) and irregular executive committee meetings, while apparently waiting for legal advice, is no longer any good to anyone who believes in preserving Shakespeare’s legacy. The Trust employs these lawyers – get them to work faster.

We know what the Trust is up to. It may well get what it wants in the end. But Save Shottery wants the world to know what the Trust is up to. We would like the world to tell the Trust what you think of this selfish and short-term policy to benefit its bank balance to the detriment of its true duty to the world – to preserve the legacy of Shakespeare, his life and times.

We must not let the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust escape the spotlight. Win or lose, we must expose the truth.