Sir, – I was delighted to read in The Herald that engineers had broken through and seen light at the end of the tunnel on the Hindhead bypass. I wish I could report that I had seen light at the end of the tunnels that serve the minds of those in charge of the National Trust and the government when it comes to unnecessary atmospheric pollution and closing the old A3 in 2011.
I was heartened last autumn to note the appointments of Sir Simon Jenkins at the National Trust and Ed Miliband at the Department for Energy and Climate Change and I promptly wrote to them. They offered fresh minds and the potential for refreshing thinking. But both have proved to be men of straw when it comes to fighting vested interests intent on ignoring the warnings of the Stern Review on climate change and requests by the government for all of us to fight climate change.
In truth, I cannot comment in detail on Mr Miliband because he has yet to reply to my letters written last October through to December. That's not entirely accurate since he did ask a chap from the Department of Transport (not his own Department you will note) to send me a letter. This chap answered none of the questions I had put to Mr Miliband but he did take half a page to say that having "spoken" the decisions made by public inquiry inspectors could never be reversed however overtaken by significant, subsequent events. I am still trying to secure a relevant and personal comment from the mute Mr Miliband.
I did have dialogue with Sir Simon Jenkins, the new chairman of the National Trust but since Sir Simon has a fine mind and is a fine journalist this was disappointing and a very depressing exchange.
Sir Simon initially replied to me with an observation that I had not heard before. Apparently: "The Trust's Council was strongly of the view that the environmental and financial costs of the scheme (ie the Hindhead bypass) could only be fully justified by the discontinuance of the old road." When I pointed out that "the National Trust will force local people to spend around £0.75 million travelling 2.8 million unnecessary kilometres that will produce 200 to 350 tonnes of entirely unnecessary atmospheric pollution every year from 2011", he replied: "I feel I cannot add anything to my previous response."
Unhappy with this evasion from a journalist I replied: "Had our roles been reversed, I am certain you would not have been satisfied and would have verbally shredded my limp reply to ribbons." In return he said: "I appreciate your point of view but I regret that I am unwilling to re-open this debate." To me this indicates a new chairman who knows his organisation is in the wrong but will do nothing to correct this.
However, I suppose I should be happy for small admissions. This is the first time any member of the National Trust has even hinted that the Trust's land grab at the Punch Bowl scheduled for 2011 is environmentally wrong.
Then this week I received a pamphlet from the Greening of Grayshott movement emphasising how much can be done to help the environment and save money by shutting off stand-by lights on televisions and boiling only the volume of water needed to make a cup of tea. May I suggest that folk from Grayshott, Hindhead and district wishing to become greener could help this cause immensely by pestering Sir Simon Jenkins and Mr Miliband to leave the old A3 both open in 2011 and connected to the bypass? The 200 to 350 tonnes of unnecessary atmospheric pollution every year from 2011 represent an awful, awful lot of kettles and annual expense!
Dr David W A Barrett, Rozeldene, Hindhead